5476 maxwellelvis24th Aug 2013 02:33:40 PM from undisclosed location
, Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
![[up]](http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Of course he'd know what fireworks are, his dad's still a Muggle, it's more than likely Seamus grew up in a mostly Muggle town.
Fireworks have been around for a lot longer than plugs, that's flimsy logic.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
I'm the real Ada Wong
Right, so the connexion wasn't made, that's cool, but hen Snape starts talking about rockets surely Mc Gonagall wonder 'fireworks?' at which point Snape mentions that muggle rockets bear little resemblence to wizarding fireworks and the whole thing is forgotten and my head doesn't explode.
Lucky for me, every puzzle has an answer. Isn't that what you always say?
5478 maxwellelvis24th Aug 2013 02:40:26 PM from undisclosed location
, Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
Heck, firework making isn't that from from potionmaking; wizards can probably give those same chemicals that color a firework a bit more kick. (I'm remembering Gandalf's fireworks, entirely different power level, but the same general idea)
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
5479 DeMarquis24th Aug 2013 05:05:18 PM from Hell, USA
, Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
Who Am I?
I love how everyone is much more concerned with whether or not Wizards know what rockets are than whether or not Harry is a downloaded copy of adult Voldamort with the memories erased.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong
Simple rockets have been around for quite a while, but practical ones are much more recent. I'd find it reasonable if the wizarding world knew how to make fireworks and gunpowder rockets on the level of what you might find in the late Middle Ages, but didn't have the physics or chemistry knowledge they'd need to get them to lift heavy loads or go somewhere more precise than "up". If that's the case, the Ministry officials in the Azkaban sequence simply might have missed the connection: a rocket would have been a flashy toy to them, not a possible mode of transport.
Not knowing the name is a little less explicable — wiki says it's a 14th-century word — but maybe they'd call them singijeon or something. And this sort of situation does have canonical precedent: gunnery has been around just as long, but a gun to wizards is "a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other".
edited 24th Aug '13 5:22:53 PM by Nornagest
I will keep my soul in a place out of sight,
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
5482 maxwellelvis24th Aug 2013 05:48:17 PM from undisclosed location
, Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
That's because the Prophet is a terrible newspaper that caters to the about 20 pureblooded wizards left in the UK.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
I'm the real Ada Wong
The fic's point of departure from canon is when wizards decided not to use the muggle word 'rocket' to describe their pyrotechnic decoration thingys. For some reason, the lack of the word 'rocket' in wizarding culture drove Tom Riddle to learn as much as possible and thus he became the threat he is today because the difference in terminoligy between the magic and muggle worlds piqued his interest. Every divergance from canon not atributable to Tom Riddle's increased knowlege was somehow caused by the vocab difference. HPMOR wizards really don't call their fireworks rockets.
Lucky for me, every puzzle has an answer. Isn't that what you always say?
Well, it's precisely pureblood culture that we're talking about, here. Wizards with recent Muggle ancestry clearly have a better idea of what's going on on the other side of the fence, but from everything we've seen, they're far less influential in (adult) wizarding culture, government, and media.
That does make me wonder what the ratios of pureblood to other wizards have looked like historically, though.
I will keep my soul in a place out of sight,
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
5485 maxwellelvis24th Aug 2013 08:54:36 PM from undisclosed location
, Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
From what I understand, the ratio's been way out of pureblood favor for centuries; Hagrid mentions that wizarding in Britain would have died out ages ago if it weren't for marrying Muggles, and of course Muggle-born children. It's just that the few families that remain are really high on the totem pole, so they control the way things go in the wizarding world, and if we go by how easy it was for Voldemort to take over, that way was over a cliff.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
And if Harry weren't so goddamn good-natured as a result of his birth happening in the context of True Love, he could have turned this bad by himself. Who wouldn't despise everything muggle (which in HP canon seems to refer exclusively to "boring stuffy middle class") and the ministry, for leaving him with them, and for all the terrible things they did before or since.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." Yogi Berra.
I am thinking of rereading this from the beginning. Again. Has anyone updated the PDF version recently?
SYMBOLISM!!!!
Alt!Fic: Harry goes dark over the course of his seven years. The unlikely alliance of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy is the last thing standing in his way.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
I'm not quite sure what to think of this fic anymore.
I like it as a parody, but that aspect clashes with the moments where it takes itself seriously. Pointing out a flaw in some fictional canon and not actually justifying said flaw is fine for comedy, but drama requires Willing Suspension of Disbelief.
Fire, air, water, earth...legend has it that when these four elements are gathered, they will form the fifth element...boron.
It isn't a parody. The whole idea isn't to make fun of the flaws in Harry Potter canon, it's about taking the flaws and working with them. The comedy aspect is secondary. And the flaws are justified. The Potterverse simply does not follow the laws of physics as we know them (just like pretty much any fictional universe) it runs on different, extremly weird ones. Finding out what those laws are, how to use them to your advantage and whether doing so is a good idea or not is one of the central premises of this story.
I'm the real Ada Wong
This discussion is moving slowly. After my success with the firework question I hace decided to see how you lot handle another equally insignificant but confusing question:Why do they eat diricawl at Hogwarts?
Diricawls are dodos http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Diricawl
and dodo don't taste nice
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=16&ved=0CDkQFjAFOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oum.ox.ac.uk%2Fthezone%2Fanimals%2Fextinct%2Fdodo.htm&ei=nTgbUsTSEoSi0QWfmIGQBA&usg=AFQjCNGhT2NEBYOmy3Or_-NS6iPy5X0dkA
and dodo don't taste nice
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=16&ved=0CDkQFjAFOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oum.ox.ac.uk%2Fthezone%2Fanimals%2Fextinct%2Fdodo.htm&ei=nTgbUsTSEoSi0QWfmIGQBA&usg=AFQjCNGhT2NEBYOmy3Or_-NS6iPy5X0dkA
edited 26th Aug '13 4:27:40 AM by minerva58
Lucky for me, every puzzle has an answer. Isn't that what you always say?
Same reason people eat caviar. Rule of Cool.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." Yogi Berra.
SYMBOLISM!!!!
Also, who knows? Maybe the fact that it's a magical creature influences the taste, if you can't prepare it with the right ingredients.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Not Actually Indie
In "total war", it is understood that absolutely every member of society, from the biggest to the smallest must do something to aid the war effort. Factories are re-purposed from commercial goods to tanks and ammunition, soldiers are conscripted and recruited by the millions, resources and food are carefully rationed to ensure the troops and their suppliers remain fed. The economy, the industry, the means of production, the news, the politics, all of it becomes a laser focused on the enemy's heart. Proving yet again that the best way to unite a group of humans is a large external threat.
Conscription and repurposing of civilian resources are not exclusive to total war. The difference in total war is not that civilian resources become weapons, but that enemy civilians and infrastructure become targets.
It's not really a recent concept either, just one that passed out of vogue at various points in history.
edited 26th Aug '13 10:56:03 AM by Desertopa
...eventually, we will reach a maximum entropy state where nobody has their own socks or underwear, or knows who to ask to get them back.
x5 (Lendary) No, I'm not referring to the use of magic and whatnot—I can accept alternative laws of physics. But it's hard to take the story seriously when the beginning chapters all made fun of the economy or the suspicious absence of muggleborns knowing about things like, "maths," and, "basic science," and never actually resolves those flaws. Rational!Harry is suddenly introduced to a fantasy world, and due to having a special power that about five (That's a generous number, by the way) other wizards have, he manages to outwit the majority of his elders, employ sleight of hand magic that amazes actual magic users, perfect two spells that were literally believed to be impossible, and both break someone out of Askaban and summon a phoenix.
If there's a reason for this—say, all other magic users are brainwashed at birth—then I suppose that's acceptable, if a bit of a cop out. It's also fine if it's a comedy. But the premise of the original chapters—and, by extension, all subsequent ones—is far too unrealistic for a drama.
edited 26th Aug '13 12:36:45 PM by Rem
Fire, air, water, earth...legend has it that when these four elements are gathered, they will form the fifth element...boron.
You'd be amazed at the heights of wilful ignorance.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." Yogi Berra.
5497 maxwellelvis26th Aug 2013 01:10:32 PM from undisclosed location
, Relationship Status: In my bunk
Mad Scientist Wannabe
That only goes so far.
Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great
There are about 2000 humans signed up for cryonics worldwide. Suppose that an additional 2000 would do so but haven't heard about it (Harry hasn't heard of it), and that a further 4000 would do so if they lived in First World countries and could afford it. That's on a planet with 7 billion people, so if there are 1 million wizards, the expected number of wizards who would take liquid nitrogen and use it to achieve immortality is on the order of 1.
Diricawls are dodos
The International Confederation of Wizards has not seen fit to reveal that the animal still exists, since it seems to have raised Muggle awareness of the consequences in slaying their fellow creatures indiscriminately.
Well, that's a little on the sanctimonious side. I've never been very fond of that particular stylistic tic of Rowling's, despite its pedigree in British children's fiction (compare the Narnia books).
edited 26th Aug '13 3:30:46 PM by Nornagest
I will keep my soul in a place out of sight,
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
Shadowed Philosopher
IIRC, wasn't the extinction of the dodo mostly because of animals that humans introduced into their habitat, which went after their nests? Hardly a warning cry of the dangers of overhunting, though ecological contamination is its own issue.
Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)
