Paradox of Time Travel in PoA (long!)

[Sandra Collins]

No: HPFGUIDX 135874

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Troels Forchhammer 
<troelsfo at y...> wrote:
> I don't think there actually is a well-defined model for time in 
Potterverse because I don't think Rowling will have considered 
that -- math and physics: her mind doesn't work that way).
> 
> /Troels Forchhammer


Hi everyone, you're all getting tooo deep! Forget the maths and 
physics etc. The time nonsense in book 3 doesn't work because 
JKR didn't think it through - it's a remarkably simple flaw and 
goes like this:

Imagine you walk down the street, someone steps out of a 
crowd and shoots you. You die, or spend months in hospital.
In JKR's world it's possible for someone to knock the hand of the 
assassin at the last moment, the bullet misses, you live... and 
you immediately wonder who shot at you. You go back in time, 
stand in the crowd.. the gun is raised and YOU knock the hand of 
the shooter..
And that is never going to work in a million re-writes.

That's the underlying principle for the whole darn book, over and 
over again, whether its Hermione chucking seeds at Harry's 
head, Buckbeak being saved or whatever, but it's all best 
exemplified in the Death Eater scene. The only reason Harry 
survives is because... he saves himself!! No, no, a thousand 
times NO. JKR twisted the logic and most of her audience 
lapped it up. Dilemmas do occur with time travel, but some are 
just plain, simple, howlers. The third book is full of them 
because it wasn't planned out properly and the time travel was a 
shallow plot device of utter convenience.  Try The Guardian Of 
Time by CC Chambers for one that wallows in trying to work out 
all the dilemmas, and has a laugh with all the problems. I loved 
that, and its entirely responsible for me getting so irritated with 
the POA.  Up until I got immersed in the mad world of Aunt 
Agatha and Bob, the third book was my favourite.

Sometimes things can be very simple.

Sandra