On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:50:48 +0000 (UTC), jdnicoll@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(James Nicoll)
wrote:
>In article
<17567946-c740-40e4-9291-60b45d0072f6@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
>Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>See also Harry Potter - why powerful wizards and witches would
>>successfully hide all magical entities from ordinary humans, instead
>>of just taking over the world - and then how they would successfully
>>keep their secrets - it only makes sense if the magic is very powerful
>>indeed but the administrative skills of the magicians are lamentably
>>poor
>
> This is not ruled out by the text.
>
> It's also clear that magical ability has nothing to do with
>being bright, although being bright can be an asset for using what
>magical ability one has.
Also, the pieces we hear from the History of Magic, especially the pieces
talking about the founding of Hogwarts, makes it clear (though the
wizards,
of course, say the reverse), that the wizards basically went into hiding
because they were being killed by the muggles, when the muggles knew abou
them. The wizards are egocentric enough to tell themselves they put all
those rules in place to protect the muggles, but everything we've seen
about the wizards as a group (not necessarily individually, of course) is
that they are not in the least bit altruistic. If they put all those
rules
in place 800 or so years ago, it wouldn't have been to protect the muggles
from them, it would have been to protect themselves from the muggles.
It's the same situation generally put forth for the
vampires/werewolves/elves/fill_in_the_blank remaining in hiding. If you
out-power them a hundred to one, but they outnumber you several million to
one, direct confrontation is contra-indicated.
--
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
(Bene Gesserit)
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