Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

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R

Raemon777

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality

Ordinarily, the term "fanfiction" leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. But this particular Harry Potter re-imagining is really amazing, fanfiction or no. It depicts what might have happened if Harry was a child prodigy super genius. You will particularly enjoy this if you a) liked Harry Potter but cringed at all the ludicrousness of the wizard world, b) you in general love science and wish it got represented in fiction better.

While magic is part of the story, essentially Harry's main "superpower" is being a scientist. He literally solves most of his problems by analyzing the data, forming a hypothesis, running multiple trials to test said hypothesis and then adjusting his theories accordingly. (You might consider this a "Harry Potter", "XKCD" crossover).
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
That's extremely well written, especially for fan fiction. I actually want to read more.
 
R

Raemon777

Did you read the whole thing? It's currently 23 chapters long (and from the looks of it nowhere near finished, with some kind of overarching plot planned out).
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I have not read the whole thing yet. I stopped about 11 chapters in and then skipped to the very end to see how it would go, finding that it did indeed continue.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
This a recommended fanfic in Tvtropes, I considered reading it, but I am not sure if I have the time xp

well, Glee is over, maybe I should try xD
 
I

Iaculus

Definitely a fun ride - I have it on story alert. Only minor niggles are a couple of WTF-inducing moments here and there, like the rape conversation in Chapter 7, and the cheap shot at English-speaking cultures' work ethics in Chapter 23. To be honest, I'd say that it's only because of the sheer quality of everything else that these little bits stick out like the proverbial aching digits. One thing I do like is the acknowledgement that there is something deeply weird going on with Hypercompetent Rationalist Harry - it helps steer the story away from the obvious pitfall of Mary-Suedom.

Speaking of Harry Potter fanfics, End of The Line is an absolutely excellent little number that I'd place on par with Methods of Rationality, though for very different reasons. It's set after Deathly Hallows, and crosses over slightly with Discworld in a highly unusual manner. Seriously - you owe it to yourself to read it.
 
I

Iaculus

Honestly, Charlie, it would be interesting to see your reactions to actually reading this, given that you're so very much outside the target audience.

Then again, I've always been a fan of watching train-wrecks in action.
 
Calleja

Calleja

Holy fucking shit.

I just finished chapter 20 and.....holy fucking shit. This.... this is so fucking GOOD. I mean, it has its issues which clearly show the amateur status of the author... but the ideas behind it, and the way he handles internal dialogue, and some of the characters he created... goddamn, sir. Goddamn.

I'm already sad about the fact that I won't be able to know how it ends yet and I still have a few chapters left to go.

Thank you THANK YOU for pointing this out to me.. and since I have no previous experience with fanfic, please keep us updated on further progress on this?
 
R

Raemon777

It actually updates fairly regularly. Last week he added four chapters. Average since I started reading seems to be about one per week.

I'm curious (since I haven't actually had much discussion about the FLAWS of the work thus far) which parts you found amateurish.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
Raemon777 said:
It actually updates fairly regularly. Last week he added four chapters. Average since I started reading seems to be about one per week.

I'm curious (since I haven't actually had much discussion about the FLAWS of the work thus far) which parts you found amateurish.
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don't you mean last month?
 
R

Raemon777

Might have been two weeks ago, but it was definitely recent. About a month ago I read up to chapter 23, then I waited two weeks without any updates, then he released 3 updates over 6 days, then another week passed and 27 came out.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
Raemon777 said:
Might have been two weeks ago, but it was definitely recent. About a month ago I read up to chapter 23, then I waited two weeks without any updates, then he released 3 updates over 6 days, then another week passed and 27 came out.
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oh

I guess I din't noticed that, by the time that I reached 23 the rest already had been posted xD
 
I

Iaculus

Calleja said:
Holy fucking shit.

I just finished chapter 20 and.....holy fucking shit. This.... this is so fucking GOOD. I mean, it has its issues which clearly show the amateur status of the author... but the ideas behind it, and the way he handles internal dialogue, and some of the characters he created... goddamn, sir. Goddamn.

I'm already sad about the fact that I won't be able to know how it ends yet and I still have a few chapters left to go.

Thank you THANK YOU for pointing this out to me.. and since I have no previous experience with fanfic, please keep us updated on further progress on this?
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See the drop-down menu on the bottom-left of the page? I'm not sure if/how it works for those folks who don't have a Fanfiction.net account, but there's an option on that for 'Add Story To Story Alerts', which gives you an e-mail notification whenever a new chapter pops up.

Then again, it's not like making yourself an account is going to cost you anything, either.

Oh, and that fanfic I linked a bit of the way up the page? I think it would be right up your street, Calleja.
 
I

Iaculus

escushion;409395][QUOTE=Dave said:
I finished it last night. It's SO worth the read. This is publishable stuff.
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Or would be had the guy made up his own characters and setting for all his great ideas. As it is, he can't publish squat of it.[/QUOTE]

True, though 'pubilshable', as a term of praise for fanfic, generally refers to quality rather than legality. Like calling games 'cinematic' despite them not being films, if you catch my drift.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Iaculus;409403][QUOTE=escushion;409395][QUOTE=Dave said:
I finished it last night. It's SO worth the read. This is publishable stuff.
Click to expand...
Or would be had the guy made up his own characters and setting for all his great ideas. As it is, he can't publish squat of it.[/QUOTE]

True, though 'pubilshable', as a term of praise for fanfic, generally refers to quality rather than legality. Like calling games 'cinematic' despite them not being films, if you catch my drift.[/QUOTE]

Which is really my point.

And I had some other points written, but they said nothing nice about fanfics or fanfic writers, and I just noticed your signature, so I'm just gonna hold my piece.
 
I

Iaculus

Personally, though, I'd say that the overall poor quality is an issue with all kinds of Internet-fiction, from webcomics to wovels (gods, I hate that word). Self-published work has no built-in quality controls to filter out the worst excesses of Sturgeon's Law.

Then again, I have encountered some really, really awful published work, so I might attack the term from the other direction, if I were so inclined. But I digress.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
Guys does anyone know WHERE THE HELL Hagrid is?

escushion;409412][QUOTE=Iaculus;409403][QUOTE=escushion;409395][QUOTE=Dave said:
I finished it last night. It's SO worth the read. This is publishable stuff.
Click to expand...
Or would be had the guy made up his own characters and setting for all his great ideas. As it is, he can't publish squat of it.[/QUOTE]

True, though 'pubilshable', as a term of praise for fanfic, generally refers to quality rather than legality. Like calling games 'cinematic' despite them not being films, if you catch my drift.[/QUOTE]

Which is really my point.

And I had some other points written, but they said nothing nice about fanfics or fanfic writers, and I just noticed your signature, so I'm just gonna hold my piece.[/QUOTE]

Iaculus said:
Personally, though, I'd say that the overall poor quality is an issue with all kinds of Internet-fiction, from webcomics to wovels (gods, I hate that word). Self-published work has no built-in quality controls to filter out the worst excesses of Sturgeon's Law.

Then again, I have encountered some really, really awful published work, so I might attack the term from the other direction, if I were so inclined. But I digress.
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The worst part of bad fan fiction is that makes all the fan fiction looks bad and creates people like escushion that seem to believe that not being a professional author makes you writte like a 10 year old with mental problems. And I really want to know Escushion, do you bothered to read any bit of this fic in particular or are you just here to complain?
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Green_Lantern said:
Guys does anyone know WHERE THE HELL Hagrid is?

escushion;409412][QUOTE=Iaculus;409403][QUOTE=escushion;409395][QUOTE=Dave said:
I finished it last night. It's SO worth the read. This is publishable stuff.
Click to expand...
Or would be had the guy made up his own characters and setting for all his great ideas. As it is, he can't publish squat of it.
Click to expand...
True, though 'pubilshable', as a term of praise for fanfic, generally refers to quality rather than legality. Like calling games 'cinematic' despite them not being films, if you catch my drift.[/QUOTE]

Which is really my point.

And I had some other points written, but they said nothing nice about fanfics or fanfic writers, and I just noticed your signature, so I'm just gonna hold my piece.[/QUOTE]

Iaculus said:
Personally, though, I'd say that the overall poor quality is an issue with all kinds of Internet-fiction, from webcomics to wovels (gods, I hate that word). Self-published work has no built-in quality controls to filter out the worst excesses of Sturgeon's Law.

Then again, I have encountered some really, really awful published work, so I might attack the term from the other direction, if I were so inclined. But I digress.
Click to expand...
The worst part of bad fan fiction is that makes all the fan fiction looks bad and creates people like escushion that seem to believe that not being a professional author makes you writte like a 10 year old with mental problems. And I really want to know Escushion, do you bothered to read any bit of this fic in particular or are you just here to complain?[/QUOTE]

I read enough to see the writing was good, but my point in responding to Dave was, this guy being a good writer, he could've used his own characters and setting, having nothing to do with Harry Potter, and had it his own.

I wasn't worried about you overreacting, Iaculus; I didn't want to be impolite and offend you. That's why I'm not jumping on Green for his jumping to conclusions and misunderstanding my opinion, since I didn't and haven't made my position clear. I just think this guy could've written this as its own identity.
 
I

Iaculus

He could have, yes, but what's wrong with writing an interesting, deconstructive exploration of another series that's also an entertaining story in its own right? Methods of Rationality is as much a study of the Harry Potter novels as it is of the scientific method.

It's also worth noting that Yudkowsky has in fact written some original work of his own - even got some of it published, I think. This is just a hobby.
 
Green_Lantern

Green_Lantern

Staff member
If you are going to make a parody/descontruction of something, why to make up new characters and universe when using the already-made-one gives a much clearer message.
 
R

Raemon777

He could have made an official parody (and call it Larry Potter) but that honestly would have been a bit lame. He also could have just referenced generic fantasy tropes instead of Harry Potter in particular, but then he wouldn't get to employ a lot of techniques that require us to have very specific knowledge of what already happened.

Given that he IS already writing a real book, and he clearly has an itch to write this particular story, I don't think there's anything wrong with him doing it for fun in his spare time.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
Green_Lantern said:
The worst part of bad fan fiction is that makes all the fan fiction looks bad and creates people like escushion that seem to believe that not being a professional author makes you writte like a 10 year old with mental problems. And I really want to know Escushion, do you bothered to read any bit of this fic in particular or are you just here to complain?
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Fan fiction usually is trash. So, therefore, anything good that comes out of it has to really transcend itself from its peers.

That doesn't mean that all published work isn't trash, either.

But here's the thing. I don't have too much time on this planet. I'm going to hedge my bets a little. And if that means hurting some poor bastard's feelings on the internet? Oh well, so it goes.
 
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