Hogwarts population again

[joym999 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 18492

One really cool thing about this group is that just when I think we 
have talked something to death, someone comes up with a new 
perspective.  

I liked Florence's suggestion that the houses other than Gryffindor 
are larger and that they are broken up into several groups.  So, 
maybe Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, etc. are in the 
Slytherin 1 group, who are scheduled for potions with the Gryffindors 
while the Slytherin 2 group has Herbology with the Ravenclaw 3 
group.  It would be easier, for scheduling purposes, NOT to divide 
students this way and to have the students in each class come from 
one house, but perhaps Dumbledore has done this in order to encourage 
more communication between the students of each house.  As Darreder 
points out, given that students are placed in their Houses based on 
their inner characteristics, it seems impossible that the House COULD 
be the same size.

On the other hand, I have five fingers, as my father always says.  
No, really though, even the logic of Florence's argument does not 
eliminate some of the other problems including, as she points out, 
that there are just not enough teachers unless they all use time-
turners and work 30 hours a day or something.  And there would still 
have to be about 140 students per year to make up a student body of 
1000, even if only 10 of the 140 went to Gryffindor.  Even if each 
student took only an average of 30 seconds to get sorted, the sorting 
ceremony would be over an hour long.  And wouldn't the Gryffindor 
table be noticeably shorter?

I think the most likely explanation is the JKR is one of those people 
whose sense of numbers is not very good.  I have taught and tutored 
math to many, many people, and this is very common.  I think there is 
other evidence for this, which I will comment on some other time.


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    /   \       Joywitch M. Curmudgeon
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  "How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?" said Harry.
  "Them!" said Stan contemptuously.  "Don't listen properly, do 
they?  Don't look properly either.  Never notice nuffink, they don'."

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