Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Review of harry potter chess::Making Chess Pieces?







Review of harry potter chess::Making Chess Pieces?








               This               article               was               originally               published               on               The               Triple               Helix               Online               blog.

View               the               article:               triplehelixblog.com/2011/05/harry-potter-why-do-muggles-hate-magic/
               "Knew!

Knew!

Of               course               we               knew!

How               could               you               not               be,               my               dratted               sister               being               what               she               was?

Oh,               she               got               a               letter               just               like               that               and               disappeared               off               to               that               '"               that               school               '"               and               came               home               every               vacation               with               her               pockets               full               of               frog               spawn,               turning               teacups               into               rats.

I               was               the               only               one               who               saw               her               for               what               she               was               '"               a               freak!"               [1]               So               said               Harry               Potter's               Muggle               aunt,               Petunia               Dursley,               whose               family               would               have               otherwise               had               a               perfectly               wizard-free               life               if               her               sister               had               not               been               born               a               witch.

Under               no               circumstances               would               she               or               her               husband               have               allowed               Harry               to               become               aware               of               his               magical               origins.

Earlier               in               her               life               she               loathed               the               inordinate               pride               her               parents               showed               in               having               a               witch               as               a               daughter,               an               extremely               rare               occurrence               among               Muggle               families.

As               an               adult,               she               resolved               to               completely               shun               every               aspect               of               the               magical               world               from               her               life.

She               shuddered               at               any               mention               of               her               sister's               family,               and               when               Harry's               parents               died,               the               Dursleys               raised               Harry               in               their               home               with               utter               disdain.

Although               he               was               initially               unaware               of               his               magical               origins,               his               guardians               often               chastised               him               for               unintentional               and               odd               behavior,               such               as               causing               a               glass               window               to               disappear               or               growing               his               hair               back               from               a               haircut               overnight               [1].
               But               what               exactly               causes               Harry               Potter's               Muggle               family               to               fear               magic               so               much,               and               how               can               understanding               this               shed               light               on               ways               in               which               we               interact               with               technology               in               our               own               society?

The               wizarding               and               Muggle               worlds               are               actually               quite               similar               in               some               respects;               both               are               characterized               by               rampant               greed               and               consumerism.

As               such,               one               would               expect               that               the               wizarding               world               would               appeal               to               Muggles,               but               this               is               not               the               case.

Perhaps               the               attitudes               that               Muggles               have               towards               magic               arises               from               the               longevity               of               the               Dursleys'               exposure               to               it;               they               may               have               spent               so               much               time               with               Harry               and               his               mother               that               particular               aspects               of               magic,               especially               the               seemingly               non-human,               disillusioned               them               in               ways               that               did               not               affect               Muggles               who               had               little               or               no               contact               with               the               wizarding               world.

Those               "non-human"               aspects               may               include               the               strange               ways               in               which               wizards               position               themselves               in               relation               to               magic               and               other               creatures,               and               their               behavior               in               the               Harry               Potter               series               encourages               us               to               reflect               on               the               ways               in               which               we               interact               with               our               own               technology.
               Comparing               the               wizarding               world               to               the               Muggle               world               will               allow               us               to               analyze               the               causes               of               the               Dursleys'               contempt               of               magic               thereby               helping               us               elucidate               the               fundamental               differences               between               these               two               realms.

Elizabeth               Teare,               an               English               professor               at               the               University               of               Dayton,               suggests               that               the               Dursleys'               attitude               arises               from               the               distance               between               their               commercialized               world               and               Harry's               "purer"               one               [2].

But               throughout               the               series               the               entire               wizarding               world               shows               a               greedy               side               to               its               character               not               unlike               that               of               Muggles.

In               fact,               the               notion               of               greed               presents               itself               at               the               outset               of               the               series,               when               the               sign               reading               "Enter,               stranger,               but               take               heed               of               what               awaits               the               sin               of               greed               --               "               welcomes               Harry               into               Gringotts               Wizard               Bank               [1].

The               mere               existence               of               a               bank               in               the               wizarding               world               signals               the               fact               that               wizards               have               subscribed               to               an               economy               much               like               ours.

Wizards               cannot               simply               conjure               riches;               their               magical               abilities               are               limited.

Thus,               a               wizard               like               Mr.

Weasley               has               to               support               his               large               family               by               working.

Such               concerns               for               money               contribute               to               differences               in               wealth;               the               poorer               Weasleys               contrast               sharply               with               the               wealthier               Malfoys               [3].
               This               greed               in               both               the               wizarding               and               Muggle               worlds               hints               towards               a               larger               phenomenon               that               they               both               share:               consumerism.

In               Harry               Potter               and               the               Prizoner               of               Azkaban,               Harry               himself,               not               as               "pure"               as               Teare               suggests,               is               drawn               to               the               Firebolt,               whose               "aerodynamic               perfection",               "unsurpassable               balance",               and               "pinpoint               precision"               significantly               dwarfs               those               of               Malfoy's               Nimbus               Two               Thousand               and               One               [2,               4].

Young               wizards               collect               trading               cards               [1,               5],               and               visit               a               local               village               to               buy               candy,               toys,               and               butterbeer               [2,               4].

Acquiring               these               possessions,               especially               the               latest               broomsticks,               becomes               a               sort               of               status               symbol,               and               indeed,               serves               as               an               essential               part               of               the               wizarding               life.

Students               at               Hogwarts               cannot               perform               any               magic               without               first               buying               their               materials:               spellbooks,               cauldrons,               wands,               and               the               like               [1,               2].
               As               such,               the               consumerist               behavior               rampant               in               the               wizarding               world               resembles               that               which               we               see               in               the               Muggle               lifestyle.

At               a               young               age,               Dudley               Dursley               is               already               constantly               pampered               by               his               parents               with               sweets               and               toys.

On               his               eleventh               birthday               he               received               thirty-seven               presents               and               still               demanded               two               more               because               he               had               received               thirty-eight               gifts               the               year               before;               he               stored               his               toys               in               a               second               bedroom               that               he               used               in               addition               to               the               bedroom               that               he               actually               slept               in.

Nearly               everything               in               the               room               was               broken,               except               for               shelves               filled               with               books               that               remained               untouched               [1].

And               like               the               wizards'               implicit               use               of               broomsticks               as               a               status               symbol,               the               Dursleys               try               to               keep               up               with               the               latest               technologies               not               for               the               sake               of               practicality,               but               rather               appearances.

Dudley               is               too               fat               to               ride               his               new               bike               and               does               not               need               his               new               computer;               his               parents               seem               to               replace               their               traditional               fireplace               with               an               electric               one               simply               for               the               sake               of               having               bought               the               most               fashionable               model               [3].

In               these               ways,               the               wizarding               and               Muggles               worlds               both               end               up               sharing               the               same               qualities               of               consumerism.

Thus,               it               is               more               likely               that               the               Dursleys'               scornful               attitude               towards               Harry               arises               not               from               his               being               allegedly               "purer"               than               his               Muggle               family,               but               rather               from               inherent               differences               between               both               the               magical               and               Muggle               worlds.

But               what               could               these               differences               be?
               An               analysis               of               wizards'               relationship               with               magic               can               be               extended               to               an               analogous               relationship               between               Muggles               and               technology.

Margaret               J.

Oakes,               an               English               professor               at               Furman               University,               suggests               that               both               magic               and               technology               are               used               as               ways               to               control               our               natural               environment               [3].

Science               and               engineering               allow               us               to               surpass               the               limitations               we               faced               only               a               few               decades               ago,               while               magic               allows               wizards               to               become               invisible,               transform               into               animals,               transport               themselves               to               their               destinations               in               an               instant,               or               create               light.

In               these               ways,               wizards               and               Muggles               alike               use               their               abilities               to               change               their               environments               to               their               advantage.
               Perhaps               the               ways               in               which               Muggles               and               wizards               interact               with               their               environments               play               a               role               in               transforming               their               own               human               nature               to               the               point               of               becoming               almost               non-human.

Peter               Appelbaum,               a               professor               of               curriculum               theory               and               math/science/technology               education               at               Arcadia               University,               argues               that               in               building               machines,               humans               have               used               their               powers               of               creation               and               destruction               to               assume               a               dominant               position               of               "creator",               which               may               possibly               be               one               step               further               in               the               evolutionary               process               [5].

Oakes               suggests               that               humans               have               ascribed               a               sort               of               consciousness               to               their               technologies               to               the               extent               that               there               is               a               sense               of               familiarity               as               we               interact               with               them;               "we               converse               with               them,               learn               the               idiosyncrasies               of               their               workings,               curse               them               for               perversely               inexplicable               actions,               and               cherish               or               disdain               them               according               to               their               cooperation               with               our               needs"               [3].

Perhaps               in               this               way               we               have               become               "creators"               in               the               sense               that               we               have               humanized               our               technology.
               If               Muggles'               interactions               with               their               technology               uniquely               transform               their               own               human               existence,               then               it               follows               that               wizards'               interactions               with               their               magic               shape               their               human               existence               in               a               distinct               way.

Indeed,               wizards               are               in               a               position               superior               in               power               to               humans,               but               their               refusal               to               abuse               this               dominance               returns               them               almost               '"               if               not               completely               '"               to               the               same               level               as               humans.

The               Unforgivable               Curses,               to               which               Muggles               are               defenseless,               allow               wizards               to               kill,               torture,               or               control               the               wills               of               their               victims,               but               the               magical               community               freely               chooses               to               prohibit               wizards               from               using               these               curses               [6].
               Not               only               does               the               wizarding               world's               restraint               set               them               equal               to               Muggles,               but               wizards               also               interact               with               magic               itself               as               equals.

While               Muggles               confer               the               human               element               in               technology,               wizards               are               interacting               with               magic               that               already               contains               a               degree               of               consciousness.

To               enter               Gryffindor               Tower,               one               must               first               verbally               give               the               password               to               the               fat               lady               on               the               portrait,               who               is               prone               to               being               frightened               and               fleeing               her               post               at               the               entrance.

Before               being               sorted               into               Gryffindor               House,               Harry               has               an               internalized               conversation               with               the               Sorting               Hat;               in               fact,               he               specifically               demands               that               the               Sorting               Hat               not               place               him               in               Slytherin.

Moreover,               a               game               of               wizard               chess               requires               the               players               to               give               verbal               commands               to               their               pieces,               who               may               give               advice               back               to               the               players.

In               these               instances,               the               wizards               are               not               interacting               with               magic               as               creators               of               magic,               but               rather               as               humans               who               are               interacting               with               other               living               things               [1,               3].
               The               differences               between               the               relationships               that               Muggles               and               wizards               have               with               technology               and               magic,               respectively,               are               only               part               of               the               great               divide               between               the               magical               and               Muggle               worlds.

To               the               average               Muggle,               the               wizard               lifestyle               would               seem               quite               peculiar,               almost               non-human.

Petunia               Dursley's               scornful               referral               to               her               sister               as               a               "freak",               therefore,               was               motivated               by               the               way               her               sister's               exposure               to               the               already               peculiar               magical               world               may               have               transformed               an               initially               normal               sister               into               a               different               kind               of               human               being.
               Appelbaum               recommends               that               when               analyzing               this               sort               of               literature               we               ask               not               "What               is               it               about               J.

K.

Rowling's               Harry               Potter               books               that               has               made               them               so               popular?"               but               rather               "What               is               it               about               our               culture               that               embraces               the               Harry               Potter               books               and               has               turned               Harry               Potter               into               such               a               phenomenon?"               [5]               As               readers               we               embrace               literature               that               conforms               to               our               particular               biases.

That               is,               books               become               popular               only               if               the               readers               identify               aspects               of               their               literary               worlds               that               resemble               our               own.

In               the               Harry               Potter               series,               we               recognize               the               wizards'               obsession               with               technology,               along               with               its               larger               consumerist               culture,               as               realistic.

Furthermore,               the               readers               do               not               find               it               implausible               that               wizards               would               restrict               their               own               powers               for               the               sake               of               integrity,               nor               do               they               doubt               that               Muggles               would               deplore               a               culture               that               is               not               their               own               and               is               simply               too               peculiar               to               them.

These               observations               compel               us               to               critique               our               own               consumerist               culture,               and               also               to               consider               whether               the               mostly               domineering               attitude               with               which               we               handle               technology               should               rather               be               marked               with               restraint.
               References:
               1.

Rowling               JK.

Harry               Potter               and               the               Sorcerer's               Stone.

1st               American               ed.

New               York:               Scholastic;               1998.
               2.

Teare               E.

Harry               Potter               and               the               Technology               of               Magic.

In:               Whited               LA,               editor.

The               Ivory               Tower               and               Harry               Potter.

Columbia,               Missouri:               University               of               Missouri               Press;               2002.

p.

329-42.
               3.

Oakes               MJ.

Flying               Cars,               Floo               Powder,               and               Flaming               Torches:               The               Hi-Tech,               Low-Tech               World               of               Wizardry.

In:               Anatol               GL.

Reading               Harry               Potter.

Westport,               Connecticut:               Praeger;               2003.

p.

117-28.
               4.

Rowling               JK.

Harry               Potter               and               the               Prisoner               of               Azkaban.

New               York:               Scholastic;               1999.
               5.

Appelbaum               P.

Harry               Potter's               World:               Magic,               Technoculture,               and               Becoming               Human.

In:               Heilman               EE,               editor.

Harry               Potter's               World.

New               York:               RoutledgeFalmer;               2003.

p.

25-51.
               6.

Lipscomb               BJB,               Stewart               WC.

Magic,               Science,               and               the               Ethics               of               Technology.

In:               Baggett               D,               Klein               SE,               editors.

Harry               Potter               and               Philosophy.

Chicago:               Open               Court;               2004.

p.

77-91.
               7.

Image:               Ableman               S.

Ollivanders.

Flickr;               [taken               2010               Nov               5;               cited               2011               Apr               11]               Available               from:               http://www.flickr.com/photos/ableman/5202936499/               [Licensed               under               CC               BY-NC-ND]






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