# Does anyone else wonder why Harry Potter doesn't have serious brain damage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838 "2010-12-03T18:06:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/1 "2010-12-03T18:06:45Z")
I’m a Harry Potter geek. I have all seven books on CD, and they’re pretty much in continuous rotation in my car to listen to during my commute. Which means that I’ve listened to each book probably four or five times in addition to the first time I read them. Lately, I’ve been noticing something that I wonder if Rowling was even paying attention to: has anyone else noticed the fact that Harry gets hit in the head a _lot_? When he’s not being blown back into walls and hitting his head hard enough to see stars, he’s being knocked over backwards by various jinxes, blasted over so hard he hits the floor with his head by Snape during Occlumency lessons, and being hit by various Quidditch paraphernalia (bludgers, bats, etc.) during matches? I haven’t actually counted the number of times he’s done this over the course of the series, but I \*have \*noticed that nobody ever seems to think it’s a big deal. I mean, Madame Hooch hustles Neville immediately off to the hospital wing when he falls off his broom and breaks his wrist (as she should), but when Harry cracks his head hard enough to nearly knock him unconscious, they just pick him up and go on with whatever they were doing. This kid’s either got the hardest head in Britain, or else the whole wizarding thing is just a big illusion brought about by multiple concussions, and in the secret 8th book of the series he’s going to wake up in a Muggle hospital room after a 7 year coma and regret the loss of all his cool wizard fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/2 "2010-12-03T18:11:37Z")
Would you rather he developed Pugilist’s Parkinsons or something? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/3 "2010-12-03T18:11:57Z")
To be fair, his head was able to withstand a killing curse when he was one year old. After that, bludgers just bounce right off. If you want to see some reality applied to the Potterverse, read [this](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/4 "2010-12-03T18:19:02Z")
Wizards get hurt a lot in the books, get magical medical treatment and do just fine. Watch a quiddich game once, there are kids bouncing off poles and smacking into each other and they don’t even make them wear helmets. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/5 "2010-12-03T18:25:49Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#): > > If you want to see some reality applied to the Potterverse, read [this](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality). Heh. I posted a [topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13180255#post13180255)about that very story a couple of weeks ago. I’m slowly reading through it when I get some free time, and loving it! ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/6 "2010-12-03T19:50:35Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Heh. I posted a [topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13180255#post13180255)about that very story a couple of weeks ago. I’m slowly reading through it when I get some free time, and loving it! The author actually makes a point of mentioning that wizards and witches are much more physically resistant to damage than muggles. I thought it was a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/7 "2010-12-03T19:52:41Z")
A wizard did it. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/8 "2010-12-03T20:08:14Z")
Who takes more damage to the head, Harry Potter, Green Lantern, or Duke from G.I.Joe? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/9 "2010-12-03T20:20:01Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Who takes more damage to the head, Harry Potter, Green Lantern, or Duke from G.I.Joe? Curly Howard. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/10 "2010-12-03T20:57:00Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A wizard did it. You owe me a new monitor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/11 "2010-12-03T23:12:17Z")
Rupert Giles is the alltime “knocked out repeatedly with no noticable brain damage” championships. Unless you count his going home in a snit in Season 6. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/12 "2010-12-03T23:34:12Z")
Do you have some kind of evidence that I’m not aware of that he _doesn’t_ have serious brain damage? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/13 "2010-12-04T00:56:24Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Do you have some kind of evidence that I’m not aware of that he _doesn’t_ have serious brain damage? Bingo. No, seriously\*, with magical medical treatments, why not? Surely they can fix him up better than we Muggles can. \*For very small values of “serious”. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/14 "2010-12-04T02:16:56Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Bingo. No, seriously\*, with magical medical treatments, why not? Surely they can fix him up better than we Muggles can. \*For very small values of “serious”. Your footnote amused me far too much! Equally seriously, this would be way down my list of Potter-related implausibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/15 "2010-12-04T02:28:08Z")
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the enchantments. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/16 "2010-12-04T07:03:58Z")
Are any of his head injuries not caused by magic? Because it always seemed to me like magical injuries are not as bad as they would be in the muggle world. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/17 "2010-12-04T07:23:46Z")
There must be some kind of wonderful magical medicine, or else, some kind of Wizarding rule against parental lawsuits. Otherwise at least one kid would routinely be dead after every Quidditch match. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/18 "2010-12-04T10:49:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Are any of his head injuries not caused by magic? Because it always seemed to me like magical injuries are not as bad as they would be in the muggle world. It seems to me that having your arm deboned would be pretty bad if you had to rely on traditional medicine for your recovery. ---
**Author:** ![Chimi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Chimi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/19 "2010-12-04T12:11:10Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#): > > If you want to see some reality applied to the Potterverse, read [this](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality). Aaaand the last five hours of my life just went to getting me up to chapter 20. I hate you so much. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838/20 "2010-12-04T14:12:04Z")
Wizards are also “tougher” than humans- Neville bounced when his Great Uncle dropped him out a window, I think headfirst. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-wonder-why-harry-potter-doesnt-have-serious-brain-damage/562838.md?page=2)