Pottermore-

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Okay - I confess; I joined Pottermore, out of sheer curiosity. I want to know if, by any strange chance, I will sort to Slytherin, and also what sort of wand I get. Still, some things struck me at once (I've spent about 20 minutes exploring the first chapter):

When describing Number 4, Privet Drive, Rowling said that she chose the number four because she disliked that number, finding it hard and unforgiving. I believe those were the exact words! Do you suppose that feeling is limited to the number four, or might it extend to other numbers?

On a more serious note, she based the look and floorplan of the house on that of a house she lived in herself - and got wierded out because, without discussing it with her, the filmmakers got the floorplan exactly right.

And - this is fascinating! - she had to argue with the publishers, who wanted to convert all the British measurements into metric ones. She also said that Wizards can do complex calculations magically. Can they, really? Then why did we never see them doing this?

Oh, dear. Maths.

But I'm very glad that she talked the publishers into keeping the old fashioned measurements. Can you imagine a metric Wizarding World? I can't.

Comments

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

Only if the fans are dittoheads and/or the author's a narcissistic control freak. On the Warriors site, the forums have plenty of dissension, including fans saying they hate the heroes and love the villains. There's even a thread making fun of how certain minor characters are males in some books and females in others, or die in certain books, then are alive again in subsequent books. The authors admit that, with dozens of books and hundreds of characters, they make mistakes, and ask fans to let them know when they find a mistake so it can be corrected in future editions. They even make fun of their own mistakes. Horrors!

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

See, that sounds like a fandom that is actually healthy. There are quite a few things that I consider myself to be a fan of, but I don't usually get threatened when people say that they dislike them. Unless they are one of those annoying kinds of "haters" who just say that something sucks without being willing to expand on why they don't like it, I actually enjoy that kind of debate.

Maybe it just comes down to maturity. Which is weird, considering how many HP fans are at least a few years older than I am. (not that I am trying to gloat about how mature I am or anything)

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

Maturity has nothing to do with age. People can be stalled at all different levels of development no matter their age. For example, if someone is a drug addict, alcoholic, or abuse victim, their psychological development stalls at the age they were when they first became addicted or were abused.

That's one reason Harry seems so unpleasant: His development stalled when his parents were killed, so he's a pubescent child emoting like a toddler. An example is his being happy Mrs. Figg's leg was broken because it meant he could go to the zoo. Marionros is right that that's a disgusting attitude for an eleven-year-old to take, but it's perfectly appropriate for a fifteen-month-old.

[nx74defiant.livejournal.com]

Using magic seems to act like an addiction. That would explain why the adult Wizards in the Magical world have the maturity of a pre-teen. When they begin to seriously use magic at 11 their emotional and psychological development stalls.

[malic-ba.livejournal.com]

That would explain a lot! And it would make sense, too. The instant gratification possible with magic, the feeling of having your will come to life, could well be as addictive as any of our muggle 'behavioural addictions' - internet, sex, food, gambling - even if there's nothing literally addictive about the energy itself - which there could easily be. There's the trope of needing wisdom and discipline to control magical power - or purity, as in alchemy - perhaps the WW is what happens when that is forgotten?

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

Which would also make sense of why Severus and the Malfoys are among the few able to change. The First Step, after all, is
We admitted that we were powerless, that our lives had become unmanagable....