[HPforGrownups] A Map of very little Brain?

[Leon Adato]

No: HPFGUIDX 43376


In part, Tabouli said:
********************
OK, so our comparison object is Riddle's diary, right?  What Tom did was
preserve his 16yo self in the pages of the diary, so that "one day, with
luck (he) would be able to lead another in (his) footsteps".  Sounds fairly
similar to what the Marauders could have done, doesn't it?  In the absence
of any further information, we could assume that what *they* have done is
preserve something of *their* 15yo selves in the Map so that one day, with
luck, *they* could lead another generation of rulebreakers into mischief.
....
Nothing to do with the objects themselves, right? Or was it?
....
Could they, like Tolkien's ring, have some say in their fate?  Can they rig
things so that they go to the person for whom they're destined?  What were
the real chances that Lucius would find Arthur Weasley and Ginny,
....
What were the real chances of Fred and George stumbling on so helpful an
object in Filch's no doubt huge filing cabinet collection, And conveniently
deciding that despite its extreme usefulness in their rulebreaking pastimes,
that they would give it to Harry?
....
I can't help wondering where those insults are coming from.  Was it
specifically programmed for Snape?

***************
And I counter:

We have seen two implementations of "thought transferrence" so far - the
riddle and the Penseive. I have to admit that I wonder, upon Dumbledore's
death, if someone (Harry, of course) might not find one or more Penseive's,
or a really huge Penseive, filled with the essence of Dumbledore. Not a
ghost, not a smokey "shade", but yet another way for someone to communicate
from beyond the grave.

But I digress....

I believe that the diary is imbued in a similar way to the Penseive. Siphon
off thoughts and place them into a recepticle. In the case of the diary, the
thoughts will then take on a life of their own. Informing (in the case of
the penseive) or reacting (in the case of the diary).

The map is a different object. Much more a tool than a repository of
thought. And my personal feeling is that it was imbued with functionality.
That it also took on the *personality* of the inventors seems to be part of
the imbuing process. Look at the Ford Anglia. I do not believe for a moment
that Arthur Weasly, speaker of the great quote "never trust anything..."
would unwittingly add a bring to his flying car. But it did express likes
and dislikes, and eventually took on a life of its own. But is it the same
as the diary?

I don't think the map or the Anglia can/would/will ever "aspire" to be more
than they are. The map will not seek to join with other maps, or to coax
someone to burn down the library to avoid competition. The Anglia will not
seek out other cars and foment revolution. They are what they are, and as
long as they are well-treated they will be content.

The diary (and, I think, the Penseive) would not remain static. They would
(the diary did!) attempt to evolve, progress, and attain. The diary had a
"brain". It showed thought and initiative to launch it beyond it's current
status. While the Anglia acted independantly for its own self-preservation,
it's still not the same.

As for the map's taunting, I think that it would not insult Mad-Eye Moody,
or even comment on his stunning hair style. It would have little to say to
Draco Malfoy. It would have interesting comments reserved for Dumbledore,
for McGonegal, and probably for Bertha Jorkins as well as Snape. It might
even be able to take shots at dear old Lucius. Because those were people the
Fab Four knew. Now how the map "knew" that Snape was a professor is a matter
of debate. Didn't Snape announce it himself? And wouldn't the programmers be
able to toss in

"Moony expresses disbelief that Snape ever became a ________"

where the blank could be filled in by whatever Snape himself said, or a
generic "5th year", or "student", or "member of the human race". Think about
it. Snape was brilliant. If he had become HB, wouldn't the map have been a
great way to poke fun? And haven't we already seen that happen (a la
"Humungous Bighead")?

That Snape became professor before he "found" the map was probably an event
beyond the imaginings of the Marauders.

One final note: I believe Dumbledore already has the main "function" of the
map in his office, somewhere. I can't believe, I refuse to believe that
Mooney et al were the first to come up with this kind of functionality. I
mean, come on! Anybody here have kids? This beats those stupid wrist-leash
thingy's hands-down. It's even better than the Weasley's clock. I think
Dumbledore knows where everyone is whenever he wants to, whether in a map in
his head or on the wall. He doesn't show up at the right time by luck. Not
by a longshot.

OK, someone here wants me to actually do work. Gotta run. Hope this makes
sense.

Leon