3 ms·

It isn't a proper book, but Eliezer Yudkowsky's Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality was incredible. Don't judge it by the fact that it is a fanfic.

• yummyfajitas 15y ago
  Eliezer, if you are reading this, please stop procrastinating and finish writing it.
• DevX101 15y ago
  How interesting will this be if i've never read the Harry Potter series? (i've seen a couple of the movies)
  • mquander 15y ago
    I was in roughly the same prior-Harry-Potter-knowledge state as you are and I enjoyed it.
  • timdumol 15y ago
    It's set in an alternate universe to the actual Harry Potter series, and starts from the events in the first book. You won't miss much from not having read the actual books.
  • Sukotto 15y ago
    I hesitated to start. Partly because I found the original Harry Potter kind of boring/frustrating. And partly because it's fanfiction, a sort of writing I do not normally enjoy. Still, I found it enjoyable and worth my time. Even though I thought Harry's portrayal was pretty uneven (swinging between "scientist/genius in an irrational world" and "arrogant prick demigod"). I liked Drako's additional depth far better than Rowling's one dimensional jerk. http://www.elsewhere.org/rationality/ http://www.elsewhere.org/rationality/ (rehash of my previous comment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3231266 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3231266 )
  • thebigshane 15y ago
    There are some inside jokes you would miss out on if you didn't know the canonical universe, but overall, like others have said, it can stand on its own as a great work.
• nfarina 15y ago
  This. His writing was life-changing for me in many ways. Incredibly accessible, useful discussion of various human logic fallacies. Fundamental misattribution error FTW!
• rmc 15y ago
  I read it and enjoyed it. And I'd consider it a proper book. Just cause it hasn't been published by a big publishing house doesn't mean it's not a proper book