The benefits of metathinking/Missing 24 hours

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 42426

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., eloiseherisson at a... wrote:
> At the risk of sounding terribly naive and ignorant, I wonder if 
> someone would just define the word "metathinking" again for those 
> of us for whom it is not part of our everyday vocabulary and whose 
> dictionaries don't contain it?
> 
> I would ask off-list, but I suspect I'm not the only one who's a 
> little uncertain.

OOPS!
Sorry. And me somebody who had to look up 'paradigm' recently. :-)

Meta-thinking  
the 'meta' is from the Greek, and like in meta-morphosis denotes a 
*change* - of position or type.

Meta-thinking is generally when you move from one level of thought 
(internal, canon based arguments) to a higher, possibly more abstract 
level of thought (my reaction to canon). And then you can meta-think 
again, to yet another level (how much has JKR used technique in 
provoking my reaction to canon).

So - I'm thinking about canon, then I'm thinking about how I react 
to/think about canon, then I'm thinking about how JKR was thinking 
when she made me think about canon.

The term's used in computer science quite a bit, because it's a 
really good way of describing the shifts in level you need to make 
when considering whether you need to look at the detailed machine 
code, a higher level programming language, or the entire computer 
system.

'Meta' is used in much the same way in 'metalanguage' (if there are 
any linguists among us) - a higher level language which is talking 
about language itself.

It can also be slang for 'thinking outside the box' - lateral 
thinking, because you *change* (meta) your *thinking* method.

> 
> Eloise
> (Deeply flattered that Pip liked her development of the 'It Wuz 
> Snape' theory.)

Well, it *is* better [grin].
_____________________________________________________________________

Timeturner:
In PoA [UK hardback, pp288-289] when Hermione uses the Time Turner, 
she not only takes Harry and herself back three hours, she also moves 
them from the Hospital wing to the Entrance Hall.

So if Hagrid used the Time Turner to move himself and Harry forward 
twenty four hours, why couldn't he also use it to move the two of 
them to Privet Drive? Why use the motorbike at all?

Pip
(who reckons that Time Turner is going to turn up again somewhere).