Let's Read: "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality"

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Killstick: Jan 17, 2010

Davros1 posted:

I think it's more of a case of him trying to have a comeback once the idea is dismissed.

"JK hates charities, and is a horrible person, because she wouldn't agree to let me publish my rip-off of her work."

If he's serious, just do the loving 50 Shades thing, and change the names and publish it that way.

Wait, what's 50 shades of grey a ripoff of?

# ? Mar 10, 2015 22:40

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# ? May 17, 2024 18:20

my dad: Oct 17, 2012; this shall be humorous

Killstick posted:

Wait, what's 50 shades of grey a ripoff of?

It started off as Twilight fan-fiction.

# ? Mar 10, 2015 22:49

Killstick: Jan 17, 2010

my dad posted:

It started off as Twilight fan-fiction.

Wow, i didn't think my opinion of that book could go any lower but here we are.

# ? Mar 10, 2015 22:52

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

If he loses the Harry Potter angle he has nothing, though; he just has a derivative story in which a smug little kid out-foxes ancient wizards using the power of Bayesian logic. While he could self publish it, obviously, I doubt he'd get an actual book deal, especially given that his entire work here is 50% longer than the Lord of the Rings.

e: Also I think Chapter 7 is the one where a certain character drops a certain line which would probably be lethal to the Harry Potter IP if published as some kind of extended/alternate universe work.

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:05

Velius: Feb 27, 2001

Killstick posted:

Wow, i didn't think my opinion of that book could go any lower but here we are.

"Mr. Grey" is also the name of the male lead in The Secretary, a film from which 50 shades seems at least a bit derivative.

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:18

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

Am I the white knight? I don't want to be the white knight. And for Yud, especially...

e: Can we make JWKS read Fifty Shades next? :haw:

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:19

Hopeford: Oct 15, 2010; Eh, why not?

petrol blue posted:

Am I the white knight? I don't want to be the white knight. And for Yud, especially...

Honestly I'm kind of with you here. Regardless of what the actual story's contents, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to do something for charity if the rights holder permits. That's a pretty nice gesture, in my opinion. Doubt he'll actually get it done for a lot of reasons, but I don't see much wrong with him trying. It's not like he has said anything terrible about Rowling(that I know of) or tried to do anything without the rights holder's permission, just like him going "Hey want to make money for charities, if we could get this cleared out, which we probably can't, but hey why not try."

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:24

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

The great big catch here is that Yudkowsky runs a ~~singularitarian honeypot scam~~ charity of his own, the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and likes pouring his money into dodgy cryonics projects. I do not trust his judgment on what is effective charitable contribution.

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:49

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

Please tell me 'sigularitarian' is a real thing?

e: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularitarianism

petrol blue fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Mar 10, 2015

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:56

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

petrol blue posted:

Please tell me 'sigularitarian' is a real thing?

Well, you are reading a religious-text-poorly-disguised-as-a-fanfic written by one. If you mean the specific term, then well...

# ? Mar 10, 2015 23:59

Djeser: Mar 22, 2013; it's crow time again

Darth Walrus posted:

The great big catch here is that Yudkowsky runs a ~~singularitarian honeypot scam~~ charity of his own, the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and likes pouring his money into dodgy cryonics projects. I do not trust his judgment on what is effective charitable contribution.

His judgement on an effective charitable contribution is the subject of many blog entries where he explains that people who volunteer are selfish and the world would be better if everyone just worked at their regular job harder instead.

Also his view is that a charity that has a one in a billion chance of helping two hundred billion people is a better investment than a charity that has a perfect chance of helping a hundred people. Because statistically, the second one is only half as effective!

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:00

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

Oooh, is he a libertarian? Can I donate in bitcoins?

Cos if so, I got a Bingo!

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:02

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

petrol blue posted:

Oooh, is he a libertarian? Can I donate in bitcoins?

Cos if so, I got a Bingo!

Could you ever doubt it?

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:08

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

10 - print " :eng99:

"
20 - goto 10

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:18

i81icu812: Dec 5, 2006

SSNeoman posted:

This is why I told JWKS that this was a bad idea. Even if this poo poo was good, it's long as gently caress.

But I some people like watching others suffer!

gently caress you, Yudkowsky. If I ever needed proof that you are a pseudo-intellectual shitlord, this would be one of my exhibits.
Richard Feynman was famous for being extremely inquisitive and conversational. He was interested in physics since childhood, be it water waves, radio signals or light switches. But he had interests everywhere else, bongo drums, the Japanese language, travel, safe-cracking. The man had an extremely inquisitive mind and loved learning about everything ever. Yeah okay he was somewhat of an rear end in a top hat, but he never considered others to be beneath him. The man was an -excellent- teacher, people had to get tickets to his lectures and that poo poo got sold out fast. He was REALLY GOOD at explaining things, and one of his greater disappointments was his inability to explain the physics of fire to his dad. Hell, one of the reasons he is famous is because of his Feynman Diagrams, which were used to explain the movement of sub-atomic particles iirc. He made quantum mechanics a lot easier to understand and much more approachable for everyone.

Richard Feynman doesn't try to "sound smart". Whenever he presented knowledge, he would use conversational speech, only dipping into scientific jargon when necessary. You don't know what the gently caress you're talking about.

And then, in the same loving breath, you say that "I'm isolated...locked in a cellar...too intelligent". I don't have an big enough.

Yeah. Feynman was a lot of fun to talk to and be around. And a brilliant, sociable, well-rounded guy in general.

And also a huge rear end in a top hat. But a smart and entertaining one!

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:21

i81icu812: Dec 5, 2006

Double post

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:37

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

# ? Mar 11, 2015 00:40

JosephWongKS: Apr 4, 2009; by Nyc_Tattoo

Chapter 6: The Planning Fallacy
Part Twelve

quote:

"I'm sorry, young man," said Professor McGonagall. "This is entirely my fault. I would offer to take you back to Gringotts, but the bank will be closed for all but emergency services now."

Why can�t Harry just buy a cheaper luggage trunk or something?

quote:

Harry looked at her, wondering...

"Well," sighed Professor McGonagall, as she swung on one heel, "we may as well go, I suppose."

... she hadn't lost it completely when a child had dared defy her. She hadn't been happy, but she had thought instead of exploding in fury. It might have just been that there was an immortal Dark Lord to fight - that she had needed Harry's goodwill. But most adults wouldn't have been capable of thinking even that much; wouldn't consider future consequences at all, if someone lower in status had refused to obey them...

�She had thought instead of exploding in fury�, said the boy who explodes in fury at every little slight done or perceived to be done to him.

quote:

"Professor?" Harry said.

The witch turned back and looked at him.

Harry took a deep breath. He needed to be a little angry for what he wanted to try now, there was no way he'd have the courage to do it otherwise. She didn't listen to me, he thought to himself, I would have taken more gold but she didn't want to listen... Focusing his entire world on McGonagall and the need to bend this conversation to his will, he spoke.

�The need to bend this conversation to his will.� Ugh, could he be any more narcissistic?

quote:

"Professor, you thought one hundred Galleons would be more than enough for a trunk. That's why you didn't bother warning me before it went down to ninety-seven. Which is just the sort of thing the research studies show - that's what happens when people think they're leaving themselves a little error margin. They're not pessimistic enough. If it'd been up to me, I'd have taken two hundred Galleons just to be sure. There was plenty of money in that vault, and I could have put back any extra later. But I thought you wouldn't let me do it. I thought you'd be angry at me just for asking. Was I wrong?"

Have you ever considered that it was you who didn�t budget properly and over-spent on everything else?

quote:

"I suppose I must confess that you are right," said Professor McGonagall. "But, young man -"

"That sort of thing is the reason why I have trouble trusting adults." Somehow Harry kept his voice steady. "Because they get angry if you even try to reason with them. To them it's defiance and insolence and a challenge to their higher tribal status. If you try to talk to them they get angry. So if I had anything really important to do, I wouldn't be able to trust you. Even if you listened with deep concern to whatever I said - because that's also part of the role of someone playing a concerned adult - you'd never change your actions, you wouldn't actually behave differently, because of anything I said."

The salesman was watching them both with unabashed fascination.

"I can understand your point of view," Professor McGonagall said eventually. "If I sometimes seem too strict, please remember that I have served as Head of Gryffindor House for what feels like several thousand years."

McGonagall has nothing to apologise for. She has treated and dealt with Harry with utterly saintly patience and fortitude, in my opinion.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 03:35

Added Space: Jul 13, 2012; Free Markets
Free People

Curse you Hayard-Gunnes!

I remember thinking when I read this part that this guy must be fairly young. Anyone old enough can remember a time before ATMs were on every block and a lot of places didn't take checks. Back then you carried around cash for most of your transactions, and for precisely that reason you always made sure to carry at least some extra around with you. Carrying a hundred dollars in cash, if you could afford to, was routine for many people. So he's made McG stupid not to show some deep aspect of human nature, but because he's young. Given the photos though I'm not sure, how old is this guy?

# ? Mar 11, 2015 03:54

Darth Walrus: Feb 13, 2012

Added Space posted:

I remember thinking when I read this part that this guy must be fairly young. Anyone old enough can remember a time before ATMs were on every block and a lot of places didn't take checks. Back then you carried around cash for most of your transactions, and for precisely that reason you always made sure to carry at least some extra around with you. Carrying a hundred dollars in cash, if you could afford to, was routine for many people. So he's made McG stupid not to show some deep aspect of human nature, but because he's young. Given the photos though I'm not sure, how old is this guy?

Thirty-five.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:01

sat on my keys!: Oct 2, 2014

Added Space posted:

I remember thinking when I read this part that this guy must be fairly young. Anyone old enough can remember a time before ATMs were on every block and a lot of places didn't take checks. Back then you carried around cash for most of your transactions, and for precisely that reason you always made sure to carry at least some extra around with you. Carrying a hundred dollars in cash, if you could afford to, was routine for many people. So he's made McG stupid not to show some deep aspect of human nature, but because he's young. Given the photos though I'm not sure, how old is this guy?

He was born in 1982 or thereabouts I think. He is older than 30.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:02

Arc Hammer: Mar 4, 2013; Got any deathsticks?

gently caress if this is not the most insufferable little poo poo to ever have to read about. You're doing the lord's work ploughing through this dreck.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:39

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

quote:

"I can understand your point of view," Professor McGonagall said eventually.

This is a moment of genuinely good writing. What induced it was not

# ? Mar 11, 2015 04:45

JosephWongKS: Apr 4, 2009; by Nyc_Tattoo

Chapter 6: The Planning Fallacy
Part Twelve

quote:

Harry nodded and continued. "So - suppose I had a way to get more Galleons from my vault without us going back to Gringotts, but it involved me violating the role of an obedient child. Would I be able to trust you with that, even though you'd have to step outside your own role as Professor McGonagall to take advantage of it?"

"What? " said Professor McGonagall.

"To put it another way, if I could make today have happened differently, so that we didn't take too little money with us, would that be all right even though it would involve a child being insolent to an adult in retrospect?"

Again, it�s not that you took too little money with you, it�s that you spent too much. All the other kids get by with much less, you insufferable brat.

quote:

"I... suppose..." the witch said, looking quite puzzled.

Harry took out the mokeskin pouch, and said, "Eleven Galleons originally from my family vault."

And there was gold in Harry's hand.

For a moment Professor McGonagall's mouth gaped wide, then her jaw snapped shut and her eyes narrowed and the witch bit out, "Where did you get that -"

"From my family vault, like I said."

"How? "

"Magic."

"That's hardly an answer!" snapped Professor McGonagall, and then stopped, blinking.

"No, it isn't, is it? I ought to claim that it's because I experimentally discovered the true secrets of how the pouch works and that it can actually retrieve objects from anywhere, not just its own inside, if you phrase the request correctly. But actually it's from when I fell into that pile of gold before and I shoved some Galleons into my pocket. Anyone who understands pessimism knows that money is something you might need quickly and without much warning. So now are you angry at me for defying your authority? Or glad that we succeeded in our important mission?"

The salesman's eyes were wide like saucers.

And the tall witch stood there, silent.

And then everyone in the shop stood up and clapped.

quote:

"Discipline at Hogwarts must be enforced," she said after almost a full minute. "For the sake of all the students. And that must include courtesy and obedience from you to all professors."

"I understand, Professor McGonagall."

"Good. Now let us buy that trunk and go home."

Harry felt like throwing up, or cheering, or fainting, or something. That was the first time his careful reasoning had ever worked on anyone. Maybe because it was also the first time he had something really serious that an adult needed from him, but still -

Minerva McGonagall, +1 point.

Harry bowed, and gave the bag of gold and the extra eleven Galleons into McGonagall's hands. "Thank you very much, Professor. Can you finish up the purchase for me? I've got to visit the lavatory."

The salesman, unctuous once more, pointed toward a door set into the wall with a gold-handled knob. As Harry started to walk away, he heard the salesman ask in his oily voice, "May I inquire as to who that was, Madam McGonagall? I take it he is Slytherin - third-year, perhaps? - and from a prominent family, but I did not recognise -"

And the salesman�s name? Albert Einstein.

quote:

The slam of the lavatory door cut off his words, and after Harry had identified the lock and pressed it into place, he grabbed the magical self-cleaning towel and, with shaky hands, wiped moisture off his forehead. Harry's entire body was sheathed in sweat which had soaked clear through his Muggle clothing, though at least it didn't show through the robes.

_______________________________________________________

The sun was setting and it was very late indeed, by the time they stood again in the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron, the silent leaf-dusted interface between magical Britain's Diagon Alley and the entire Muggle world. (That was one awfully decoupled economy...) Harry was to go to a phone box and call his father, once he was on the other side. He didn't need to worry about his luggage being stolen, apparently. His trunk had the status of a major magical item, something that most Muggles wouldn't notice; that was part of what you could get in the wizarding world, if you were willing to pay the price of a secondhand car.

"So here we part ways, for a time," Professor McGonagall said. She shook her head in wonderment. "This has been the strangest day of my life for... many a year. Since the day I learned that a child had defeated You-Know-Who. I wonder now, looking back, if that was the last reasonable day of the world."

Oh, like she had anything to complain about. You think your day was surreal? Try mine.

�Me me me me me me me. Me.�

quote:

"I was very impressed with you today," Harry said to her. "I should have remembered to compliment you out loud, I was awarding you points in my head and everything."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "If you had already been sorted into a House I would have deducted so many points that your grandchildren would still be losing the House Cup."

"Thank you, Professor." It was probably too early to call her Minnie.

This woman might well be the sanest adult Harry had ever met, despite her lack of scientific background. Harry was even considering offering her the number-two position in whatever group he formed to fight the Dark Lord, though he wasn't silly enough to say that out loud. Now what would be a good name for that...? The Death Eater Eaters?

"I'll see you again soon, when school starts," Professor McGonagall said. "And, Mr. Potter, about your wand -"

"I know what you're going to ask," Harry said. He took out his precious wand and, with a deep twinge of inner pain, flipped it over in his hand, presenting her with the handle. "Take it. I hadn't planned to do anything, not a single thing, but I don't want you to have nightmares about me blowing up my house."

Professor McGonagall shook her head rapidly. "Oh no, Mr. Potter! That isn't done. I only meant to warn you not to use your wand at home, since the Ministry can detect underage magic and it is prohibited without supervision."

"Ah," Harry said. "That sounds like a very sensible rule. I'm glad to see the wizarding world takes that sort of thing seriously."

Professor McGonagall peered hard at him. "You really mean that."

"Yes," Harry said. "I get it. Magic is dangerous and the rules are there for good reasons. Certain other matters are also dangerous. I get that too. Remember that I am not stupid."

Not stupid, just tremendously obnoxious and unlikable.

quote:

"I am unlikely ever to forget it. Thank you, Harry, that does make me feel better about entrusting you with certain things. Goodbye for now."

Harry turned to go, into the Leaky Cauldron and out towards the Muggle world.

As his hand touched the back door's handle, he heard a last whisper from behind him.

"Hermione Granger."

"What?" Harry said, his hand still on the door.

"Look for a first-year girl named Hermione Granger on the train to Hogwarts."

"Who is she?"

There was no answer, and when Harry turned around, Professor McGonagall was gone.

__________________________________________________

Aftermath

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore leaned forward over his desk. His twinkling eyes peered out at Minerva. "So, my dear, how did you find Harry?"

Minerva opened her mouth. Then she closed her mouth. Then she opened her mouth again. No words came out.

"I see," Albus said gravely. "Thank you for your report, Minerva. You may go."

I admit I laughed a bit at this.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:47

Night10194: Feb 13, 2012; We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

I dunno, he seems pretty stupid to me. Like most badly written 'smart' characters, he's succeeding solely because the author's in his corner and he's got the script.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 05:53

i81icu812: Dec 5, 2006

Added Space posted:

I remember thinking when I read this part that this guy must be fairly young. Anyone old enough can remember a time before ATMs were on every block and a lot of places didn't take checks. Back then you carried around cash for most of your transactions, and for precisely that reason you always made sure to carry at least some extra around with you. Carrying a hundred dollars in cash, if you could afford to, was routine for many people. So he's made McG stupid not to show some deep aspect of human nature, but because he's young. Given the photos though I'm not sure, how old is this guy?

This chest is more expensive than all of Harry's actual school supplies combined. A wand is 7 Galleons, a textbook 9 Galleons. Harry buys a wand, 8 textbooks, and spends maybe another handful of Galleons for clothes and a cauldron. That just about covers his school stuff and is generously around 100 Galleons.

~~Yud~~Harry instead decides to throw tantrums and spend an extra 45 Galleons on a bag of holding and a medical kit. Then he doesn't have quite have the 105 Galleons extra for a fancy magical chest, and can't settle for a cheaper chest.

This whole passage has been "Harry can't budget and is spoiled" rather than McGonagall doesn't understand human nature and estimation. Harry took out 150% more money than he needed for school supplies but spent it all on nonessential stuff! Additionally, those withdrawn 250 Galleons (plus the 30 he stole) weigh some 20 pounds. I'm surprised his pockets haven't given out.

Wizard money is handled terribly in general. Prices from the books per http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/money.html

cursed opal necklace at Borgin and Burkes (HBP6)
.....1500 Galleons

prize for winning the Triwizard Tournament (GF12)
.....1000 Galleons

prize from Daily Prophet drawing (PA1)
.....700 Galleons

amount Fred and George bet (their whole savings) (GF7)
.....37 Galleons, 15 Sickles, 3 Knuts

unicorn horn (PS5)
.....21 Galleons

human skull from Borgin and Burkes (HBP6)
.....16 Galleons

twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition Instructor (HBP17)
.....12 Galleons

amount Hermione had set aside to buy herself a birthday present (PA4)
.....10 Galleons

Omnioculars (GF7)
.....10 Galleons

a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making from Flourish and Blotts (HBP9)
.....9 Galleons

new wand from Ollivanders (PS5)
.....7 Galleons

pile of candy from the cart on the Hogwarts Express
.....11 Sickles, 7 Knuts

fare on the Knight Bus from Little Whinging to London (PA3)
.....11 Sickles

# ? Mar 11, 2015 06:56

JosephWongKS: Apr 4, 2009; by Nyc_Tattoo

petrol blue posted:

Am I the white knight? I don't want to be the white knight. And for Yud, especially...

e: Can we make JWKS read Fifty Shades next?

Do I need to have read the Twilight series first, or can Fifty Shades be read on a stand-alone basis?

# ? Mar 11, 2015 07:40

Tunicate: May 15, 2012

JosephWongKS posted:

Do I need to have read the Twilight series first, or can Fifty Shades be read on a stand-alone basis?

AFAIK, the only changes made for the published version were a few names and adjectives
.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 08:24

Davros1: Jul 19, 2007; You've got to admit, you are kind of implausible

Seriously though, the whole "publish for charity" thing comes off as him wanting validation for this monstrosity, that way he can throw it back in any naysayers who call it the poorly written, poorly characterized, piece of crap that it is.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 10:13

reignonyourparade: Nov 15, 2012

i81icu812 posted:

Wizard money is handled terribly in general. Prices from the books per http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/money.html

At one point yud comments that he just came up with his own standard to actually stick to because rowling had no standard and I honestly can't blame him (for that, specifically, there are many other things I can blame him for.)

# ? Mar 11, 2015 11:25

petrol blue: Feb 9, 2013; sugar and spice
and
ethanol slammers

JosephWongKS posted:

Do I need to have read the Twilight series first, or can Fifty Shades be read on a stand-alone basis?

Honestly, I struggle to see any relationship between the two, despite knowing 50's origin before I started. As is the fine tradition of fanfic. Also following tradition for fanfic, it's bad.

quote:

"His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel... or something."

# ? Mar 11, 2015 11:32

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

i81icu812 posted:

This chest is more expensive than all of Harry's actual school supplies combined. A wand is 7 Galleons, a textbook 9 Galleons. Harry buys a wand, 8 textbooks, and spends maybe another handful of Galleons for clothes and a cauldron. That just about covers his school stuff and is generously around 100 Galleons.

~~Yud~~Harry instead decides to throw tantrums and spend an extra 45 Galleons on a bag of holding and a medical kit. Then he doesn't have quite have the 105 Galleons extra for a fancy magical chest, and can't settle for a cheaper chest.

This whole passage has been "Harry can't budget and is spoiled" rather than McGonagall doesn't understand human nature and estimation. Harry took out 150% more money than he needed for school supplies but spent it all on nonessential stuff! Additionally, those withdrawn 250 Galleons (plus the 30 he stole) weigh some 20 pounds. I'm surprised his pockets haven't given out.

I would like to reiterate that Harry is rich and this is his very first opportunity to buy anything magical at all, so why shouldn't he get non-school supplies if he wants to? McGonagall has no reason to limit his spending or, indeed, any legal right to do so. This whole conflict is just a contrived and nonsensical way to set Harry and McGonagall at odds so Harry can expound at length.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 12:41

V. Illych L.: Apr 11, 2008; ASK ME ABOUT LUMBER

because harry is ten years old and a little poo poo who cannot and should not be responsible for his own extravagant spending

if i die and leave a moderately rich orphan kid, that kid would not in any sane world be allowed to spend their money on whatever they wanted, because they would spend it all on candy or useless fancy trinkets or their own insane neuroses like harry, here

# ? Mar 11, 2015 13:06

90s Cringe Rock: Nov 29, 2006

Canon Harry literally did buy a giant pile of sweets as soon as he had the opportunity to, so trying to hold his spending back isn't totally unreasonable.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 13:12

Arc Hammer: Mar 4, 2013; Got any deathsticks?

Harry buying sweets made sense though considering he was never given any treats living at the dursley's. Here, he's been living with scientists and has become an incredibly spoiled brat who kicks and screams when he doesn't get what he wants.

This whole plot contrivance reminds me of that TvTropes quote about the guy who wrote himself into a corner because his hero didn't bring enough health potions.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 14:14

Victorkm: Nov 25, 2001

I dunno, this Harry seems to not really get what he wants/"knows" he needs because adults don't take him seriously due to his just being a little kid. If McGonnagall or his parents would present him with sufficient arguments that he doesn't actually need whatever item he is asking for, he would probably go along with it but in his perception no one treats him like he wants to be treated and thus he must be objectively correct.

What he doesn't get is that if adults treated with him as an adult, they would lose what little authority they hold over him which is not something they are willing to do, mostly because they care about him and want to make sure he survives to be old enough to be treated as an equal.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 14:21

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

That's it though: he doesn't want to be treated as an equal, he seems to see himself as more of a prophetic "everyone should listen to me because I am always right and you need to be amazed" thing.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 21:13

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

anilEhilated posted:

That's it though: he doesn't want to be treated as an equal, he seems to see himself as more of a prophetic "everyone should listen to me because I am always right and you need to be amazed" thing.

He wants to be treated like an equal in all the ways he wants, while being deferred to in all the ways he wants. Probably varying from minute to minute. The Harry in this story seems like a dangerously unstable maniac.

# ? Mar 11, 2015 21:33

JosephWongKS: Apr 4, 2009; by Nyc_Tattoo

Chapter 7 � Reciprocation
Part One

quote:

Whoa. A spokesman for Rowling's literary agent said that Rowling is okay with the existence of fanfiction as long as no one charges for it and everyone's clear that the original copyrights belong to her? That's really cool of her. So thank you, JKR, and thine is the kingdom!

_____________________________________________________

I feel the need to disclaim that certain parts of this chapter are not meant as "bashing". It's not that I have a grudge, the story just writes itself and once you start dropping anvils on a character it's hard to stop.

A few reviewers have asked whether the science in this story is real or made up. Yes, it is real, and if you look at my profile, you'll see a link to a certain nonfiction site that will teach you pretty much everything Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres knows and then some.

Thank you very much to all my reviewers. (Especially Darkandus on Viridian Dreams, for the surprisingly inspiring comment "Lungs and tea are not meant to interact".

The �certain nonfiction site� referred to above is wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences, if you are curious.

quote:

"Your dad is almost as awesome as my dad."

____________________________________________

Petunia Evans-Verres's lips were trembling and her eyes were tearing up as Harry hugged her midsection on Platform Nine of the King's Cross Station. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, Harry?"
Harry glanced over to his father Michael Verres-Evans, who was looking stereotypically stern-but-proud, and then back to his mother, who really did look rather... uncomposed. "Mum, I know you don't like the wizarding world very much. You don't have to come with. I mean it."

Petunia winced. "Harry, you shouldn't worry about me, I'm your mother and if you need someone with you -"

"Mum, I'm going to be on my own at Hogwarts for months and months. If I can't manage a train platform alone, better to find out sooner rather than later so we can abort." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Besides, Mum, they all love me over there. If I have any problems, all I need to do is take off my sweatband," Harry tapped the exercise band covering his scar, "and I'll have way more help than I can handle."

"Oh, Harry," Petunia whispered. She knelt down and hugged him hard, face to face, their cheeks resting against each other. Harry could feel her ragged breathing, and then he heard a muffled sob escape. "Oh, Harry, I do love you, always remember that."

It's like she's afraid she'll never see me again, the thought popped into Harry's head. He knew the thought was true but he didn't know why Mum was so afraid.

So he made a guess. "Mum, you know that I'm not going to turn into your sister just because I'm learning magic, right? I'll do any magic you ask for - if I can, I mean - or if you want me not to use any magic around the house, I'll do that too, I promise I'll never let magic come between us -"

A tight hug cut off his words. "You have a good heart," his mother whispered into his ear. "A very good heart, my son."

Harry choked up himself a little, then.

At least he does care for his parents. 10 points to ~~Gryffindor~~ Slytherin, which is where I guess he�ll be Sorted into.

quote:

His mother released him, and stood up. She took a handkerchief out of her handbag, and with a trembling hand dabbed at the running makeup around her eyes.

There were no questions about his father accompanying him to the magical side of King's Cross Station. Dad had trouble just looking at Harry's trunk directly. Magic ran in families, and Michael Verres-Evans couldn't even walk.

So instead his father just cleared his throat. "Good luck at school, Harry," he said. "Do you think I bought you enough books?"

Harry had explained to his father about how he thought this might be his big chance to do something really revolutionary and important, and Professor Verres-Evans had nodded and dumped his extremely busy schedule for two solid days in order to go on the Greatest Secondhand Bookshop Raid Ever, which had covered four cities and produced thirty boxes of science books now sitting in the cavern level of Harry's trunk. Most of the books had gone for a pound or two, but some of them definitely hadn't, like the very latest Handbook of Chemistry and Physics or the complete 1972 set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His father had tried to block Harry off from seeing the till displays but Harry figured his father must have spent at least a thousand pounds. Harry had said to his father that he would pay him back as soon as he figured out how to convert wizarding gold into Muggle money, and his father had told him to go jump in a lake.

Isn�t the story set in the early 90s? Why did they go out of their way to buy a set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica that�s more than a decade old?

quote:

And then his father had asked him: Do you think I bought you enough books? It was quite clear what answer Dad wanted to hear.

Harry's throat was hoarse, for some reason. "You can never have enough books," he recited the Verres family motto, and his father knelt down and gave him a quick, firm embrace. "But you certainly tried," Harry said, and felt himself choking up again. "It was a really, really, really good try."

This has been a pretty good, heartwarming start to the chapter. Harry�s back to being human and likable again. Isn�t this the supposedly �infamous� Chapter Seven? How bad can it get?

JosephWongKS fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Mar 12, 2015

# ? Mar 12, 2015 02:38

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# ? May 17, 2024 18:20

su3su2u1: Apr 23, 2014

JosephWongKS posted:

This has been a pretty good, heartwarming start to the chapter. Harry�s back to being human and likable again. Isn�t this the supposedly �infamous� Chapter Seven? How bad can it get?

It goes downhill, SO SO fast.

Also, I've read through the whole loving thing at http://su3su2u1.tumblr.com

# ? Mar 12, 2015 03:07

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Let's Read: "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality"

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