JoshuaZ comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread - Less Wrong

34 Post author: Unnamed 27 May 2010 12:10AM

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 31 July 2010 07:20:01PM *  2 points [-]

J. K. Rowling once said that Harry Potter was a story about death.

Comment author: JoshuaZ 01 August 2010 04:42:04AM 1 point [-]

Citation? I think I've read a fair number of JKR interviews and I don't remember her saying this. A quick Google search doesn't turn anything up but my Google-fu may be weak.

Comment author: gwern 01 August 2010 07:35:30AM 4 points [-]

Your Google-fu is weak; a search like http://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=%22J.K.%20Rowling%22%20%22Harry%20Potter%22%20death%20interview turns up Wikipedia linking to several interviews, and then some quick C-fs turn up:

Death is an extremely important theme throughout all seven books. I would say possibly the most important theme. If you are writing about Evil, which I am, and if you are writing about someone who is essentially a psychopath, you have a duty to show the real evil of taking human life.

http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2001/1201-bbc-hpandme.htm