# Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894 "2017-08-17T20:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/1 "2017-08-17T20:28:59Z")
So for the first time since like… 10 years ago, I just spent multiple days reading a book straight through, front to back, pausing only when I absolutely had to for work, food, and sleep. I cannot remember the last time a literary work so captured my imagination. [http://www.hpmor.com](http://www.hpmor.com) Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is technically fan fiction. It’s also about as long as the first five Harry Potter books put together, a beginner’s introduction to various logical concepts underpinning rationalism, and one of the funniest things I’ve read in quite some time. A few highlights: [ul] [li]Harry Potter teaching wizards the scientific method[/li][li]A dark ritual whereby one sacrifices the elder gods in order to summon Harry Potter[/li][li]101 creative uses for a timeturner[/li][li]101 creative uses for transfiguration when you know about muggle technology[/li][li]A very convincing argument as to why the snitch is everything wrong with quiddich[/li][li]The ethical implications of Azkaban[/li][/ul] Basically imagine if J. K. Rowling had a threesome with Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, and they did so while rolling around in a bed made out of printouts from LessWrong and script notes from TeamFourStar, and you might get some idea of how this book works. I cannot recommend it highly enough, although admittedly the first chapter or two are a bit slow. (The work itself recommends that the piece hits its stride around chapter 5, and if you don’t like it by chapter 10, give up.) Give it a look. I promise, it’s worth your time if you were ever into Harry Potter. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/2 "2017-08-17T21:01:23Z")
It’s been described here previously as _Ender Wiggins Goes to Hogwarts_, and I can’t disagree. I liked the piece, though, particularly a section where Harry explains the trap of confirmation bias to Hermione, but I started to lose it in some of the later chapters when the author kept introducing relatively obscure characters from the Potter series, and since I never read any of it, the story became harder to follow and I didn’t finish. One day, though. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/3 "2017-08-17T22:14:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s been described here previously as _Ender Wiggins Goes to Hogwarts_, and I can’t disagree. I liked the piece, though, particularly a section where Harry explains the trap of confirmation bias to Hermione, but I started to lose it in some of the later chapters when the author kept introducing relatively obscure characters from the Potter series, and since I never read any of it, the story became harder to follow and I didn’t finish. > > One day, though. I literally don’t know any of the characters except in the books. They’re not really important. And the Ender’s Game stuff is honestly skippable, if you really want. Though I don’t get why “kids fight other kids” is Ender’s Game. It’s not as if the twist for Enders Game is in this. These are just kids doing tournaments. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/4 "2017-08-17T23:15:18Z")
Started it, found it insufferable and gave up I’m afraid. Which is weird because I find the whole rationalist thing pretty interesting. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/5 "2017-08-17T23:33:00Z")
Not meaning to dump on the OP, but there are a LOT better Harry Potter fan writers. I heartily suggest the work of an author I know only as **little0bird.** She [wrote 23 stories of varying length](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1443437/little0bird) in that world, and I honestly thought some of her best work was better than the first few of Rowlings. She even manages to redeem and and make sympathetic characters like Dudley. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality/793894/6 "2017-08-18T08:26:07Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s been described here previously as _Ender Wiggins Goes to Hogwarts_, and I can’t disagree. I have never read Ender’s Game, but judging from what I’ve heard about the character, that does seem quite apt. And very funny. > [@](#): > > I liked the piece, though, particularly a section where Harry explains the trap of confirmation bias to Hermione, but I started to lose it in some of the later chapters when the author kept introducing relatively obscure characters from the Potter series, and since I never read any of it, the story became harder to follow and I didn’t finish. > > One day, though. Perhaps to sweeten the deal: the grand finale is absolutely glorious in all the best ways. The author literally posed his readers a “final exam” to use only their brains and rationality to get Harry out of a seemingly impossible death trap - quote: “If a viable solution is posted… the story will continue to Ch. 121. Otherwise you will get a shorter and sadder ending.” It does not disappoint. 😃