lfghjkl comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 23, chapter 94 - Less Wrong

8 Post author: elharo 08 July 2013 12:04PM

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Comment author: lfghjkl 08 July 2013 06:48:35PM 7 points [-]

"I very much need to visit the washroom, and I would also like to change out of these pyjamas."

This is where he's going to be using the time-turner to pick up Hermione's transfigured body before Flitwick arrives.

The reason this works this time, is that he has already precommitted to doing so when he spent all those hours thinking until dinner the day before. The ring is a red herring.

Comment author: cousin_it 08 July 2013 07:05:59PM *  3 points [-]

Wait, can you use a time-turner to go back, pick up something and return to the present? In that case you can keep something permanently hidden outside of time, except for a minute every 6 hours as you pick it up and drop it off.

Comment author: Atelos 08 July 2013 07:15:34PM 12 points [-]

I'm reasonably certain time turners can't jump you forwards in time. So far as I can tell everyone who's used a time turner has taken the 'long path' to catch back up with their most advanced present.

Comment author: Intrism 08 July 2013 07:51:35PM *  5 points [-]

Harry can return to the present via the long route, if necessary. It doesn't appear that anyone bothered to check for extra Harries in the morning, so he wouldn't need to do anything more exotic than hide in the washroom before the previous Harry iteration got there in order to fool the Professors.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 09 July 2013 12:14:56AM 2 points [-]

For indefinite qualities of "permanently"-- it sounds like it's got the same sort of vulnerability as those embezzling schemes that fall apart if the embezzler is sick for a while.

Comment author: TobyBartels 19 July 2013 01:52:38AM 0 points [-]

How do those work?

I ask only out of curiosity!

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 19 July 2013 02:44:21AM 3 points [-]

I don't have specifics, but it's something like the embezzler being in charge of the accounting. so that scheme holds up as long as no one else looks at the books. Sensible companies have enforced vacations for anyone who has that sort of responsibility.

Comment author: Caspian 09 July 2013 12:11:09PM 1 point [-]

My first thought was that she'd been transfigured into the pajamas, but I don't think that's likely. My theory is that when Harry slept in his bed it was the second time he'd been through that time period. The first time, he stayed invisible with transfigured Hermione in his possession, waited until woken-up Harry had finished being searched, gave her to woken-up Harry, then went back in time and went to bed.

Comment author: lfghjkl 09 July 2013 06:08:21PM 3 points [-]

That would require him to stay up all night, since he cannot know in advance the exact time Flitwick will arrive. It is much more likely that the Harry we saw was the first one, and that he's now going to go back in time to pick up the body.