gwern comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 5 - Less Wrong

6 Post author: NihilCredo 02 November 2010 06:57PM

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Comment author: gwern 28 November 2010 10:36:59PM *  3 points [-]

Newtonian brooms are supported by canon then even more, aren't they?

Most Beaters are large and burly, and all the Seekers (with their premium on top speed) are the opposite. Exactly as expected with Newtonian brooms (or horses).

But if air resistance didn't matter because brooms move at a fixed velocity/acceleration in an Aristotelian manner, one would expect Seekers to have normally distributed body sizes as Quidditch team captains select for things like piercing eyesight, lightning reflexes, or just simian arms.

(Harry & Draco are both relatively small and thin; Viktor Krum is tall, but also 'thin'.)

Comment author: JoshuaZ 28 November 2010 10:45:13PM 0 points [-]

Yes, that supports Newtonian broomsticks quite strongly.