Wizard demographics?

[frantyck at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 25437

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Elbereth <elbereth at d...> wrote:
> If we can take Europe as typical, then we can expect approximately 
three
> schools of witchcraft & wizardry per continent -- and I am more than
> willing to entertain conjectures that there might be fewer in 
Australia and
> more in North America, simply by virtue of population base.  Six 
habitable
> continents, times three (on average) schools per continent, gives us
> eighteen schools.  Call it twenty, round numbers are more 
attractive.  ;-]


Three schools per continent doesn't sound quite right: there are 
fifty times as many people in Asia as there are in England. You'd 
never fit all those pupils into three schools.

What I'd love to hear about is the way in which African, Chinese, 
Indian and Japanese magical traditions differ from European ones. I 
heard mention somewhere in the books (or was it in fanfic) about 
flying carpets being exotic magical items, and those Egyptian wizards 
did extreme things to the tombs. English witches and wizards *are* 
Englishmen and women, no doubt about that, so other magical people 
must have very independent magical traditions and culture.

Then there's the whole question of international wizarding politics. 
And -- why is it that magical people don't feel a sense of 
stewardship towards Muggles in unfortunate parts of the world? The 
health of one affects the health of the other, surely?

Etc. Probably OT, but interesting.

Rrishi