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knb comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread - Less Wrong
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It would have to be; a male would know that boys of any age can get an erection. Did you find the original author of that line? I couldn't find it through Google
It seems plausible that Malfoy wouldn't know that. Some boys never get erections before puberty. Getting erections reliably (as opposed to accidentally) before puberty might not happen either.
At this rate, Draco will be a master Bayesian before he figures out masturbation...
(sorry, sorry)
Actually, that was something about the original books that really bugged me: their sexlessness. Rowling captures the frustration and rage of being an adolescent boy very well, but not the lust - and that's probably deliberate. Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole books are much better in this regard.
Wow, I haven't thought of Adrian Mole in years. I enjoyed those books when I read them -- I should read them again and see how they stand up. Thanks for the reminder.
Source for this? I would be very surprised if this was true, except possibly in cases of extreme sexual dysfunction caused by a severe injury.
If you don't believe me, do a google search. Lots of people on "ask the community" websites like Yahoo answers have asked whether prepubescent boys could get erections. Some of these people are adult men. In any case, obviously Eliezer didn't know that or he probably wouldn't have included that tidbit!
A google search didn't turn up anything saying that some boys don't get erections before puberty. Why do you think this?
Yahoo answers isn't an especially reliable source, and it looked like most of the people asking were women, but I guess it's possible that some adult men forgot what it was like to be a kid.
As I said above, my theory is that Eliezer wrote that line to make fun of fanfiction.
Alternatively, male sexual development might be more varied than is commonly believed.
Or the Malfoys might put a lock on their kids' early sexuality to make them easier to control. Something like that might make arranged marriages less prone to drama.
I think this might actually be feasible. Malfoys are probably not likely to have intimate enough conversations with children from other families that something odd is going on, and could write off what other children imply as just big talk.
Or the children could find out the truth relatively early, and buy into a family belief that this is the sensible way to do things rather than an imposition.
Given how much emphasis a Malfoy education places on preserving your status and appearance of power, it's fairly silly that Draco would so openly and freely reveal such an important (at least symbolically) deficiency.
Fair point.
BTW. Eliezer removed these words. Now they are " As soon as I'm old enough".
Victory!!!! :-)
Alternatively, Eliezer forgot what it was like to be a kid. That seems simpler.
Or we've just learned something about Eliezer's sexual development that I, for one, would rather not have known.
That is possible but it seems less likely. He's young and sex-positive, and there are other fanfiction references in the story as well, so it wouldn't be too surprising if he included another.