SneerClub

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Hurling ordure at the TREACLES, especially those closely related to LessWrong.

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General HPMoR sneer collection (awful.systems)

submitted 3 weeks ago by blakestacey@awful.systems to c/sneerclub@awful.systems

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Since Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is apparently still a thing, I figured I'd spend a few minutes before fediverse monster-movie night to collect relevant links:

And a question dug up from one of those old threads: OK, so, Yud poured a lot of himself into writing HPMoR. It took time, he obviously believed he was doing something important — and he was writing autobiography, in big ways and small. This leads me to wonder: Has he said anything about Rowling, you know, turning out to be a garbage human?

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[–] gerikson@awful.systems 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I read HP before JK came out as a rabid reactionary, and while I didn't rate the later books the first 3 or 4 were decent YA fantasy. You could see the lineage of classic British public school stories (if you want a better example, check out Kim Newman's Drearcliff Grange series) and there's enough allusions to classic myth and fantasy to keep the wheels on the cart. But somewhere around there Rowling became richer than God and could basically fire anyone who disagreed with her.

[–] YourNetworkIsHaunted@awful.systems 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah. I think the "uninterested in world building" comment came off harsher than I meant it. Not every fantasy author is going to be Tolkien and exhaustively craft the mythologies, languages, and cultures that make up their secondary world ahead of time. That kind of extensive detail should be able to answer at least some of the kind of questions Yud brings up here, even if they're not relevant to the narrative. HP is more interested in getting into the action of the scene rather than the overarching design of the world, and so the world building plays out the same way. We learn about the kinds of snacks available on the train or the specific wand motions Harry practices in charms class, but not the details of how space folds around platform 9 & 3/4, or through what theoretical underpinnings wizards are able to contradict the otherwise-applicable laws of physics.

My biggest point of disagreement with Yud is that this choice isn't actually a weakness of the story, even if it means it doesn't meet this one particular form of scrutiny.

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 5 points 3 weeks ago

I've read some SF/F where the author is way more into worldbuilding than their readers are...