Granger - technology - Snape - Triwizard Portkey - Lily

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 14270

Catlady:"The wizarding folk tell Harry that electricity and Sony 
Gameboys are the stuff Muggles invented to make up for our lack of 
magic. I feel that the real situation is more complicated. At first, 
Muggle tinkerers invented things to accomplish results they had seen 
when visiting wizards --indoor plumbing with flush toilets, for 
example. But at some point,Muggle inventions got ahead of wizarding 
magic, and the situation changed to wizarding folk trying to invent 
magic things to accomplish results that they see when visiting 
Muggles. For example, it is obvious from its NAME that the Wizarding 
Wireless Network was invented to imitate Muggle wireless -- they 
wouldn't be inspired to call a wave on in the air, a song on the wind, 
"wire less" since they hadn't had an earlier version WITH wires (i.e. 
the telegraph). I speculate that the transition occurred during the 
Gaslight Era -- gas lights were invented to imitate wizarding 
automatic candles and railway trains were invented to imitate 
wizarding self-propelled carriages. But electric light, an improvement 
over wizarding automatic candles (except when there are rolling 
blackouts), was an original Muggle invention."

Well spotted, as Hermione would say, but without the sarcasm.  There 
would have been a long period during which this cross-fertilization 
would have been dormant, when wizards were underground and feared 
repression.  The Industrial Revolution would have started the thaw, 
and the Gaslight Era it would have been really in high gear.  So 
you're suggesting that Muggle (or were they) inventors like Watt, 
Fulton and Edison at least knew some wizards or had contact with them.

I always got the impression that the WWN is like radio, not TV. And we 
haven't heard of anything like recordings that enable wizards to play 
their own music.  So you can't take your Weird Sisters stuff with you; 
you've got to settle for Stevie Nicks CD's.