JKR didn't say "No: was re: Life-saving bonds

[naamagatus]

No: HPFGUIDX 94666

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> > 

> But she didn't say that! She said, "Erm...I don't think so." And 
> since she knows all about Snape, that's evasive,IMO. An 
> interviewer wouldn't have let her get away with it, but fortunately 
> for her, there's no possibility for follow-up questions in a chat.
> 
> http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/JKRWorldBookDay2004.html
> 
> It's  like, "Mum, does this receipt from the bicycle shop I 
> found in the bin have anything to do with Bobby's Christmas 
> present?" At which point Mum realizes that little Bobby is 
> listening hard,  and says:
> 
> "Erm...I don't think so." Meaning, 'Well-spotted, but don't let's 
> spoil the surprise.' <g>


But in this case, when Mum says "I don't think so", she is telling a 
lie. It's a lie, because in common usage, if you ask somebody 
something, and they say "I don't think so", you take it to mean "as 
far as I know, no." As in (upon hearing of ESE!Lupin) I would 
ask, "Pippin, are you totally crazy?", to which you can answer, 
truthfully, "I don't think so." Meaning, "as far as I know, no, I'm 
not crazy." <g>

When JKR said "I don't think so", she knows (as anyone would who is 
an English speaker) that it's immediately interpreted as "as far as I 
know, no." So, if she said it and Snape *is* a vampire, then she 
deliberately tried to create a false impression with the 
participants; which is to lie. (In dictionary.com I found two 
definitions of lying, the seocnd one being: "Something meant to 
deceive or give a wrong impression.")
In Bobby's Mum case, the lie is justified, but in JKR's case? She 
could easily have chosen not to answer that question at all. In any 
case, we simply have to assume that she doesn't lie, or we can't take 
any of her answers seriously. 

BTW, her answer didn't at all strike me as evasive. It's the kind of 
thing you say, while raising your eyebrows - when a suggestion is 
very very far from making sense. That was how it "sounded" to me the 
moment I read it. 



Naama