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Harry Potter vs. Science!

2013-08-16 · list · Hank · 3:50 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Pop culture (also: Science & nature, Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: on location

On a night bench in London, Hank pits the Natural History Museum against the Harry Potter Studio Tour in superlatives, declares a tie, and says science's drive toward truth and Harry Potter's drive toward goodness are guiding principles of his life.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Night in London; what to talk about; the Tube, Brighton Beach and Hampstead Heath crossed off

  • ★★ Hank, filming at night in London, says he has been having a fantastic time there and must decide what to discuss. — 00:00:00 · London
  • ★ Hank considers and crosses off the London Tube, Brighton Beach and Hampstead Heath as topics. — 00:00:12 · London

00:00:28 — The two must-dos: the Natural History Museum and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford; science versus Harry Potter

  • ★★★ Hank says the two must-dos of his UK trip blew his mind: the Natural History Museum, where he and Katherine got up early to be first in line, and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford. — 00:00:32 · Katherine Green, United Kingdom, Harry Potter (book series)

  • ★★ Hank says science versus Harry Potter is 'my brain': an easy choice for most people, but not for him, so he sorts it out with superlatives. (playful) — 00:00:42 · Harry Potter (book series)

    “Science versus Harry Potter. That's my brain.”

00:00:54 — Superlatives: saddest, creepiest, most inspirational, best architecture, Rowling versus Darwin

  • ★★ Saddest: Dumbledore's office and robes at the Studio Tour made Hank sad, but less than the last skeleton of a dodo, a whole species gone. — 00:01:01
  • ★ Creepiest: the 'living, breathing' Voldemort doll at the Studio Tour, which Hank calls maybe the worst thing he has seen. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:10
  • ★★★ Most inspirational: the detail of the Harry Potter universe inspires Hank, but less than Darwin's pigeons, Wallace's collections and Linnaeus's pressings, which connect him to the history of life. — 00:01:31 · Harry Potter (book series)
  • ★★ Best architecture: Hank praises the Natural History Museum's German Romanesque building for evoking the sacredness of nature, but says Hogwarts wins. — 00:01:47
  • ★★ Rowling versus Darwin: both slaved for decades over masterful works, but Hank puts Darwin on top for his care, independence and fortitude. — 00:02:08

00:02:23 — Best community: science and Harry Potter as collaborative works

  • ★★ Hank says all science is collaborative and always part of a community, Darwin included. — 00:02:24
  • ★★ Hank says Harry Potter is also collaborative, through screenwriters, actors and its fan community, including unintended collaborators like himself and Harry and the Potters; more so than most art, so a tie. (hedged) — 00:02:45 · Harry Potter (book series)

00:02:57 — A tie: science's drive toward truth and Harry Potter's drive toward goodness as his guiding principles; Tower Hill bench; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank cannot choose: it is like choosing between his parents, since science and Harry Potter did not just shape how he understands the world but built him as a person. — 00:03:03 · Harry Potter (book series)
  • ★★★ Hank loves science's drive toward objective truth and Harry Potter's unironic drive toward objective goodness: loyalty, love, building something greater; both guide his life, so he won't pick. — 00:03:13 · Harry Potter (book series)

Humor (significant)

  • Picking the creepiest thing, Hank names the living, breathing Voldemort doll at the Studio Tour — 00:01:10

    “It's maybe the worst thing I've seen in my entire life.”

  • After praising the museum's German Romanesque architecture at length, Hank gives the round to the fictional castle anyway — 00:02:06

    “Hogwarts wins because Hogwarts!”

  • Hank ranks Darwin above Rowling for care, independence and fortitude, then adds one more reason — 00:02:18

    “Also, he had severe digestive problems, which I can sympathize with.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Harry Potter (book series) · Natural History Museum, London · Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Also: People: Alfred Russel Wallace · Carl Linnaeus · Charles Darwin · J. K. Rowling · Katherine Green

Organizations: London Underground

Groups: Harry and the Potters · StarKid Productions

Concepts: dodo

Places: Brighton · Hampstead Heath · London · Sherwood Forest · Tower Hill · United Kingdom · Watford

Characters: Albus Dumbledore · Hogwarts · Voldemort

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