Potions Master Question

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93956

Neri said:
Potions, on the other hand, seems to be less a distinguished field
than Charms and DADA, not to mention Transfiguration. It is important
because of its obvious utility, but it doesn't have a strong
theoretical basis, but seems to have its roots in the humble skill of
cooking.

 
Suzanne:
Cooking? I'd say it's more like chemistry, myself, which I consider a
highly distinguished field.

Carol:
Good comparison, Suzanne. Potions as a field of knowledge requires
great precision: Forget the hellebore in step 3, and your potion is
worthless. Snape values precision and has the logical mind of a
scientist, which is why he excels at Potions. He knows exactly how
much of each ingredient to add, in which order, how long and in which
direction to stir, etc., for every potion he teaches--and for other
tricky potions such as the wolfbane potion and veritaserum--much like
a pharmacist in the RW.

If we're going to compare potions making with cooking, it would have
to be with the skill of a French chef that enables him to make a
faultless souffle, not with Molly magically peeling potatoes or a
McDonald's employee flipping hamburgers.

Carol, who would undoubtedly be kicked out of cooking school on her
first day when she failed to break the egg one-handed