Does Potterverse depend on numbers? WAS: Re: Dumbledore's age

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 176738

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Cathy Drolet" <cldrolet at ...> 
wrote:
> I'm not sure what you're saying but I'll try to explain myself. She 
made the series depend on dates when she dated CoS.
> 
> I believe JKR started the whole dating-of-the-books/I'm so bad at 
math saga when she wrote, in CoS: "Well, this Hallowe'en will be my 
five hundredth deathday," said Nearly Headless Nick. (Can Ed, pg 99) 
followed by: "and, in pride of place, an enormous grey cake in the 
shape of a tombstone, with tar-like icing forming the words, 'Sir 
Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington died 31st October, 1492'."  Prior to 
that, no one could really say that the events of PS took place in 
this year or that year.  But because of that one date, Potterites 
everywhere knew that October, in Cos, was meant to be 1992.  
<SNIP>
> She could have saved herself - and Potterville - a world of 
trouble, if she had never written "1492".  

Alla:

 You mean every time poor author mentions **one** date in the series, 
that means the book is dependent on dates?

YES, I wish she never wrote that date as well, but not because that 
made me calculating the dates in the book at all. That just made the 
fandom go calculating and I am not sure she meant that at all.

By the same token I can say that she only meant for that date to be 
that - the date of Nick's death - no more, no less.

Authors screw the dates to make everything that they need come 
together in the plot often and I do not think story suffers much from 
it.

IMO of course.

The example I brought up in past discussions was Jules Verne "Mystery 
Island". Did he screw the dates to bring up the characters from other 
two books of the trilogy? Oh YES - badly. Do I care? Not at all and 
while respect, will never understand why it matters much.

While **80 days around the world** by Jules Verne of course depends 
on the math - book main revelation is built around that.

What kind of revelation in Potterverse is built around numbers and 
math?

Alla, who really sympathises with JKR over maths.