skeptical_lurker comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 112 - Less Wrong

4 Post author: Gondolinian 25 February 2015 09:00PM

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Comment author: skeptical_lurker 25 February 2015 09:43:03PM 0 points [-]

Even if Volde really was hamming it up that badly as to shout that he was mortal again, he would presumably have shields up which would stop bullets.

Comment author: Velorien 25 February 2015 09:58:23PM 4 points [-]

“What?” said Minerva. She had heard of guns, of course, but they weren’t that dangerous to an experienced witch—

Comment author: skeptical_lurker 25 February 2015 10:07:18PM 1 point [-]

Exactly. I believe the authors notes or some other comment EY made say that bombs might be effective though. RPG rounds, maybe?

Or transfigured bullets which cannot be blocked due to resonance.

Comment author: Phigment 25 February 2015 09:57:17PM 4 points [-]

Harry has literally been watching the current body Voldemort is inhabiting for the entire time that body has existed. He has seen every spell cast while Voldemort has been using it.

Either Voldemort has not raised shields (which he typically did not do as Quirrell) or he's capable of casting shielding spells which Harry cannot detect either the casting or ongoing effects of even in the midst of extended close observation. And if it's the latter, we're back to "in order to have a shot at beating someone, you have to assume he's theoretically beatable and act accordingly".

On the gripping hand, I'd more expect his new, permanently-transfigured body to just be naturally bulletproof, rather than conventionally shielded. But it's not helpful to believe he's actually thought of everything.

Comment author: Astazha 26 February 2015 02:23:00AM 0 points [-]

Shields are useless against Harry's magic because of the resonance. The earthbending trick was nice, though.

Comment author: skeptical_lurker 25 February 2015 10:13:56PM *  0 points [-]

I seem to remember that in Azkaban his shields were invisible.

Comment author: Phigment 25 February 2015 10:59:41PM 3 points [-]

I don't recall invisible shields, but it's certainly plausible.

We've also seen him just flatly stop curse bolts in midair and then flick them away, without apparent shielding or obvious effort. He's got defense options like Smaug has gold coins.

If killing him was easy, someone would have done it before. Even though he had horcruxes, it's telling that he never actually had to respawn from one until he tried juggling dynamite and blew his own self up.

Comment author: Astazha 26 February 2015 02:28:13AM *  2 points [-]

"Fire at her on my count!" shouted the leading voice. "One, two, three! " and maybe-forty voices roared spells, creating a huge concentric array of fiery bolts that lit the wide corridor brighter than the Sun -

for the short moment before the bolts struck and vanished upon a dark red octagon that appeared in the air around the girls, and then disappeared a moment later.

Hermione saw it, she saw it but she still couldn't imagine it; she couldn't imagine a Shielding Charm that powerful, a spell that would withstand an army.

From Ch. 74. It's not clear to me whether the shield was invisible until struck or if he put it up very quickly and silently.

We've also seen him just flatly stop curse bolts in midair and then flick them away, without apparent shielding or obvious effort. He's got defense options like Smaug has gold coins.

If killing him was easy, someone would have done it before. Even though he had horcruxes, it's telling that he never actually had to respawn from one until he tried juggling dynamite and blew his own self up.

This.

Comment author: fubarobfusco 26 February 2015 05:09:50AM 5 points [-]

For what it's worth, the visual effect is that of an AT Field from Evangelion, which is normally invisible until struck.

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