First, maybe this should be broken off into it's own thread.
That's why the Dabbler doesn't work. Not because the profession concept doesn't work, but because magical forensics (which is a big part of the profession concept) isn't a fully defined concept in itself. The magical forensics part of the foundation for the house of Dabbler is quicksand, if that makes sense.
I don't agree. (Though, one could point out that the game and these professions were created in the early days of forensics, so it is understandable that they (the designers) couldn't bring in such concepts/information fully.) Now, I can see saying that mundane devices (like Geiger counters) cannot detect magic, maybe just the after effects. (Like the dead burning dude on the ground.) But, even the after effects would leave certain amount of information, even if it is just that this magical fire (which they couldn't detect at all) was hotter and did more damage that the one they investigated yesterday. They may even be able to determine the exact temperature the magical fire emulated in order to cause the damage they are seeing.:
That being said, the way the magic system is devised (and sort of has to be a system), I believe the following point to a more mundane/scientific friendly magic
First of all, the game designers at ICE color coded the different magics. I can only imagine it was so that when you used many of the detect spells, you could tell the difference between the different types. (Channeling, Essence, & Mentalism.) I think the "color" is like a flavor or taste, or fingerprint. (Though, not as specific, more like it tells you the species as apposed to the individual.)
Second, you have the various different detect spells, and counter-spells out there. To me that says there is something quantifiable to detect and/or counter-spell, you sort of need to know a bit about what you are dealing with to counter-spell, at least. (Yes, the detect spells are there to give that information, but they are giving you some sort of quantifiable information about the spell at at hand.)
Third, and maybe the biggest reason, magic can be taught. If it as so completely unknowable, one person could not teach another person how to do magic. The only thing they could say was, "You must figure it out on your own how the magic works for you, I cannot teach you." The fact that there are individual spells, like Firebolt and Shield, that do the same thing for each caster that uses them. (Barring the minor changes due to level and using spell manipulation.)
I just thought of a fourth that may actually be the biggest reason: it was and is still being developed by humanoid beings that are either humans, or very close to being human in
mental capacity/methodology that it really couldn't be so chaotic and unknowable that each individual does it in a completely unique way, that is completely inscrutable to others. Which means that the same mental processes that developed forensics in a mundane world, would do so in a magical one. (IM
OB - for Belief.)