topynate comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 4 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: gjm 07 October 2010 09:12PM

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Comment author: topynate 24 October 2010 12:34:50AM 1 point [-]

What if: a) Quirrell and Harry's actions in ch 51 only make sense in light of their planning to do something in particular, and b) doing that thing requires a charm not to be in place? I think that counts as a correct deduction.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 24 October 2010 12:39:15AM *  1 point [-]

(Somewhat) plausible hypothesis, not something to be confidently believed (which is the working interpretation of "deduction" I'm using, as stated at the beginning of the comment).

Comment author: topynate 24 October 2010 01:30:24AM *  1 point [-]

From the differing ways we treated the same two hypotheses just now I think we're disagreeing on how fine a distinction we accept between two hypotheses before we say that they're significantly different. From my perspective, apparating into the room and walking in under the cloak are functionally the same. In both cases, the purpose of leaving a charm off is to enable Q and H to walk out of the door as if they never left, and it's that which I'd say is a valid deduction. Within all the hypotheses which fit that pattern, some seem more likely than others, but perhaps none are more than plausible.

Comment author: Perplexed 24 October 2010 02:22:30AM 0 points [-]

the purpose of leaving a charm off is to enable Q and H to walk out of the door as if they never left ...

It seems so, which would seemingly provide an airtight alibi for anyone except HP and his friends.