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Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, March 2015, chapter 114 + chapter 115 · 2015-03-04T20:08:42.548Z · LW · GW

Snake detecting spells: Canon!Harry sucked at Occlumency.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, March 2015, chapter 114 + chapter 115 · 2015-03-04T20:07:20.132Z · LW · GW

Eliezer was clearly thinking ahead.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 113 · 2015-03-02T14:28:36.887Z · LW · GW

We've heard of wizards dodging spells.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 113 · 2015-03-01T05:33:50.061Z · LW · GW

I think you forgot the 37(?) Death Eaters pointing their wands at Harry. You also forgot Voldie's famed reflexes, and a bullet definitely goes faster than a spell.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 113 · 2015-02-28T21:34:50.380Z · LW · GW

If what he said back in front of the Dementor is true, Voldie can't cast the Patronus regardless.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 112 · 2015-02-27T21:41:07.558Z · LW · GW

Such a thin chain of carbon nanotubes like that would have almost no mass, ergo no force. It'd be like if you could make a string perfectly rigid and then you hit something with it.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 26, chapter 97 · 2013-08-17T01:27:11.304Z · LW · GW

Ah, I see. I was also working on the assumption that McGonagall was correct; no reason Dumbledore couldn't say he was leaving, head to his office, sit back, and watch.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 26, chapter 97 · 2013-08-16T20:23:10.126Z · LW · GW

Dumbledore was absent from the castle.

And he made it sound like the wards only alert him when a student has died. It's reasonable to expect them to warn ahead of time, after serious injury or something, but going by canon Dumbledore had no external alarm when Harry broke however many bones however many times on the Quidditch pitch.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 26, chapter 97 · 2013-08-16T20:14:00.425Z · LW · GW

Not to mention infeasible, what with his nigh imprisonment.

Comment by noahpocalypse on More "Stupid" Questions · 2013-08-07T20:00:27.300Z · LW · GW

When I'm not in the mood to talk to people- not out of anger, I'm just not feeling a desire to share my thoughts- I think in pictures and feelings with a reticent, sarcastic monologue. When I'm alone but feeling social, my monologue is wordy and sometimes witty. When I'm in a conversation, I often have to stop talking for a moment to think through what I'm going to say before I can say it.

Bottom line, I almost always have some kind of monologue; sometimes it's talkative, sometimes nearly silent.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Welcome to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013) · 2013-08-03T04:07:20.427Z · LW · GW

I also prefer bare feet, though to a lesser extent. I hate wearing just socks, but I don't mind wearing worn tennishoes that bend easily.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Inferential credit history · 2013-08-02T15:48:32.772Z · LW · GW

I had that same thought. Perhaps "How to Build a High-level Argument"? Imagine every post on LW having "Hear Me Out" as a title. It would actually be an apt if unnecessary plea for most threads, but it would be such a pain.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Welcome to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013) · 2013-07-28T18:17:58.013Z · LW · GW

I didn't realize it at the time, but that's further incentive to attend MIT: I can actually go to LW meetups!

I don't see myself touring the school any time soon (I've done plenty of research via the admissions blogs and other testimonials, and plane tickets happen to be expensive), but I would love to discuss any peculiarities you don't learn about until being a student, or anything else I should know before applying.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Welcome to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013) · 2013-07-27T00:31:29.672Z · LW · GW

My name's Noah Caldwell, I am a lesser being who currently resides in rationalist Hell. That is, I am a minor (17 years) and I live in Tennessee (not by choice (it's not THAT bad here, though)).

I was in a program called TAG (Talented and Gifted) in elementary school, and my mother once said I have genius IQ, which despite meaning little because you can't represent intelligence numerically remains highly flattering. It may have contributed to a very, very miniscule ego (or so I like to think), but it's made me believe I can do better in anything: Tsuyoku naritai! Whenever I have an interest, I pursue it; I've been like that for a long time. So the net gain was, I think, worth it, even if her statement may have been untrue.

I am currently trying to do well in school while shoving as much coding, science, math, language, musical theory, and history in my head. I plan on getting a HAM radio license very soon. I'm also trying to cleanse myself of bias now. My dream college would be MIT, but that is one heck of a reach school, no matter who you are. I also need to figure out how to insert my little segues into my monologue without parenthesis, because wow does that look weird. Maybe I'm just being self-conscious. (But that's a GOOD THING!)

The traditional recreational activities I partake of include reading, piano, backpacking, and videogames (I'm digging into the original Deus Ex with delight right now). I also need to read the sequences; I've only sampled bits and pieces like an anorexic at a chocolate buffet.

Comment by noahpocalypse on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 20, chapter 90 · 2013-07-02T03:36:25.725Z · LW · GW

When you said AKs, I immediately thought you meant AK-47s. That put a very amusing picture in my head.

I might play too many videogames.