Full Idea
In the old-fashioned sense, 'powers' are real potentialities that initiate changes but seem to have a mysterious existence in between those changes.
Gist of Idea
Traditional powers initiate change, but are mysterious between those changes
Source
Stephen Mumford (Dispositions [1998], 07.10)
Book Reference
Mumford,Stephen: 'Dispositions' [OUP 1998], p.168
A Reaction
What is a person when they are asleep? What is a dishwasher when it isn't running? What is gunpowder when it doesn't explode? We all understand latent powers. To see them as a 'mystery' is to want to know too much.