So the other day my little sister decided to get into a deep philosophical discussion about HP, so I bit and talked about it with her. I dont remember what we talked about, but she did bring up an interesting point. Why did Moaning Myrtle die, she was wearing glasses. Therefore she was looking through soemthing.
Now my first thought on this was that she was still looking directly AT him, whereas everyone else looked at a reflection. The water and the mirrors for instance. However then take a look at Collin Creevey. It doesnt say for sure that it was a complex camera, so that doesnt count. He might have seen a reflection through the mirrors in the camera, or he might have just had a simple camera and seen him througha piecce of glass. So lets put him aside. Then who was it that say the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick. He seemed to have just seen him through Nick, who was transparent. Again, looking right at him. So why did myrtle die if she had her glasses on? Just a thought. . .
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits
Remember when arguing with a bear, he's always right
SoP
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Where does it say she was wearing glasses? If she was in the toilet crying, I'm sure she took her glasses off.
I AM KITCH, NOT RILEY, CJ OR CHRIS, GETTIT?
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
- The Doors - The End
RIP Jim Morrison
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You can't just dismiss it that quickly, that's a really interesting point.
"It happened right in here. I died in this very cubicle. I remeber it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So i unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then - I died"... ..."I just remember seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes."
She could have put her glasses BACK on, so she could see intruder, and to tell him to use his own toilet.
---> this would fit in with the discription of Moaning Myrtle. acually, i can't find it in the book, but she was wearing glasses in the movie and one assumes she's wearing them anyhow.
If ghosts look like they do at the exact moment their physical bodies die, then she would've had glasses on. [according to film and my gut feeling in the book]
By using the rule about seeing the Basilisk through some kind of filter, then it's fair to say Moaning Myrtle would have simply been petrified.
Collins camera is another issue. We know that seeing the Basilisk through any type of filter [Sir Nick] or reflective surface [puddle, mirror] will only petrify that person. A single piece of glass may not be the same.
This does of course solely depend on Collins camera. Whether it be an SLR construction or point and shoot.
JKR may have dug herself into a hole again. This is sounding like the time-turner all over again.
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I needed this, no Hp topics makes a bored Locke...Really good question, I jump to this conclusion.
#1, if glasses could prevent death, don't you think the "book" that hermione got the information on the basalisk from, mention it? Because if it did, Harry could have used his glasses.
#2, glasses bring things into focus on the eyes. I could see it working backwards. As in you are near sighted, and thus cannot see the eyes of the basalisk cleary, maybe you could be petrified, instead of dead. Being tho, that glasses make eye contact possible. So death would be inevitable.
#3, you get petrified through some sort of reflection, I am not sure exactly how cameras work, muggle or magic, but i do believe a few "mirrors" are involved in the process, and if they are not, I assume the misshaping of the eyes of the basalisk make it so that the photographer can't see "eye to eye" so to speak.
#4, dead or petrified, how is the snake to know the difference, he knows he is "doing his job".
Just my ideas, probably don't make sense, or I am a crack pot. Good question SOP, and good to see you back on the board.
"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . ."-Fred and George(CoS)
IM Me: MSN: petrov_18@hotmail.com ICQ:147142744 AOL: lockehockey
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I suppose even if she was wearing her glasses though, a single piece of glass wouldn't 'protect' the eyes as much as the other examples, as someone just said.
Brings me to another question though, would blind people be affected by it?
I AM KITCH, NOT RILEY, CJ OR CHRIS, GETTIT?
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
- The Doors - The End
RIP Jim Morrison
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im sick of ppl dissing j.k like this she aint perfect and neither r u her books are brilliant and i dont think u could ever write nething so good she makes little irrelivent mistakes every now and then but y does it matter? its not like (so far) they effected the rest of the book and while reading them the haryr potter series creates imense amounts of joy 4 millions of ppl i think ppl should stop worrying about the little things that done matter and think more about the relivent little hints she leves throughout the books.
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Well one would then ask why didnt Tom Riddle die when looking at the Basilisk. Sure he could control it, but nowhere did it say that he was immune to it.
And also why didnt Harry die in the Chamber (prior ro Fawkes violently pecking its eyes out!) when facing the Basilisk??
Definitely one of the many holes JKR has put herself in!
"Now Now Draco... Play nicely"
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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I don't believe Harry looked him in the eyes. Its been so long since I have read CoS tho, so I may be mistaken.
My guess is blind people would be petrified, it seems like a tomato tomato question.
Tom Riddle, as far as we know from the "memory", wasn't yet "mortal" so he couldn't really die, right? As far as the past goes, I assume he found out it was a basalisk before he went into the chamber, who really knows, but JKR.
***********************************************************
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see-Kansas
"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . ."-Fred and George(CoS)
IM Me: MSN: petrov_18@hotmail.com ICQ:147142744 AOL: lockehockey
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Wow! Excellent point. I think this is one of those "mistakes" that JKR never thought about.
I have to believe that if Colin was petrified through the lens of a camera, that Myrtle should only have been petrified as well. However, people who wear glasses usually take them off when they are crying. There could be any number of explanations for this, I guess we will have to wait to see if there are answers in book 6 or 7! I like to believe that JKR is going to tie up all these loose ends with a nice pretty ribbon.
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LOCKE YOU ARE QUOTING THE BEST SONG EVER. Well not the best but it's damn good. I used to have a live version of Dust in the Wind but then my hard drive buggered up and I had to redownload everything, couldn't find it
Anyway, didn't someone see the snake through Nick? Wouldn't that be just about the same as a thin piece of glass, both transparent. I think this is another, yet smaller, hole.
Notice how we never seem to talk about OOTP? Our only HP discussions are relative to either all of the books or one of the first four.
I AM KITCH, NOT RILEY, CJ OR CHRIS, GETTIT?
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
- The Doors - The End
RIP Jim Morrison
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A pretty ribbion? I doubt it. It be nice if she did, we could be free of this addiction, but i doubt she will do it. Part of me hopes she will turn into a "steven king" even if the books get lousier as she gets older.
***********************************************************
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see-Kansas
"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . ."-Fred and George(CoS)
IM Me: MSN: petrov_18@hotmail.com ICQ:147142744 AOL: lockehockey
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Moaning Myrtle and the Basilisk
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December 30 2003, 4:39 PM
Yeah, I'm back, my computer waws on crack, or possibly soemthing more powerful for about4 months or so. Anyway, back to Myrtle. She seems to be pretty important throughout all of the books, and I would hope that her char has more meaning than just being harry's dead stalker. . .
And I have noticed that no one really wants to dwell on the fifth book. I, personally, didnt like it. It seemed almost fanfic-ish if you know what i mean. I however, didnt particularly like the 2nd book either. I felt it wasn't quite up to par when compared to the other books, but much of what was in the book was less important to the plotline of CoS and more important for the rest of the series. Im hoping that that is how OotP is. Lots of little things that no one spotted. Lots of lines that minor chars said that come back to be a driving force in later books. Plus, CoS were followed by PoA and GoF, my two favorites. Hopefully the same thing will happen with 6 and 7, you know, 2 really good books. The thing that got me about the 5th book is that i didnt want to read it again. With all of the other books in the series (with the exception of the first 8 chapters in SS/PS) i wanted to reread it immediatley. I dunno
Oh and Locke, is your login an allusion to Enders Game?
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits
Remember when arguing with a bear, he's always right
SoP
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Moaning Myrtle and the Basilisk
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December 30 2003, 4:51 PM
I dunno about OOTP being up to par thing. I thought it was excellent, in terms of depthness. It seemed like a lot of milk, and no meat tho. If you know what I mean.
I have to disagree, although CoS is probably my least favourite in the series, I find that it is the most "complete" in the series. It can almost actually stand alone.
Book 6 will definitly be a filler...So I am eager for book 7.
Locke is the Alias of Ender's brother, Peter. Which is my "christian" name, so I only found it fitting. John Locke is also the famous philosopher, and sometimes i like to ponder. And Locke was a Final Fantasy Charecter in the respective franchise, in the 6th installment, probably my fav character in the game.
***********************************************************
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see-Kansas
"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . ."-Fred and George(CoS)
IM Me: MSN: petrov_18@hotmail.com ICQ:147142744 AOL: lockehockey
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It's been my impression that the heir of Slytherin could look at the monster without dying.
It's also been my impression that looking directly through glass would still kill you, but that a reflection would only petrify you. There is some magical connection to mirrors if fantasy: Snow White (mirror, mirror, on the wall), vampires (not being able to see their reflection), etc. My guess is that Colin's camera was of a reflex kind, so he saw the monster by mirror reflection.
Now, seeing the basilisk through Sir Nick: Seeing as Nick, a ghost, actually got zapped by this, I think that he somehow absorbed the evil energy enough that Justin Finch-Fletchley (i think) only got enough to petrify him. If not for Nick absorbing some energy, one could assume that simply putting a piece of shear cloth in front of your face would keep you from dying when confronted by a basilisk.
Dad-Eye,
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True, but then you wouldn't see it as it rips you to pieces.
I AM KITCH, NOT RILEY, CJ OR CHRIS, GETTIT?
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
- The Doors - The End
RIP Jim Morrison
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Dad-Eye's philosophy seems the best so far. However I was thinking that perhaps there is a difference between transparent and translucent. Perhaps transparent merly means you can see them, but perhaps the ghosts weren't glss like. You can see the other side but perhaps its all distorted. Fuzzy even. I think, maybe, its a matter of how clear the eye is.
Oh and Locke, I thought that was the case. Enders Game is one of the few books that I have read more than the HP series and have enjoyed more.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits
"Remember the enemy's gate is down"- Ender's Game
SoP
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A bit far fetched but.... seeing as Myrtle was crying - her eyes would have been teary - water... Mrs Norris saw the eyes thru water....
could be an explanation.... I dont know.....
"Now Now Draco... Play nicely"
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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I completly agree, i stopped reading the ender's series after SFTD and was then highly dissapointed and annoyed at Ender's Shadow. I felt it took far too much of the glory away from Ender and played to mcuh up of the coincidences. I didnt like how bean knew everything. Ive kept reading his saga t hough, however i just dont think it stays true to the original. Enders Game is my favorite book of all time. Ive read it something like 11 or 12 times.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits
"Remember the enemy's gate is down"- Ender's Game
SoP
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