5 ms·

Out of interest, how many people recommending this usually read fanfiction? Because I gave it a try a good while back but got a bit frustrated with it. It seeme

by Osmium 13y ago

Out of interest, how many people recommending this usually read fanfiction? Because I gave it a try a good while back but got a bit frustrated with it. It seemed to read more as a parody (albeit a good one) rather than something more faithful to the characters.

limmeau 13y ago
I've never much read other fanfiction, and I don't mind the parody at all. Actually, it has kind of spoiled the plain HP for me because I just can't take their fixed gold-silver exchange rate seriously any more.
- n09n 13y ago
  If any setting makes sense to keep a fixed exchange rate between gold and silver, wouldn't it be one where magic exists, including the actual philosopher's stone?
  - kaybe 13y ago
    As long as it's not parallel to the standard economy it's fine. In the Harry Potter setting however, there are people with access to both worlds and can easily exploit it (especially if the magic world keeps producing more gold to replace all the missing galleons)..
paulgerhardt 13y ago
I have never read any other fanfiction but I found this series a good primer on modern logic and fun idle reading. Unfortunately, it has a few cringeworthy moments and tropes[1]. It is definitely precocious at parts and not hard to draw the parallels with the whole Übermensch/Singularity thing (though to my understanding, the author has distanced himself from the organization and is currently at MIRI). My chief criticism would be that it is overly bashful of the original Harry Potter story logic but lacks a tight plot through the second half. (Admittedly something very difficult to do with serialized fiction.) Up until chapter 87 I got the feel the story went off the rails, but the last few updates have been very interesting (no spoilers.) If you enjoyed Snow Crash and do not mind fantasy, you would probably be into this. Don't take it too seriously and keep in mind it is about 1000 pages now. [1] In particular: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue / http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MartyStu http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MartyStu
- TillE 13y ago
  Yeah, I tend to flip past the extended preachy bits, which are really poorly done. The story itself holds up without all that, though, and it's quite engaging.
- loup-vaillant 13y ago
  > to my understanding, the author has distanced himself from the organization and is currently at MIRI MIRI (Machine Intelligence Research Institute) is the new name of the SIAI (Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence). They shed the term "singularity" because it has basically been hijjacked by Ray Kurzweil and his Singularity University (totally not the same organzation). MIRI also gave (or sold) the Singularity Summit to the Singularity University. I don't recall Eliezer distancing himself from any organization. It's the organization he works for that distanced itself from certain memes. (Recall that "Singularity" historically meant one of 3 things: Event Horizon, Intelligence Explosion, or Accelerating change. Now, with Kurzweil popularity, it only means the third thing.)
- MaxScheiber 13y ago
  Interestingly enough, Yudkowsky probably uses these tropes deliberately. He himself is a reader of tvtropes.org[1], he's made explicit reference to using tropes before[2], and it makes senes that someone like Yudkowsky would know exactly which tropes he was and wasn't including. [1] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/EliezerYudkowsky?from=Main.EliezerYudkowsky http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/EliezerYudkows... [2] http://hpmor.com/chapter/7 http://hpmor.com/chapter/7
  - Osmium 13y ago
    But that almost makes it worse! Knowingly writing a Mary Sue is almost inexcusable if you're trying to write legitimate fiction (rather than an educational parody). I have nothing against parodies, especially good ones, but I just think they should be labelled as such. It slightly pains me that it's being held up as a good example of fan fiction when, arguably, it's not.
    - 13y ago
DennisP 13y ago
I don't usually, and maybe that's why I wasn't concerned with faithfulness to character. I read the first Harry Potter, and this several years ago, when it was much shorter. I liked this one a lot better. I hope, with all the additions, he hasn't gone too far in the direction of education over story.
- loup-vaillant 13y ago
  I have read the whole thing. The story is still great, and the education doesn't bother me (it integrates well in my opinion). I may be biased by my having read the LessWrong Sequences however.
rictic 13y ago
It's not a single point of departure fic, many of the characters are deliberately significantly different.

by Osmium 13y ago

limmeau 13y ago

I've never much read other fanfiction, and I don't mind the parody at all. Actually, it has kind of spoiled the plain HP for me because I just can't take their fixed gold-silver exchange rate seriously any more.

n09n 13y ago
If any setting makes sense to keep a fixed exchange rate between gold and silver, wouldn't it be one where magic exists, including the actual philosopher's stone?
- kaybe 13y ago
  As long as it's not parallel to the standard economy it's fine. In the Harry Potter setting however, there are people with access to both worlds and can easily exploit it (especially if the magic world keeps producing more gold to replace all the missing galleons)..

paulgerhardt 13y ago

I have never read any other fanfiction but I found this series a good primer on modern logic and fun idle reading. Unfortunately, it has a few cringeworthy moments and tropes[1]. It is definitely precocious at parts and not hard to draw the parallels with the whole Übermensch/Singularity thing (though to my understanding, the author has distanced himself from the organization and is currently at MIRI). My chief criticism would be that it is overly bashful of the original Harry Potter story logic but lacks a tight plot through the second half. (Admittedly something very difficult to do with serialized fiction.) Up until chapter 87 I got the feel the story went off the rails, but the last few updates have been very interesting (no spoilers.) If you enjoyed Snow Crash and do not mind fantasy, you would probably be into this. Don't take it too seriously and keep in mind it is about 1000 pages now. [1] In particular: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue / http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MartyStu http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MartyStu

TillE 13y ago
Yeah, I tend to flip past the extended preachy bits, which are really poorly done. The story itself holds up without all that, though, and it's quite engaging.
loup-vaillant 13y ago
> to my understanding, the author has distanced himself from the organization and is currently at MIRI MIRI (Machine Intelligence Research Institute) is the new name of the SIAI (Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence). They shed the term "singularity" because it has basically been hijjacked by Ray Kurzweil and his Singularity University (totally not the same organzation). MIRI also gave (or sold) the Singularity Summit to the Singularity University. I don't recall Eliezer distancing himself from any organization. It's the organization he works for that distanced itself from certain memes. (Recall that "Singularity" historically meant one of 3 things: Event Horizon, Intelligence Explosion, or Accelerating change. Now, with Kurzweil popularity, it only means the third thing.)
MaxScheiber 13y ago
Interestingly enough, Yudkowsky probably uses these tropes deliberately. He himself is a reader of tvtropes.org[1], he's made explicit reference to using tropes before[2], and it makes senes that someone like Yudkowsky would know exactly which tropes he was and wasn't including. [1] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/EliezerYudkowsky?from=Main.EliezerYudkowsky http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/EliezerYudkows... [2] http://hpmor.com/chapter/7 http://hpmor.com/chapter/7
- Osmium 13y ago
  But that almost makes it worse! Knowingly writing a Mary Sue is almost inexcusable if you're trying to write legitimate fiction (rather than an educational parody). I have nothing against parodies, especially good ones, but I just think they should be labelled as such. It slightly pains me that it's being held up as a good example of fan fiction when, arguably, it's not.
  - 13y ago

DennisP 13y ago

I don't usually, and maybe that's why I wasn't concerned with faithfulness to character. I read the first Harry Potter, and this several years ago, when it was much shorter. I liked this one a lot better. I hope, with all the additions, he hasn't gone too far in the direction of education over story.

loup-vaillant 13y ago
I have read the whole thing. The story is still great, and the education doesn't bother me (it integrates well in my opinion). I may be biased by my having read the LessWrong Sequences however.

rictic 13y ago

It's not a single point of departure fic, many of the characters are deliberately significantly different.