[Johnny1A.2]

One difference in the concept of psioncs vs. magic (or other names), is that the term 'magic' is often misapplied in today's world in fantasy stories, RPGs, etc.

Psi abilities, whether or not they really exist, as conceived, are internal to the person possessing them. That is, however they work at a detail level, they are a part of the possessor, in the same sense that the ability to walk is naturally related to having legs.

Magic, as traditionally defined, is external to the 'possessor'. (Quotes to emphasize the fact that the user doesn't really possess the power.) It's a request to, manipulation of, or other ways of inducing outside beings, usually spirits of some sort, to do whatever the magic-user wants done. The magic-user doesn't possess any power, not really, even if the process works it's other beings doing the doing, and that action is rarely expected to be free.

Also, magic as traditionally understood involves dealing with beings with intelligence and agendas of their own, often beings vastly more powerful than the magic-user, far older, and sometimes seen as greater in intellect (though this last can vary).

Which in turn is a large part of why most human cultures that believe in magic have considered it a very doubtful practice. Most of the Abrahamic faiths outright forbid the practice, even cultures based on other faiths usually aren't OK with the general, casual use of it, if it's seen as permissible at all it's usually restricted to an expert/exceptional group.

Now modern fantasy stories and RPGs have a tendency to treat magic as if it was a science and/or a technical art, akin to engineering or chemistry. That is, as if it was a blind phenomenon obeying predictable laws. Which is not the traditional view of it!

In that view, magic is less a science, or even a technical art, and more like politics, or social engineering, or sometimes more like trade. You might gain authority to order a spirit somehow, or you might cajole/fast talk the spirits (but you'd better be very good at it and prepared for a high risk of backlash), it might respond to one person better than another for no predictable reason.

Maybe John Doe can get better results from the spirits because his great-great-great-great-grandfather in the paternal line cut some kind of deal or held a marker of some kind. Maybe they just like John better on a whim.

John might not even know why they'll do things for him they won't for others, or charge him less. All he or anybody else can do is observe that if John 'casts the spell' the results are better and nobody can determine what's special about him (because nothing is special about him).

Which also means his 'advantage' can vanish suddenly and without warning! He uses up his great-great-great-grandfather's debt, or he says or does something that annoys the spirits and they no longer like him as much, a different spirit becomes involved and he hates people like John. Since he's dealing with sapient beings, the reason for their change of attitude might be outside John's ken: a distant cousin he has no idea exists, say, who lives 1000 miles away, might have said or done something that left the spirits annoyed at the whole clan. When you're dealing with sapient entities, motives and incentives can and usually do get complicated and messy.

If the spirits are already evil or hostile overall, all that becomes the more so! One begins to see why magic is so widely viewed as dangerous and fickle.

Since John's magical 'advantage' is external to him, there might not even be any way for him to know that it's ended until he finds out the hard way.

These two definitions, if followed in a story or game, mean that psi and magic are going to be different things (though a naïve observer might mistake one for the other) and behave in different ways much of the time. Psi is an innate ability, as usually conceived, magic is a social skill.