solipsist comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, January 2015, chapter 103 - Less Wrong Discussion
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The Pythagorean theorem hasn't been mentioned in HPMOR. Given this, would anyone bet me at 100-to-1 odds that future chapters will reveal that Harry rederived the Pythagorean theorem, in secret, while a student at Hogwarts, before April, and had fun?
Is there some reason to locate this hypothesis? Is there some reference I'm forgetting?
I have a very, very long, not very likely, crazy theory. Here it goes.
If you recall, Harry made a number of TODOs when he started the year.
Did Harry forget about those TODOs?
Harry make a pass at reading through the table of contents in the Hogwarts main library in chapter 29. After Harry and Hermione finish gossiping about Pettigrew, Harry walks Hermione to Broomstick class. At this stage the Eliezer Yudkowsky in my head starts yelling "HEY GUYS! Table of contents! Broomstick class! Thursday, Thursday, Thursday! Come on! I'm putting all the pieces together for you!"
(Answer: on the first Thursday of the school year, during Broomstick class, Harry set off Neville's Remembrall. Harry had forgotten about his TODOs).
It would appear that Harry entirely forgot about the other two TODOs (study library magic, study mind magic). Indeed, in chapter 90, he asks Quirrell how he could study mind magic, and is suprised to learn that the books are to be found in the north-northwest stacks of the main Hogwarts library, filed under M.
But what if Harry had remembered his TODOs? What if Harry studied obliviation in secret, and obiviated himself during some emergency? What would we expect to see?
We might see something like this:
(chapter 63)
Why would someone want to Obliviate everything they know about calculus? Well, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote
I imagine Harry might try to do just that.
This Pythagorean theorem hypothesis is the best I have, but it's not all that likely. I'd expect some foreshadowing about right triangles if it were true, but I see none. Does anyone have alternative hypotheses as to why Harry said "I'm not having anyone Obliviate everything I know about calculus"?
Not sure if it's in HPMOR but the symbol for the deadly hallows contains two right triangles.
EDIT err, deathly, I guess. I don't seem to be a trufan.
Because he was explicitly wanting to be normal, or at least wanting to do something normal?
I take it you mean bet against you? In present circumstances I shouldn't, but I'd most likely be willing to before the 15th (probably only at a scale of something like your $5 vs my $500, which may not be worth the effort).
Meta information makes me even less confident than before. If it were true that Harry rederived the Pythagorean theorem, in secret, etc., EY would have upvoted my comment asking for a bet. My comment received zero upvotes.
I think you overestimate the likelihood that EY even read your comment. I doubt he reads all comments on hpmor discussion anymore.
cough
I'd still take a 250 to 1 bet.