Why *I* like TBAY, from a bad TBAY writer

[Amanda Geist]

Since nobody asked, I am giving my opinion.

I love TBAY posts, although I personally suck at writing them and only
rarely get cameos in other people's. Part of the reason is that I love that
whole "pick up the ball and run with it" thing, where stuff from one
person's post shows up in other people's; it's so fun to see how people pick
up on things. Like the other professors following Snape's lead with
Lockhart.

The other reason is more solidly analytical. There was once a memory method;
I cannot recall the name of it, but it involved mentally constructing a
house or some structure, to the degree that you could "walk" through it,
know what the rooms were, "see" the place in your mind. Then, you used the
structure to store memories. You did a visual mnemonic for things you wanted
to remember; you "stored" memories "in" the house somewhere. This mental
discipline allowed you to put the memory there, and then "forget" about it,
because it was stored; until you were walking through that room again and
saw the trigger for the memory.

As I said, I do not remember details, but this was a mental discipline long
ago, before ready access to paper and pen, or even ready access to literacy.
It was a visual and nonlinear thing, using objects and associations.

Those who practiced it extensively would find that their subconscious might
move things around; they would find associations between ideas that they had
not consciously realized, but found when they went "into" their memory
house. It became not just a storehouse, but an analytical tool.

TBAY is reminiscent of this, for me. TBAY has given life to theories and
ideas. They walk around, serve drinks, interact, wash the dishes. They have
taken on an existence external to their creators; other people can take them
and make them do things. This ability to manipulate theories and ideas
independently from their creator allows links, ideas, connections,
possibilities, to flourish. It becomes almost an analytical tool.

It does this without losing one bit of the fun. It is hysterical to read
some of the stuff that people do; the souvenir shop had me on the floor. But
the souvenirs themselves, what had been done to them, was and accurate
reflection of the status of theories, and it was presented, as TBAY always
is, in an almost allegorical form.

That must be it--the allure of the allegory--for allegory as a form is meant
to be enjoyed on more than one level. You are intended to experience the "on
the face of it" while still not missing the deeper message. It's like
watching two things at once. TBAY does this.

Okay, that was long-winded. But I have been asked to speak at a local MENSA
group on Harry Potter, and as I was typing this, it occurs to me that (other
than showing them the Nimbus programming list) that this is a superb topic.
I think TBAY is probably the most creative analytical tool I've seen in the
fandom yet. So your input on this would be appreciated.

~Amanda