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Subbak comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, March 2015, chapter 116 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: Gondolinian 04 March 2015 08:11PM

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Comment author: Subbak 04 March 2015 11:48:40PM 5 points [-]

Well, people are less likely to believe in an idea if an argument used in favor of it later turns out to be entirely false. For example, if I say "green jelly beans are slightly carcinogenic" and someone says "yes, also each one you eat has a 1/100 chance of killing you immediately", makes a lot of publicity about this, and months later it turns out that that statement was completely unfounded, then people will be less likely to believe me now. Even though they have very little new information compared to just me saying "green jelly beans are slightly carcinogenic".

So in this case we have people saying "Look, some Slytherins are good, see QQ!", and gaining some amount of support with that. QQ turning out to be Voldemort would not only defeat everything the argument did (which is not bad in and of itself, the argument was after all flawed), but also cause a backlash which would make Slytherin appear worse in comparison to before QQ was the Defense Professor.

Comment author: Velorien 04 March 2015 11:52:36PM 3 points [-]

Hm. While QQ was widely praised as being a great teacher, I don't think anyone missed the fact that he was radiating a constant aura of evil (before the fact that as the Defense Professor he was guaranteed to be evil by definition). I think his contribution to public perception would have been "some Slytherins are incredibly badass" rather than "some Slytherins are good".

Comment author: SilentCal 05 March 2015 12:42:16AM 1 point [-]

I'm not sure if there was a general "antihero or villain?" buzz about QQ or if Harry was the only person who thought the former. Luckily, affirmatively making him a hero works either way.

Though, what was David Monroe's House?

Comment author: MathMage 06 March 2015 11:08:57PM *  2 points [-]

Ch. 84:

"I shall not name any names," said the old witch. "But I shall tell a story, and see if it sounds familiar." Amelia Bones looked back down, turning to the next parchment. "Born 1927, entered Hogwarts in 1938, sorted into Slytherin, graduated 1945.

Comment author: Astazha 07 March 2015 11:05:02AM 0 points [-]

Also:

"Has your confederacy deduced who I really am?" The words were spoken with deceptive mildness.

"Yes, in fact. Now -"

Pure magic, pure power crashed into the room like a flash of lightning, like a thunderclap echoing about her ears that deafened her other senses, the papers on her desk blown aside not by any conjured wind but by the sheer raw force of arcane might.

Then the power subsided, leaving only Hermione Granger's death certificates drifting down through the air to the floor.

"I am David Monroe, who fought Voldemort," the man said, still in mild tones. "Heed my words. The boy cannot be allowed to continue in this state of mind.

Though we don't know for sure what McGonagal and the rest of the "confederacy" really believes.

Comment author: TobyBartels 05 March 2015 11:45:17PM 0 points [-]

One of this comment's third cousins says that Monroe was a Slytherin.

Comment author: Velorien 06 March 2015 12:47:55AM 1 point [-]

108:

I had long ago taken my vengeance on David Monroe - he was an annoyance from my year in Slytherin - so I bethought to also steal his identity, and wipe out his family to make myself heir of his House.

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