Professor Skies
May 22, 2016 3:30 AM
Intermediate Theories - forbidden vs impossible by Professor Skies
“Good morning,” Selina greeted the Intermediates. “As you prepare for your CATS exams - which all of you are now considered to be doing, as you are in intermediates,” she added, lest any third years had taken this as a cue to nod off, “You will need to start learning how to answer the major theory questions of the core subjects, as well as demonstrating reasonable skills in practical magic.“In Transfiguration, two of the major questions are the limits of Transfiguration, and the borders between Transfiguration and other subjects, most commonly Charms. Today we are going to be looking at a subject that covers the first question quite succinctly, although there is the possibility of it coming into discussions on the second question too.
“Today, we will be looking at three subjects…. Food, money and the human body. I would like you to get into pairs or threes and answer the following questions,” as she spoke, the chalk moved behind her, adding the questions to the board.
“1. What are the magical limits of Transfiguring these items?
2. What are the legal limits?
3. What other things are limited by magic or by law in the field of Transfiguration?
“Fifth years, you will also write an essay this term on the impossibility of bringing back the dead, and whether this violates laws within Transfiguration or Charms. If you finish your classwork early today, you may start researching this.
“Chapter seven of your books will be helpful, and I have provided additional material from the library which has good sections on these subjects. You may begin.”
OOC - This lesson primarily deals with Gamp’s Law. I found this article, which I thought was helpful and interesting, though I’m not convinced by idea number 4 http://www.beyondhogwarts.com/harry-potter/articles/the-five-principal-exceptions-to-gamps-law.html
As we don’t know for sure what the other exceptions are, I have tried to avoid stating them as facts, and am very happy for differing theories to start flying around the room.
Subthreads: I don't believe in impossible. by Jack Spencer, Aladren with Alistair Johnson, Crotalus
In need of your ideas (tag Kira) by Chuck Fintoc, Pecari with Kira Spaulding, Crotalus
Stepping out of my comfort zone. by Lauren Song - Teppenpaw with Arne Reinhardt, Crotalus, Lauren
This sounds like a challenge! [Tag: Ingrid] by Louis Valois, Aladren with Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari
Those are synonyms to me [Tag: Jax] by Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw with Jax Donovan, Aladren, Wu Peizhi
Not words I like to hear, those. by John Umland, Aladren
13
Professor Skies
Intermediate Theories - forbidden vs impossible
26
Professor Skies
1
5
Jack Spencer, Aladren
May 25, 2016 12:40 AM
I don't believe in impossible. by Jack Spencer, Aladren
Jack was feeling rather chipper today, a stark contrast from the melancholic aura he’d been producing before. He didn’t have to study for his CATS this year, but he was eager to learn more about the topics the 5th years were studying to prepare himself. Theories and critical thinking were difficult for him to fully comprehend and exercise, but he worked hard. Most of his life Jack had been a hard worker; otherwise he wouldn’t have been noticed much in his large family or have anything to pride himself in.Jack didn’t know why he was happier today than yesterday, but he was. It wasn’t like he had much reason, seeing as the ball was at the end of this year and he had no prospective dates. He was fourteen and still hadn’t found a witch he fancied, though there were loads of pretty ones to look at. His marks were decent right now, but not extraordinary. His brown hair was getting a little too long for his taste as well and poked his eyes if he let his fringe hang unchecked. However, despite all these things, he had a little spring in his step as he walked to class. It was better, he thought, not to question the good things.
Transfiguration was one of the classes Jack enjoyed. He wished he were better at it, to be as good as he was in Charms or Potions, but he liked the challenge well enough. It was cool seeing objects transfigure before his eyes. He smiled at Professor Skies as he usually did and took his usual seat near the front. He had his lucky quill with him, the quill he’d been using miraculously since first year, and he pulled out the rather long feather out of his bag along with his notes. His writing wasn’t very neat, but it was improving, as he got older. Still, at times he struggled to read his own handwriting. He’d have asked his mum about taking a handwriting class over the summer if it wasn’t such a feminine thing to care about.
The professor began class and Jack listened attentively. He hoped they were going to discuss a spell they’d been working on for the past week. He hoped it would be a practical lesson where he could work with other people. Alas, he was disappointed. Jack bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. This was one of the topics where Jack usually felt like an idiot. He brushed his fingers through his thick hair and sighed. At least his audience was only going to be one or two other people instead of the entire class. Jack wanted to be a professor eventually, he’d decided, but Transfiguration was certainly not going to be his field of study after Sonora.
Once they’d been dismissed to work, the English wizard turned to the person next to him. “Shall we work together?” he asked with a smile. “I have to warn you, I’m not very well-versed in legal limitations of magic, but I’m good at research.” Jack scribbled down the questions on the board. “Shall we begin with food? That’s an odd subject, I think. I’ve never really thought about it before, but I guess no one makes food appear out of thin air. What do you think are some of the magical limits of Transfiguring these items?”
40
Jack Spencer, Aladren
I don't believe in impossible.
299
Jack Spencer, Aladren
0
5
Alistair Johnson, Crotalus
May 25, 2016 2:04 PM
Then you probably won't agree with this. by Alistair Johnson, Crotalus
Transfiguration was potentially the hardest class that Sonora offered but in Alistair’s books this just made it all the more important. It wasn’t his favourite class but one that he worked hard in and valued.Over the years Quidditch had become more and more consuming of his time, not so much because his Captain duties required him to host regular practices for the team but more because his interest was continually deepening - although he had ever lacked interest to begin with. Alistair did not, however, want his sporting endeavours to affect his academic progress. As a result of the hard work he put into his studies, the fourth year had always achieved good grades but he was aware that he still had room for improvement and if he wasn’t careful they could potentially deteriorate.
Today was not a practical lesson, which Alistair generally had more success in, but this didn’t bother him. Theory was important and he did not want to be one of the ignorant sorts of people that tended to overlook it. He paid attention as Professor Skies spoke, conscious that whilst he was not taking the CATS exams this year they would still creep up faster than expected.
The theory questions proposed by his Head of House were stimulating and the Crotalus’s brain whirred in search of intelligent answers. Before he had chance to think of who he might work with, his yearmate Jack Spencer suggested that they pair up.
“Of course,” Alistair nodded, his tone upbeat and friendlier than usual, glad not to have to seek a classmate out himself. The bonfire at the end of last year had awoken him to the fact that he didn’t really have any specific male friends at Sonora. He’d always found girls much easier to get along with and that wasn’t a problem but particularly recently he had started to wish his ratio of female to male friends was slightly different. Alistair wasn’t of the silly notion that partnering up with someone for a task in class meant you were going to become best friends, but Jack Spencer was an appropriate choice if he were looking for someone to hang out with since they clearly had one thing in common, if not more.
He offered the Aladren boy a small smile before getting stuck in with the topic in hand. “It’s not possible to conjure food since it can’t be created from nothing,” Alistair nodded firmly, a mild frown upon his face the more he thought about it. “But then with Transfiguration you’re not starting from nothing… Although I do believe one can duplicate food, and that’s legal.”
The fourth year paused to flick through his textbook and when he found the recommended chapter he spoke again. “See, food is the first exception to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration… so surely the limitation of Transfiguring food is that it simply can’t be done and therefore there would be no legal limits because it’s not even possible?” Alistair wasn’t sure he understood this theory completely and knew he was therefore at risk of sounding stupid but this was an intriguing subject and there was a lot to sink one’s teeth into.
8
Alistair Johnson, Crotalus
Then you probably won't agree with this.
306
Alistair Johnson, Crotalus
0
5
Jack Spencer
May 26, 2016 6:38 PM
Why, why, why? by Jack Spencer
Jack didn't know much about Alistair Johnson except that he'd been co-captain of the hybrid team Aladren had beaten two years ago. He also knew that Alistair had loads of friends, or at least it seemed like he did. Jack wasn't jealous of the Crotalus wizard any more than he was jealous of anyone else, but he was glad to have the opportunity to chat with a wizard outside of his house. He really didn't know how or why Alistair got on with witches better than wizards, if what he saw was accurate. To Jack, witches were too scary and emotionally unstable. He ought to know, having two sisters.Johnson's explanation sounded intelligent for the most part, and Jack took a moment to think it over.
"Really advanced Transfiguration deals with conjuring objects out of thin air," he corrected. "I think Conjuration is only slightly less difficult than Human Transfiguration, but certainly more difficult than what we're doing now." That was textbook, and having older siblings had really helped him get a head start on his education.
"Alright, so let me write that down. Food: cannot be conjured out of thin air. Can be duplicated?." Jack tapped the top end of his quill against his lip in thought. "Should we ask why it doesn't work? I know with theories it's difficult to prove with our limited knowledge, but I wonder why food can't be conjured. Is it because it needs to be baked or put together? Do you think ingredients could be conjured? Or vegetables and fruit, or perhaps not because they have to be grown?" Jack's thoughts were suddenly running wild and he couldn't get a coherent answer. "If it pertains to all food, does that exclude natural foods as well? I'm just repeating myself, sorry."
Jack scratched his head. "It would make sense if there weren't any legal limitations on it if it isn't even possible. But what sorts of legal limits are there on food anyway? I suppose that's something we'll have to research, the laws concerning food and Transfiguration. Anyway, what do you think about all that? Anything else you think we should add?"
40
Jack Spencer
Why, why, why?
299
Jack Spencer
0
5
Alistair Johnson
June 05, 2016 5:29 AM
I wish I knew. by Alistair Johnson
Alistair felt rather annoyed, mostly at himself, when Jack reminded him that advanced Transfiguration did actually involve conjuring items. He didn’t like to look ignorant or stupid but tried not to hold it against his classmate, considering that the Aladren had not corrected him in a demeaning manner but instead simply stated a relevant fact that Alistair had clearly overlooked.The Crotalus always liked to appear intelligent and hoped that people would view his brain to be as superior as Caelia seemed to. However, Alistair hadn’t been sorted into Aladren, which was commonly dubbed as ‘the clever house’, and Jack Spencer had so he probably thought himself on a higher intellectual level. Alistair didn’t want to consider that this could quite possibly be true, although Jack’s thoughts on the lesson topic were certainly challenging.
He nodded as Jack talked, serious and focused as he took in all the points made by his classmate. Jack seemed well informed and was raising some pretty intriguing questions.
“I think that’s a good point,” Alistair agreed, “that food is not made but grown, and therefore that might cause there to be magical limitations.” He paused briefly before continuing. “Of course, as you say, some food is baked but I should think most ingredients stem from natural foods that are grown.”
Alistair frowned in thought again as his brain formulated ideas against this. “Although, if you think about it, there are other objects besides food that involve components that have been grown. Like anything made from wood, for example, and there don’t seem to be magical limitations for these.”
As it turned out, the fourth year was better at confusing himself than he’d thought, although he chose not to see it this way. He was just debating new ideas that he had never before considered as any good intellectual should. Hopefully Jack was following his train of thought.
“I should think,” Alistair tried to reach some sort of conclusion with his points, “that if we can duplicate food, or even conjure it - which I am not convinced is even possible -, then surely there would have to be legal limitations. I say that because we buy our food and we probably wouldn’t bother doing so if we were simply able to conjure or duplicate it. Although, even if it were possible but not legal, surely it would be fairly common for people to disregard such laws - especially those lacking money? Or perhaps,” as he spoke the Crotalus had found another idea to raise, “the quality of transfigured food is not good enough for consumption?”
8
Alistair Johnson
I wish I knew.
306
Alistair Johnson
0
5
Jack Spencer
June 09, 2016 2:41 PM
We'll figure it out. by Jack Spencer
Jack was hoping everything he was thinking about made sense, and Johnson seemed to pick up on it. He listened closely to Alistair as his desk-mate brought up other differences and similarities between other objects. However, Jack was beginning to get a little confused with the non-linear way Johnson was relaying his thoughts. Jack tried to keep up and tried to mull over it. This was why he disliked theory: it took so much brain power to simply understand the concept of why something was the way it was. Jack needed to improve at it if he wanted to be a professor someday.Duplicating food was possible, that much Jack knew simply from having siblings whinging for more dessert, but he wanted to check the textbook. "What's the text say?" he asked as he flipped to the right page. It was Gamp's Law they were discussing, or at least it was based on it. "It says here that food can be multiplied, enlarged or summoned if it already exists, but cannot be conjured. So I suppose we ought to write this down." Jack scribbled away his findings, but now they were down to the limitations.
He grinned, remembering Johnson's last point. "I don't remember what transfigured food tastes like, but I wouldn't think it would be as tasty as the original. Imagine they served transfigured food to us students." Jack chuckled at the idea. "We'd hardly know the difference, it's already so good. At least I wouldn't know." Sonora Academy had delicious dishes, and Jack enjoyed the food here very much. If they happened to make just a few dishes and duplicate it for them all, Jack wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. However, it would make so much sense if that were true; feeding a hall full of hungry pubescent children was no simple task.
"Now onto legal limitations. I'm sure one wouldn't be able to summon food from a shop or something. That'd be stealing and I know that's illegal." Jack added that to his notes before tapping the quill against his bottom lip. "What else? No enlarging food as big as a city?" Jack grinned, amused. "What do you think the limitations would be for enlarging food?"
40
Jack Spencer
We'll figure it out.
299
Jack Spencer
0
5
