Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality Bookshelves

That is the second most Ravenclaw thing I have ever heard.

Obvious suggestion: Bigger text, amazon links.

Most fantasy books might be Gryffindor, but A Game of Thrones? Totally Slytherin.

My thinking for Game of Thrones belonging to Gryffindor (though at this point it might just be cognitive dissonance, so please let me know if it sounds right) is that the first book - A Game of Thrones - most heavily features Ned Stark, the paragon of honor and principle. I'm wishing that I had put another Song of Fire and Ice book on the Slytherin shelf to show contrast...

[-]Desrtopa13y50

On the other hand, Ned Stark trgf rkrphgrq sbe uvf gebhoyr naq snvyf gb cerirag n pvivy jne. Ur hcubyqf ubabe naq cevapvcyrf, ohg qbrfa'g trg n ybg bs zvyrntr bhg bs gurz.

[-]Alejandro113y30

I see your point, but I agree with Desrtopa's reply. I would go further and say that Arq'f ubabe abg bayl snvyrq gb cerirag pvivy jne, vg npgviryl pnhfrq vg (ol jneavat Prefrv bs jung ur unq qvfpbirerq, naq yngre erwrpgvat Erayl'f naq Yvggyrsvatre'f zber frafvoyr cynaf sbe nibvqvat one). So I think he makes more sense as an example for Slytherins of how Gryffindor values are foolish and counterproductive.

[-]Oligopsony13y00

That was my thought with Thucydides.

[-]khafra13y-10

The Strategy of Conflict also seems like it should be moved from the Gryffindor bookshelf to the Slytherin. EY described it as "Forget rationalist Judo: this is rationalist eye-gouging, rationalist gang warfare, rationalist nuclear deterrence. Techniques that let you win, but you don't want to look in the mirror afterward."

[-]Emile13y90

EY described it as "Forget rationalist Judo: this is rationalist eye-gouging, rationalist gang warfare, rationalist nuclear deterrence. Techniques that let you win, but you don't want to look in the mirror afterward."

Nope, that was cousin it.

[-]khafra13y00

Whoops. Thanks; that post just seemed like part of the sequences in my memory.

[-]Alejandro113y40

The Strategy of Conflict is in both Slytherin and Gryffindor. I guess Jesse had two copies.

[-]ScottMessick13y200

Suggestions for Slytherin: Sun Tzu's Art of War and some Nietzsche, maybe The Will to Power?

Suggestion for Ravenclaw: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume.

[-]TimS12y20

I don't think Nietzsche fits very easily into any House shelf, but Slytherin least of all.

[-]D_Malik13y140

Was expecting a how-to on stacking two rows of books on one bookshelf. This is better.

[-]lukeprog13y120

This has now been picked up by io9.

[-]palladias13y60

The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick for Slytherin (was really handy to me when booking guests for a speaker series, since I needed to get straight to the schedulers)

[-][anonymous]13y60

Thanks for the reading suggestions! I made a Goodreads list for Ravenclaw, feel free to vote and add.

What I really want though is to peek at the books in the restricted section.

[-]DanArmak13y50

Slytherin is missing the Evil Overlord List (ed. Professor Quirrel).

[-]novalis13y40

Schneier's Secrets and Lies would probably fit well with Slytherin. Borges's Ficciones is something every Ravenclaw would love. And it's nice and thin so it will fit well on the shelf.

I'm sort of baffled by the inclusion of Herodotus, the "Father of Lies".

[-]atucker12y00

A lot of Herodotus' histories have interesting stories about people exhibiting and not exhibiting ancient Greek virtues.

[-]pinyaka13y10

Why only chapters 1-17 of HPMOR?

[-]Qiaochu_Yuan13y30

It's a teaser. They're meant to be distributed in meatspace as an easy way to get people reading HPMoR (something longer feels like more of a time investment). It includes a link to the rest at the end.

[-]JesseGalef13y20

That's all that's in the printed paperback version that I have - I think Eliezer is working on publishing a more comprehensive volume, but this is all I have.

[-][anonymous]13y10

Check /r/hpmor. Also, the git repo now has a print-ready branch.

[-]jefftk13y00

github.com/jaibot/hpmor/tree/master/hpmor-prince

[-]Gunslinger10y00

Well this certainly looks like a fun list. Has anyone else tried it? I've never read HPMOR, I'm just loking for something good to read.

[-]Bluemidas12y00

Hey everyone i just started this podcast and found myself addicted to it and its underlying science of rationality can anyone point to the next step so I can learn a little more. Also I would appreciate pointers to understand all the theories and methods mentioned in the podcast. And please give me the very basics as I have often been outwitted by the complexity of Harry evans verus. Also since I am very socially inept any pointers in that field would be welcome.

Finally if there is a proper way to ask for help would be helpful and if I am wrong in asking here please point to the right link please

[-][anonymous]12y10

Try the about page here to get a broad idea of what this community is about. As you will read, a good way to start learning what Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres knows is by reading the sequences. Don't be intimidated by the length; if you've liked HPMOR enough to come here, you'll find at least some, if not all, of the sequences fascinating.

As for asking for help, you may want to make an introductory post on the welcome page. You can give a longer description of yourself and your goals on this thread. Also, if you give more details about yourself, I expect someone with some more specific ideas will be able to help.

[-]victordrake13y00

The Command to Look, by William Mortenson, might be enlightening to Slytherins. Even though it's about photography, you can learn things about how your personal appearance can be crafted to inspire the emotions in people that you want to.

[-]Dahlen13y00

So... Why is HPMoR categorized under all four shelves? Aside from it being based on the book that came up with the idea of Houses in the first place, that is...

[-]NancyLebovitz13y-30

The Houses are canon.

[-]Dahlen13y10

... I've known that for more than a decade. Reread my first comment; maybe the phrasing was unclear, although it doesn't seem unclear to me.

(I know that HPMoR attracts many non-HP-fans into reading it, but... seriously, is there really anyone out there who believes that the friggin' Hogwarts Houses made their first appearance into Yudkowsky's fanfic?!)

[-]TheOtherDave13y70

Your phrasing is clear enough, though I did have to read it twice before I actually read "based on".

[-]Desrtopa13y00

Doesn't Hogwarts have a single, unified library?

I wouldn't count on members of each house sticking to books representative of their respective hats (tvtropes.)

[-][anonymous]13y10

I can't remember if it's in canon that Ravenclaw has their own library or if that's just Methods of Rationality.

[-]Randaly13y100

It's canon:

The Ravenclaw Common Room is a bookworm's paradise. There is a large room that serves as a library, and it is said that there are almost as many books there as in the main library, even if the room looks much, much smaller.

Seems like it's only Ravenclaw, though.

[-]fubarobfusco13y40

It's fanon, at least. A few years back when I was reading a lot of HP fic, it seemed a pretty common addition.

[-]Eugine_Nier13y-10

Putting The Screwtape Letters in Slytherin strikes me as a case of completely missing the point.

[-]NancyLebovitz13y100

It's been a while since I've read the book, but it's got rather a lot about how to keep people confused for your own purposes. Slytherins certainly wouldn't care that Lewis was against such methods.

[-]Eugine_Nier13y00

I don't think the advice would be practical since it assumes the confuser has access to the confusee's mind, both the ability to inspect it's contents as well as plant and/or derail trains of thought.

[-]Decius13y20

It's not a primer on how to influence people, it's a discussion of the philosophy behind influencing people. It's also something that a Slytherin would read for entertainment, in much the same way that a Gryfindor would read The Chronicles of Narnia.

[-]Eugine_Nier13y00

The Screwtape Letters as their intended to be read strike me as more Hufflepuff, and the portrayal of hell is sufficiently negative that I don't see a Slytherin enjoying it by sympathizing with the demons.

[-]Decius13y20

If you only read things as the author intended that they be read, you're missing a large fraction of the entertainment value.

I wonder where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer should be?

[-]Alejandro112y00

I wonder where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer should be?

I say Gryffindor. Tom is obviously a Gryffindor, and though the tone of the book is somewhat mocking, he is nevertheless clearly the hero and triumphs in the end. (As far as I remember at least; I haven't read it since I was a child).

Yet Twain's ouvre spans all Houses: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is Hufflepuff, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is Ravenclaw, and The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is Slytherin.

[-]Oligopsony13y70

By the same logic, so would the Prince.

[-][anonymous]13y00

By the same logic, so would the Prince.

No, it wouldn't. That would be different, bad, logic.

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Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality Bookshelves

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