Space Time and Magic (from Main List)

[potioncat]

Potioncat here:
Alla posted this on the main list, and I wasn't clever enough to 
remember her subject line, or the number of the post. But, here it is:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812694554/ref=cm_rdp_product

Alla:

I do not know if I mentioned it here yet, but as I am sure many of
you did, I have read quite a few books about Harry Potter. For the
most part I remain completely unimpressed with the quality of the
scholarship. I mean, I have two or three books which I think of as
pretty good quality, the rest are in my opinion either stretching a
point big time to try and apply concepts to the world of Harry Potter
or usually describe something very obvious.

So, this book to me is for the most part stretching point big time,
but I figured I will try to finish it anyway.

One of the sixteen essays in this book is called "Space, time and
magic" by Michael Silberstein. He argues some pretty obvious points
in it such as that Magical world of potterverse is a part of our
world and we can figure it out by seeing that Platform 9 ¾, MoM and
Gringott are located in London, etc. Well, duh.

But then he also talks about magical travel means and the way he
talks about apparating made me want to ask you guys a question.

He is supposes that apparating is not like teleporting instantly, but
moving through the space.

He uses the wording from this GoF quote to show that Harry is moving
through space and not just instantly appears in another one:

"It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind
his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. His feet
left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of
him, their shoulders banging into his; they were all speeding forward
in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger was stuck to the
boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then - His
feet slammed into the ground; Ron staggered into him and he fell
over; the Portkey hit the ground near his head with a heavy thud. -
ch. 6"

And he talks about Molly mentioning splinting during Apparating, we
of course now have HBP to confirm that, this book was out before HBP.

So now I am finally coming to my question. This guy also talks about
apparating as creating sort of wormholes tunnels through time and
space, if we imagine space as some sort of elastic rubber. He says
that Theory of relativity does not prevent the possibility of those
tunnels in real life?

I mean, I know very little about theory of relativity besides general
definition, so can somebody with more scientific mind explain to me
how the Apparating is not in contradiction with it?

Thanks
Alla



Potioncat:
My response over there was "It's all hooey" and that a similar 
documentary had aired about the science of Star Trek.  First, I meant 
the book was hooey, not Alla's post or question. 

But, by the same token...it's someone saying "Wouldn't it be neat if 
we could.....(go to the moon) (carry phones around with us)...(time 
travel)....." that makes other people say, "Yes, and let's see how to 
do it."

I remember when Star Trek the first series was new. Doors did not 
open automatically for you, computers didn't talk to you, and there 
wasn't a small flip devise that allowed you to talk to other people 
or perform research on the spot.

As for wormholes...no thanks, sounds too much like rabbit holes, and 
you know what happens when you go down the rabbit hole.