Potions, the Book, and a New/Old Perspective

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 165292

---  "sistermagpie" <belviso at ...> wrote:
>
> ---  "Steve" <bboyminn@> wrote:
> >
> > Regarding the 'Harry Cheated in Potions' threads that
> > are in progress. ...
> > 
> > ... The implication is that he is cheating because
> > he is taking credit for work that isn't his.
> > 
> > But isn't that exactly what all the students are 
> > doing? Aren't they all working from Snape's 
> > instructions written on the board, or following a 
> > formula and procedure written in their own textbooks?
> > How is what Harry doing any different than what all 
> > the students are doing, other that he is simply 
> > taking his formula and instructions from a different
> > source.
> > 
> > ...
> 
> Magpie:
> ...
>
> Anyway, that's why I think there's a reason this 
> subject is so up for debate. Harry's obviously not 
> "cheating" in the sense of having the answers to a 
> test written on his hand. He's usually doing exactly 
> what every other kid is doing in the class is doing in
> terms of following a formula from a book to make a 
> Potion. But there are many ways that validate the 
> feeling that he's cheating--ways that I think Harry 
> would feel were cheating if Theodore Nott were doing 
> it, let's say. ....
> 
> -m
>


bboyminn:

Oohhh...what a wonderfully delicious reply. My...my... I
hardly know where to begin. I did like what you said about
brooms and Quidditch, and within a certain context, I 
agree. I may address that issue later, but in a sense, 
what I am about to say now, does also address that issue.

This very much reminds me of my many Big Letter/little
letter arguments in the past. There are /dark arts/ then
again, there are /Dark Arts/, the two not necessarily
being the same. There is /abuse/ and there is /Abuse/,
the two not necessarily being the same. Well, in this
case, and I'm sure much to your surprise, I agreee there
is 'cheating' then again their is /Cheating/, the two not
necessarily being the same. 

In the sense that it /feels/ like cheating I agree. In
the sense that if the other students found out, they 
would call it 'cheating', I agree. But I don't think the
teachers would consider it Cheating. If they found out,
there might be some adjustments to classroom procedure,
but no punishment for Harry. 

Keep in mind that Harry is actually good at Potions; no,
he's not great, but he does produce the results he 
produces, and that is what he is being graded on. I 
suspect, if there were other true Potions Geeks in the
class, they would have had many outside references, and
would have improved on the textbook formulas themselves.

This is why Herione infuriates me so. She knew there were
better formulas, yet doggedly sticks with formulas she 
knows are bad. That's not the 'run to the Library' 
Hermione that I know and love. If she hadn't been so 
stubbornly /against/ that book. She would have gone to
the Library and found a real authorized official book to
help her rather than relying on some dodgy notes written
in the margins of some old book. 

I feel the same about the other students. They could 
feel and suspect that Harry had some advantage, and
smart students would have sought out an advantage of 
their own. But I don't get the sense that there are
any /real/ Potions geeks in the class; people who have
a very deep and real passion for potions. Even the 
best students, Hermione and Draco, are just there to
pass the test and move on. They want good grades, but
they don't have the passion to pursue the subject 
beyond the classroom.

Harry on the other hand, does pursue the subject beyond
the classroom. It's just that he doesn't really have to
go very far or work very hard to achieve his advantage.
Students do this all the time. The straight 'A' student
are so, because they study hard and seek references 
beyond the textbook, so that they understand the subject,
and always get top grades.

Not that doesn't apply 100% to this class, because I 
get the sense that theory and versitility are not the
goal. It seems to be a practical experience class; 
Learn to Brew by Brewing. The teacher simply gives 
them a formula, and they pratice making it, but 
again, method is incidental to outcome. If the RESULT
is right, then the student has done well. 

As to the classroom Bezoar incident. It doesn't matter
how or why Harry did what he did. What matters is the
teachers evaluation of his result. Slughorn seemed 
very please with Harry's results, and unless my memory
evades me, he even awardes some House Points. The
assignment wasn't follow these rules, it was get this
result. Now certainly Hermione, the other students,
and the teacher saw that Harry hadn't done the work,
but he has achieve the desired result and did so with
available potion ingredients. What more can anyone 
ask.

So, I'm sure the students were furious. As far as they
are concerned, Harry 'cheated', but the teacher doesn't
seem to think that Harry /Cheated/. In the sense that
it feels like 'cheating' to the other students, it's 
true. But in the formal academic sense, it is not.

Maybe now that I've rambled on for paragraphs, I can
briefly touch on Harry's broom. If you take an idiot
and put him in the fasted car, and take a racing 
genius and put him in a moderately crappy race car,
it is likely that the racing genius will win the race.
No car is ever faster that the driver who is driving it.

That is true of brooms too. Harry's broom, though I'm
not sure which one, is capable of Zero to 150 in 10
seconds. That doesn't mean 150 is the top speed, it's
just the speed after 10 seconds of acceleration. The
Quidditch pitch is pretty darn big, huge by most 
standards, but it is not 0 to 150 in 10 second of 
/dynamic free flight/ big. You can't make abrupt 
manuvers at 150 miles an hour clinging to the back of 
a stick. So, instinctive judgement, the ability of the 
rider to know his limits and to safely push himself near
them are far more important than the absolute limits of 
the broom itself. Skill in the confined space of the
Quidditch Pitch is far more important that raw speed
or acceleration. So, NO, having a faster broom is
of no advantage unless you have the skill to fly and
control it.

Just a whole lot more...more.

Steve/bboyminn