A discussion of

• Purely magical diseases
• Ways in which infections can jump from magical creatures to wizards
• How the magical world controls the spread to muggles
• Why the magical world doesn't use modern medical techniques

In the previous essay I discussed how diseases contributes to the high death rate in the wizarding world and how the magical world ( Read more... )

Throughout human history the demographics of our societies has changed as we have developed. Today different societies are at different points along this demographic transition. For example developed nations like Japan and the UK, typically have a low birthrate and long life expectancy making children only a small proportion of the population, ( Read more... )

How do you go about disappearing an entire group of people while still living right under the noses of the people you're hiding from? Maybe like this.

For some reason unknown to me, I found myself contemplating Petunia Dursley one rainy Sunday afternoon.  The main question I had was truly simple: why did Petunia treat Harry so badly?  It's easy to take the books at face value and say:"Why, what else other than plain old jealousy?"  But I've always had my problems with that particular explanation ( Read more... )

Essay title: Squibs in the Wizarding World - The Unrepresented Minority.
By: Starkiller.

I never really gave much thought to the place and role of Squibs in the Wizarding World. I just took what we were given within the text about them and didn't bother to consider it any further. However, as I started writing an OC that was a Squib and very ( Read more... )

painless_j had an interesting post the other day about how fanon stereotypes sink into our own assumptions about the wizarding world. Some assumptions (about wards, for example, or Snape as a potions brewer in the post-war world) are so well established in fanon that we risk being seen as inauthentic (or even AU-ish) if we omit them from our own fanfics. ( Read more... )

A couple conversations I’ve had recently prompted me to actually write out my thoughts on this subject, which I’ve been thinking about for a while. This is a semi-essay, semi-rant on the Wizarding World and its views on/interactions with the Muggle world.

The Wizarding World's Relationship to Muggles: Should Wizards be Paying More Attention, or ( Read more... )

So eilanhp found me out. A repost of meta written in May 2003.

Soon to be followed by my essay on Dumbledore and why I think he's a manipulative old coot, if nothing else.

*

Thankyou to everyone on the lovely Midnight Oil Yahoo!Group for some very interesting discussion. In particular, ( Read more... )