6 ms·

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality - Eliezer Yudkowsky

162 points by billswift 16y ago

Vivtek 16y ago
I almost posted this last night. (I was too busy reading it, though.) I get the same feeling of open-mouthed joy from it that I get from any other Miles Vorkosigan story. It's just that this is the first Vorkosigan story I've ever read that had that Vorkosigan flair while not being written by Bujold. And, OK, not being about Miles Vorkosigan. Or so he says. This is where I really started laughing: "Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is watching you from where she waits, eternally in the void between worlds." A few chapters later, I was in love; it's going to be a three-way wedding; me, the Time-Turner, and Eliezer Yudkowsky.
- Prolorn 16y ago
  I found it myself just yesterday through a completely unrelated channel. Didn't catch the author at first glance! Seeing Yudkowsky linked to FF.net on HN made me do a double-take. I wonder how long it would have taken me to catch on if I hadn't stopped to finish work. Guess I must go back and finish it now!
zephjc 16y ago
hah! this seems like a good read so far and promises to be great based on the chapter list.
- GFischer 16y ago
  It is pretty good so far :) (not that I'm a picky reader)... It reminds me of an alternate Harry Potter that was available around the Internet about the time book 5 was about to be released... it was pretty cool (I think I actually liked it more than the original). I realized that it was not the original a bit into it, but I still kept on reading. I'll look it up (don't have it here), but I'm not sure who was the author (of if it could be discovered). I guess what I can take from it is that I don't demand too much quality from my fanfiction :P (and I'm amazed at what can fans do :) )
ErrantX 16y ago
The intro is right; it really kicks in from Ch5 onwards.
merraksh 16y ago
You turned into a cat! A SMALL cat! You violated Conservation of Energy! (Chapter 2) Energy? I'd rather call it a violation of conservation of mass.
- conover 16y ago
  It was a very, very dense cat.
- goodside 16y ago
  Mass isn't conserved. The sun operates by destroying matter, as do atom bombs. Energy, which matter is a form of, is conserved. The violation isn't the turning into a cat, it's the lack of a subsequent mushroom cloud.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Well... To be fair, the added matter could be shifted into a higher dimension and detached from the cat. You would then see a small cat with the expected mass of a small cat. All you need is sufficiently advanced technology.
    - loup-vaillant 16y ago
      Plus, if you discharge the mass, you will have to somehow reclaim it when turning back into an human. Destroying the Earth wasn't a good idea to beging with, but freezing it doesn't sound better.
- modeless 16y ago
  E=mc^2
- omnipath 16y ago
  First all, I like this story. I think it's rather well written. But that statement in the story almost made me close my browser. Harry gets rationality in the modern-muggle world, but is very resistant, and expresses complete unwillingness to except something in the magical world until he can prove it. I feel like if I were in the story and I saw this version of Harry Potter, I'd be calling him an idiot every 4 sentences he says. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't make it impossible. To quote Men In Black: "Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow. " ~ K
SamReidHughes 16y ago
This is wonderful. Every chapter, I find myself exclaiming, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, basking in how awesome this is. Chapter 17 alone would have made the first 16 chapters worth it, if they were not all already worth it.
cabalamat 16y ago
You bastard Eliezer! You've just wasted 4 hours of my life, just at the time when I have a rather busy schedule! No doubt this is all part of your evil plan to become a rich science fiction author, then use your money to build a self-improving AI that will conquer^H optimise the universe.
- goodside 16y ago
  Jokes aside, writing this fanfic is certainly a curious use of time for someone charged with the task of saving the world from an apocalypse.
  - listic 16y ago
    I suspect that this fanfic is hoping at its best to bring some of Harry Potter fans, of which there are many, to the understanding of rationality and participation in site lesswrong.com A smart move to raise the sanity waterline, as Elieser puts it: http://lesswrong.com/lw/1e/raising_the_sanity_waterline/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1e/raising_the_sanity_waterline/
  - AngryParsley 16y ago
    From the author's notes: I started writing this story in part because I'd bogged down on a book I was working on (now debogged), and that means my top priority was to have fun writing again. It might have helped in other ways, too. Release of this fanfic correlates with increased traffic on LW: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/lesswrong.com http://siteanalytics.compete.com/lesswrong.com Apparently if you want to get more people to visit your site, write Harry Potter fanfic.
    - gjm11 16y ago
      Apparently if you want to get more people to visit your site, write Harry Potter fanfic. ... If you happen to be as good at it as Eliezer Yudkowsky is. Which you probably aren't.
      - 16y ago
swombat 16y ago
This is bloody amazing. I'm speechless. Awesome. Go Eliezer go.
MikeCapone 16y ago
For more (mostly non-fiction) by Eliezer, check out: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences
- AngryParsley 16y ago
  For more fiction by Eliezer, you probably want http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction For what many think is his most evocative writing, see http://yudkowsky.net/other/yehuda http://yudkowsky.net/other/yehuda
  - ugh 16y ago
    If you liked this you should definitely also read Three Worlds Collide [1]. Heck, if you like science fiction even only a bit you should check it out. It’s a great story! [1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/y5/the_babyeating_aliens_18/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/y5/the_babyeating_aliens_18/ – edit: I just submitted Three Worlds Collide because apparently nobody has done so yet: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1387771 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1387771
nixme 16y ago
If anyone's looking for a EPUB version for their iPad/ebook reader, here you go: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/133571/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality.epub http://dl.dropbox.com/u/133571/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_... Converted via http://fanfictionloader.appspot.com/ http://fanfictionloader.appspot.com/
nostrademons 16y ago
I never thought I'd see a fanfiction.net link on Hacker News. ;-)
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
losethos 16y ago
dog whistle, huh? Who's got Irish on the brain? You should get that checked. Ouch, this must hurt... God says... High Lastly www prunes weapon inner teeth subdued suffocated twentieth hurting justice bushel Too began books tore ere shame sole likeness Deus transforming beholdeth heinous seeking enlargedst happens venerable fragrant feast loosest warmth choleric fearful weariness covenant forehead avoided looketh better lathe speedily marked Maybe, it's time for the Pied Piper? Vermin of all sorts...

162 points by billswift 16y ago

I almost posted this last night. (I was too busy reading it, though.) I get the same feeling of open-mouthed joy from it that I get from any other Miles Vorkosigan story. It's just that this is the first Vorkosigan story I've ever read that had that Vorkosigan flair while not being written by Bujold. And, OK, not being about Miles Vorkosigan. Or so he says. This is where I really started laughing: "Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is watching you from where she waits, eternally in the void between worlds." A few chapters later, I was in love; it's going to be a three-way wedding; me, the Time-Turner, and Eliezer Yudkowsky.

Prolorn 16y ago
I found it myself just yesterday through a completely unrelated channel. Didn't catch the author at first glance! Seeing Yudkowsky linked to FF.net on HN made me do a double-take. I wonder how long it would have taken me to catch on if I hadn't stopped to finish work. Guess I must go back and finish it now!

zephjc 16y ago

hah! this seems like a good read so far and promises to be great based on the chapter list.

GFischer 16y ago
It is pretty good so far :) (not that I'm a picky reader)... It reminds me of an alternate Harry Potter that was available around the Internet about the time book 5 was about to be released... it was pretty cool (I think I actually liked it more than the original). I realized that it was not the original a bit into it, but I still kept on reading. I'll look it up (don't have it here), but I'm not sure who was the author (of if it could be discovered). I guess what I can take from it is that I don't demand too much quality from my fanfiction :P (and I'm amazed at what can fans do :) )

ErrantX 16y ago

The intro is right; it really kicks in from Ch5 onwards.

merraksh 16y ago

You turned into a cat! A SMALL cat! You violated Conservation of Energy! (Chapter 2) Energy? I'd rather call it a violation of conservation of mass.

conover 16y ago
It was a very, very dense cat.
goodside 16y ago
Mass isn't conserved. The sun operates by destroying matter, as do atom bombs. Energy, which matter is a form of, is conserved. The violation isn't the turning into a cat, it's the lack of a subsequent mushroom cloud.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  Well... To be fair, the added matter could be shifted into a higher dimension and detached from the cat. You would then see a small cat with the expected mass of a small cat. All you need is sufficiently advanced technology.
  - loup-vaillant 16y ago
    Plus, if you discharge the mass, you will have to somehow reclaim it when turning back into an human. Destroying the Earth wasn't a good idea to beging with, but freezing it doesn't sound better.
modeless 16y ago
E=mc^2
omnipath 16y ago
First all, I like this story. I think it's rather well written. But that statement in the story almost made me close my browser. Harry gets rationality in the modern-muggle world, but is very resistant, and expresses complete unwillingness to except something in the magical world until he can prove it. I feel like if I were in the story and I saw this version of Harry Potter, I'd be calling him an idiot every 4 sentences he says. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't make it impossible. To quote Men In Black: "Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow. " ~ K

SamReidHughes 16y ago

This is wonderful. Every chapter, I find myself exclaiming, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, basking in how awesome this is. Chapter 17 alone would have made the first 16 chapters worth it, if they were not all already worth it.

cabalamat 16y ago

You bastard Eliezer! You've just wasted 4 hours of my life, just at the time when I have a rather busy schedule! No doubt this is all part of your evil plan to become a rich science fiction author, then use your money to build a self-improving AI that will conquer^H optimise the universe.

goodside 16y ago
Jokes aside, writing this fanfic is certainly a curious use of time for someone charged with the task of saving the world from an apocalypse.
- listic 16y ago
  I suspect that this fanfic is hoping at its best to bring some of Harry Potter fans, of which there are many, to the understanding of rationality and participation in site lesswrong.com A smart move to raise the sanity waterline, as Elieser puts it: http://lesswrong.com/lw/1e/raising_the_sanity_waterline/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1e/raising_the_sanity_waterline/
- AngryParsley 16y ago
  From the author's notes: I started writing this story in part because I'd bogged down on a book I was working on (now debogged), and that means my top priority was to have fun writing again. It might have helped in other ways, too. Release of this fanfic correlates with increased traffic on LW: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/lesswrong.com http://siteanalytics.compete.com/lesswrong.com Apparently if you want to get more people to visit your site, write Harry Potter fanfic.
  - gjm11 16y ago
    Apparently if you want to get more people to visit your site, write Harry Potter fanfic. ... If you happen to be as good at it as Eliezer Yudkowsky is. Which you probably aren't.
    - 16y ago

swombat 16y ago

This is bloody amazing. I'm speechless. Awesome. Go Eliezer go.

MikeCapone 16y ago

For more (mostly non-fiction) by Eliezer, check out: http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences

AngryParsley 16y ago
For more fiction by Eliezer, you probably want http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction For what many think is his most evocative writing, see http://yudkowsky.net/other/yehuda http://yudkowsky.net/other/yehuda
- ugh 16y ago
  If you liked this you should definitely also read Three Worlds Collide [1]. Heck, if you like science fiction even only a bit you should check it out. It’s a great story! [1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/y5/the_babyeating_aliens_18/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/y5/the_babyeating_aliens_18/ – edit: I just submitted Three Worlds Collide because apparently nobody has done so yet: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1387771 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1387771

nixme 16y ago

If anyone's looking for a EPUB version for their iPad/ebook reader, here you go: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/133571/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality.epub http://dl.dropbox.com/u/133571/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_... Converted via http://fanfictionloader.appspot.com/ http://fanfictionloader.appspot.com/

nostrademons 16y ago

I never thought I'd see a fanfiction.net link on Hacker News. ;-)

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

losethos 16y ago

dog whistle, huh? Who's got Irish on the brain? You should get that checked. Ouch, this must hurt... God says... High Lastly www prunes weapon inner teeth subdued suffocated twentieth hurting justice bushel Too began books tore ere shame sole likeness Deus transforming beholdeth heinous seeking enlargedst happens venerable fragrant feast loosest warmth choleric fearful weariness covenant forehead avoided looketh better lathe speedily marked Maybe, it's time for the Pied Piper? Vermin of all sorts...