Intentionality & Magic

[Aberforths_Goat]

No: HPFGUIDX 4552

> This whole "intent" thing just seems so important to understanding
> magic. We are SO stuck in our perfectly logical scientific way of
> looking at things (obviously, since that's the way our world works)
> that it's hard to see that the Wizarding World just operates by
> different logic.

Bravo Steve!

Every once in a while I have the feeling that we're trying to explain
certain HP questions using the wrong set of premises. A while back, I read
posts in which people were proposing that Harry's blood would cause a
catastrophic reaction in the Big V's immune system. Hey Presto!--Voldy dies
of the measles ... That's an exagerated example, but it can apply to less
wacky analysis, too.

Certain rules of rationality *do* apply to magic (I mean, Skelegro doesn't
ever seem to do what Pepper Up does), but the intent (or needs) of the
magician seems to create the context in which the magic works.  We're so
used to computers that we can't quite imagine anything simply working
without requiring a Ph.D. in information technology, 37 beta cycles and the
intelligence (or lack thereof) required to wade through 18 magabytes of
useless information, in hopes of finding the file I started last Thursday.
And that, I think, is precisely why wizards stick to magic.

Of course, if the magic in the map was smart enough to figure out which
information was or was not pertinent to Harry, one can also wonder why it
*wasn't* smart enough to print BARTY CROUCH JR.--SERIUOSLY EVIL BADGUY!!! in
flashing red letters and do a little police siren imitation ...

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray)
http://profiles.yahoo.com/aberforths_goat