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Aharon comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 2 - Less Wrong
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Hi, first comment from me. I recently was linked to the fanfic, and then happened to also read some of the discussions here.
Just in case: contains comments on chapters 17 and 29.
I have a few questions, both related to the fanfic and (a bit) unrelated:
Concerning suspension of disbelief and James Randi. I was one of the readers whose suspension of disbelief was broken. Indeed, I did think until now that the virtues of a skeptic are similar - or even the same - as those of a scientist. Rather than just substituting the name of another skeptic who is less known, I would have preferred a short explanation as to why Randi wouldn't have tried his hand at the same questions Harry tries to solve. (And, in case this is a question that can't be answered in the context of the story, I would appreciate a link to some source that lists these differences. I admit that I do not wish to invest the time that would be neccessary to do a thorough search myself.).
Some of the elements mentioned in the story - like the planning fallacy and the bystander effect - interested me greatly. I followed the advice to read the sequences, but their amount is rather staggering, and their interconnectedness makes it harder to stay focused then when reading TVTropes. Could anybody give me advice on which sequences to read to a) get an introduction and b) get a deeper understanding of those parts of rationality that have to do with everyday life more than with science, like the planning fallacy for example ;)
Something actually related to the story, which I think hasn't been mentioned before (if it has, my apologies): Has anybody figured out what the secret in Lily Evans potion textbook might be? Dumbledore never actually says that he reveals the secret the book contains, just that what he says is true:
The author even outright says the book contains a terrible secret - which Dumbledore's scribbling probably doesn't qualify for:
Regarding #2, I don't think either of those examples come up particularly in any of the main sequences, though they have been posted on (try the search bar on the right). As for the sequences, they are ridiculously intimidating at first glance, but worthwhile. My recommendation is just to dive in one post at a time (Mysterious Questions to Mysterious Answers is a good starting point, with plenty of real life examples), and not let the sheer volume scare you off. Don't make it a project, just take each post as something to read on its own.
Thank you Spurlock, that was helpful.
To expand on my previous idea: This is speculation not based on any direct evidence in the text, but I think the secret held in the Potion Book is the recipe for the potion Lily used to turn her sister beautiful. EY points out several times how Transfigurations are dangerous, points out that this is why there are still fat people etc., and Petunia herself describes the process as very long (sick for a month). So it might be possible that the potion uses Dark Magic or some other terrible secret was involved in its creation.
I'm not sure that people who actually live in the wizarding world care about appearance in quite the same way that muggles do. Wizards seem to be content to be extremely beautiful or extremely ugly.
The original books seemed to have a reasonable amount of teenage drama about looks.
I'd have to reread-- how much of the angsting was from teenagers who grew up among muggles?
Do the adult wizards seem calmer about their looks than adult muggles?
ETA: I didn't mean muggles, I meant humans in the real world.
The weirdest thing about the HP books is that they're insanely popular while portraying a world in which people (you and everyone you've ever known) are consistently viewed as inferior.
I don't have any reason to think this is a bad thing, but it's very strange considering the usual human preference for self-congratulation.
By reading about high-status people, you pretend you're high-status too. Fiction is escapist. Nobody empathizes with the Muggles in HP - they identify with Harry, or Hermione, or Ron or another Wizard.
How common is it for fiction to be about high status people who visibly despise people like the reader?
I agree that you're accurately describing the experience of reading HP.
In medieval fantasy it is very nearly ubiquitous.That is, similar to Harry Potter in as much as the evil folks abuse the peasants while the good guys condescend. Any 'people like the reader' who get treated with respect tend to be those that more or less don't act like people like the reader.
Hello, my name is John Galt and if you have ever used the emergency room in a hospital, please go die in a fire.
I'm honestly not sure whether that's a fair reading of Atlas Shrugged.
I recently heard from a woman whose mother died in a fire how infuriating "die in a fire" is. Perhaps it would be kinder to retire it at least until people no longer die in fires.
I don't remember offhand either.
I wonder, though, if the Malfoys are magically beautiful.
I think Lockroy's smile may be mentioned as magically assisted.