Lestranges in Azkaban /Muggle Science /Wizard Slackers /Poor KnowItAll

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 56895

LESTRANGES IN AZKABAN

FlamingStar Cathy wrote:

<< I think it relates to what Sirius said - that he stayed sane 
because he knew he was innocent. Since that wasn't a happy thought, 
they couldn't take it away from him. If the LeStranges aren't insane, 
I think it is because of something similar - except that their 
thoughts are probably pure evil, rather than thoughts of innocence. 
They've probably been planning all the things they want to do to 
wreck havoc when they get out. >>

I think that if the Lestranges were thinking of "all the things they 
want to do to wreck havoc when they get out", that would be happy 
thoughts for them, and thus the Dementors would be able to take those 
thoughts away. I think that the unhappy but true thought that the 
Lestranges kept may have been that they had FAILED to bring the Dark 
Lord back, the Dark Lord was still missing and might NEVER come back. 
Perhaps Mr Lestrange also thought of how his love for his wife had 
led him into this mess.

WIZARDS LEARNING MUGGLE SCIENCE

Emily F wrote:

<< I can't think of anything horrible that would come from the 
students learning more about the natural world. >>

Lexicon Steve post 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/13019 suggested:
<< Wizard Folk can't begin to understand how Muggle society operates 
without magic. They could probably be trained to think like a Muggle, 
but then might they not find themselves doubting that magic can work, 
since it isn't scientific or logical, and as a result might magic 
STOP working for them?
 
And, then, would that explain why all of us REAL Muggles can't 
a simply "Lumos" spell, no matter how hard we try? We just don't 
believe. So Muggle-born kids with magical power might never develop 
much of that power at all as they grow up; they would even lose it 
our Muggle schools educate the magic out of them. And might that be 
why advanced education of the kind we think is so important might 
actually be HARMFUL to a Wizard child? It would disrupt the 
philosophical underopinnings of Wizard society and turn them into 
(shudder) Muggles?

I think that would suggest a more urgent reason for separation of the 
two societies and possibly explain some of the prejudice some in the 
Wizarding community feel toward Muggles. Muggles are a real threat to 
Wizard culture, and not because they might burn someone at the stake 
or force them NOT to read fantasy books in school...  >>

While looking for my old posts on the topic below, I just found this 
Fantastic Post 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/33676 by Jenett! 
It deals with BOTH the economics topic below and the 'studying 
science' issue above. Of the latter, she wrote: 

<< My theory is that it's a paradigm difference. Perhaps, in order 
to have magic work for you, you need to have a certain attitude about 
how the world works. There's an aspect of native, inborn talent, but 
you also need to look at the world a certain way. What if part of 
that worldview needed to include the fact that while you might not 
mind technology, you didn't really care about it either? In other 
words, that if you had adequate light, you didn't really care whether 
it came from electric lightbulbs or magical light or lanterns, or 
whatever? Maybe you need to be the sort of person who is at least 
*just* as easily entertained by books or Quidditch matches as by 
watching television? >>

WIZARDING ECONOMICS

"ingachristsuperstar" wrote:

<< This makes me think of the slackers of the wizarding world, who 
learn the charm to conjure sandwiches so they never have to work ever 
again. OK, so maybe you can't conjure more complicated things, but I 
imagine if one's standards were low enough one could get by being a 
very very lazy witch/wizard. Makes one wonder how they get all the 
menial, low-paying jobs filled. >>

Maybe they don't have many menial, low-paying jobs to fill, as maybe 
they get most of that kind of work done by magic. Maybe the menial, 
low-paying jobs are filled by young wizards and witches who just want 
some money to buy a flying motorcycle or the latest fashion in robes. 
I have a lot of related speculation in my post 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/44028 which was 
titled: "re: Wizards' wealth, work, taxes, tuition, education, 
Squibs, HUFFLEPUFF" 

In my post http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/15062 
I said: << My current theory is there are no poor wizarding countries 
and no destitute people in wizarding society (except maybe werewolves 
and half-giants?) -- I now believe that in wizarding Britain, the MoM 
pays a stipend to every adult witch and wizard (not to children, or 
the Weasleys wouldn't have money troubles -- the children get free 
tuition to Hogwarts instead); some of them also have inherited wealth 
and some of them also have jobs. The salaries would be for people who 
want more in their life-style than the three square meals a day and 
roof over their heads provided by the stipend. 

In http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/12931 I said: 
<< All I can figure is that the publications and Quidditch teams and 
industries are really just 'paying hobbies' (in the case of sports 
teams, that's called 'semi-pro'). [snip] So if wizarding jobs are 
just labors of love, the things that Muggles do when we can take the 
time away from our day jobs, what do the wizarding folk do for a 
living? If they could conjure up all their housing and food and 
clothing and furniture (they *can* conjure up their transportation: 
Apparation), they wouldn't need money to live on, but the Weasleys 
wouldn't be so poor, right? So my guess is that every wizarding adult 
gets a stipend from the MoM (free tuition  at Hogwarts for the kids, 
but not a stipend, or having so many  children wouldn't make the 
Weasleys poor). >>

"Imamommy" :

<< Does anyone else think of this stuff? >>

Yes.

POOR KNOW-IT-ALLS

The scene being discussed begins:

'Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and 
the true wolf?' saidSnape.
 
Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose 
hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.

'Anyone?' Snape said, ignoring Hermione.

Mel Claros sided with Snape:

<< But I honestly wish I had a dollar for every time I have had to 
say to the same student something along the lines of "Yes, I'm sure 
you have the answer, but why don't we give someone else a chance 
this time?" >> << who'd rather give the kid with the wrong answer a 
chance.>>

If anyone else had WANTED a chance, they could have raised their hand 
when Snape asked the question. I'm sure they were all hoping that 
Snape WOULDN'T call on them. Great Merlin, that "give a chance" 
phraseology still enrages me. Doing something to a kid (calling on 
him) that the kid doesn't want, MAY be the way to educate him, but it 
is NOT giving him a CHANCE.

Shaun Hately wrote:

<< as someone who spent a large part of their childhood, stuck in 
classrooms that had been designed to be nice and comfortable for 
everyone except me (OK - that's an exageration, I wasn't the only 
one who missed out in those classrooms), I have to say that can be 
pretty soul destroying. >> 

I'm sure Snape never wanted any of his classrooms to be nice and 
comfortable for anyone except himself and maybe his few favorite 
Slytherins, but Mel (Melpomene?) was arguing that a classroom in 
which Hermione is not allowed to speak is a classroom designed to 
be an educational learning environment for everyone except Hermione.

Your word, "soul destroying", is a pretty good description of my 
elementary school experience: Teacher asks the class a question. I am 
the only person to raise a hand. Teacher looks at the class and says: 
"Doesn't anyone want to answer?" What am I, invisible?! Still no more 
hands go up. Teacher briefly scolds the class for no one even wants 
to *try*. Great, I'm not only invisible, I'm scolded for what I *FOR 
SURE* did not do! Poor Hermione was reflexively trying to *please* 
him, by showing that she is not guilty of what he was accusing the 
class of (ignorance). He punishes her for speaking, for trying to 
please him. 

I'm surprised that *you* would side with the typical schoolteacher 
desire to destroy Hermione for the sake of the better educating the 
other classmates.