World Building And The Potterverse

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 167242

>
> Shelley:
> 
> "Mars is bright tonight" can have several meanings, and only ONE of
them has
> anything to do with the calculation of how close it is to Earth and how
> often it occurs. <snip>

I spend many clear nights out on the lawn with a telescope so I have a
passing acquaintance with Mars. At its minimum it is dimmer than
Bellatrix, at its maximum it is brighter than Sirius. That is an
enormous range and the only sensible physical meaning of the phrase
"Mars is bright tonight" is tied to this. Atmospheric phenomena affect
the entire sky and Mars won't appear particularly bright or dim due to
them since everything else will vary by the same degree. In fact the
opposite is true. Crystal clear nights when everything is in fact
brighter than normal are chiefly notable because the transparency of
the atmosphere allows you to see things that are normally too faint to
see. Mars peeking through a hole in the clouds is unlikely to elicit
this comment.

The centaur certainly was making a mystical comment. I know that, you
know that, the centaur knows that. Given all the rest I do not believe
that the author knows that. 

> Shelley:
> 
> By the way, what the hell does tensor calculus have to do with time
travel?
> My husband is an engineer, he uses tensor calculus in his daily
professional
> life, and he agrees with me that your wisecrack about needing it to
be able
> to write any story involving time travel is just bullshit. 

Ken:

I thank you for your thoughtful and restrained language. Perhaps you
and your husband have heard of the concept of humor? I apologize if my
use of hyperbole offended you both. I am an engineer too and most of
my peers would have recognized that as a comedic exaggeration.

As to criticizing the author/plot/characters, you *have* read the
other posts on this list haven't you? My post contained nearly as much
compliment as critique. That makes it fairly mild by the standards of
this list. Perhaps we should rehash the Ton Tongue Toffee Incident for
your benefit....

Ken, who, all should remember, does not join lists to discuss books he
doesn't like and who only rarely joins lists to discuss books he
*does* like.