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[personal profile] kip_w
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I'm not a big fanfic sort of person. It exists, but time does not expand sufficiently for me to do a lot about it. In this case, though, I have abused time, put off important activities, and done that thing where I say I'll just read one more chapter and then end up recalculating how long I'd have for all my important obligations if I make that just three more chapters.

So here is my enthusiastic endorsement of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, a fictional fiction wherein Petunia Evans [*] met and wisely married someone with an inquiring, rational mind, and they lovingly raised Harry as their son before the day he got the summons from Hogwarts.

Harry is shaken by the discovery of magic, but does not let that turn him aside from reason and scientific method. This leads him in directions unimaginable in the original series. He has to work things out, make decisions, form alliances, and get to the bottom of who can be trusted, who to believe, and what actually happened in the past. So far there are 49 chapters. The next should be along in about a week. The line-by-line writing is delightful. The plotting is inspired. The underlying lessons (yes, kids: lessons!) on scientific method are fascinating and enlightening.

The author, "Less Wrong," has given me hours of delight. Recently, this person has expressed a sentiment along the lines of if you enjoyed this, please tell your friends, and darned if that's not the very least I could do, under the circumstances.

The author page has some material that may or may not be introductory. There's a brief statement that a concensus says the story started to find its momentum at chapter five. It grabbed me sooner than that. This is wonderful stuff.
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Date: 2010-10-10 04:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dd-b.livejournal.com
I also endorse this.

For me, around chapter 4 I think is where I started to say "this is getting repetitive". I do think I finished reading it all, but I wouldn't promise. If I stopped early, the parts I read were still stone freaking brilliant, and a must-read.

Date: 2010-10-10 04:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kip-w.livejournal.com
I read a bunch of chapters some time back, and when I came back to it I couldn't figure out quite where I was, so I probably re-read some. Heady stuff.

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