Earnshaw’s theorem states that no arrangement of static fields acting through inverse-square forces can hold a body in stable equilibrium by those forces alone. Applied to magnetism, it means that a permanent magnet or a fixed-current coil cannot be levitated in a stable position by other fixed magnets: any equilibrium is a saddle point, stable along some axes and unstable along others. Stable magnetic levitation therefore requires an escape from the theorem’s assumptions — diamagnetic or superconducting flux-pinning, spin stabilisation, or active feedback control. The splinky takes the last route, holding its vehicles laterally by continuously steering the guideway’s flux.