Hermione and the Lack of Logic

[conuly]

I know everybody thinks Hermione is oh-so-smart, but she really *is* illogical. Think of how she acts to Luna! Just because there's no proof of nargles means they don't exist? Does she hear herself? There are people in the world who would say that witches don't exist, but Hermione's very existence (such as it is) is proof against that!

So here's the question. How has Hermione gone so long without learning that a lack of proof for something (say, nargles) isn't the same as proof against something? People didn't believe until giant squid until very recently, and yet they still exist.

That was short. Sorry.

Comments

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Short but sweet, and you have a point. If Hermione was a completely logical person, I firmly beleive she would be in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat obviously sensed that Hermione is passionate and illogical at times. I don't think she thinks of every consequence when she does things, for all her brilliance.

Good meta, it doesn't always have to be long. :D

[conuly]

I firmly believe that the Sorting Hat's methods consist entirely of:

Sing a song telling people about the different houses
Put people in the house they want to be in

After seven years being surrounded by people who are daring, nervy, and chivalrous (and having wanted those traits yourself), you'll be a model Gryffindor.

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

My first paleontology professor always used to snarkily say, "Lack of proof is not proof of lack."

*ponders* I don't have a paleontology icon; how very odd.

[rho]

Simple answer is that she hsn't actually gone all that long. She's 16. At that age it's normal for people to think they know everything, especially if they do happen to know an awful lot.

[madamjolie.livejournal.com]

She's an atheist?

[snale.livejournal.com]

I think one of Hermione's big problems is that she believes everything she reads in books, and thinks that anything outside her knowledge is poppycock. She has the capacity to use logic (as we saw in book #1), but over the years her head has gotten so big (constantly spoken of as 'top of her class'), that she thinks she knows everything.
I wouldn't be surprised if this egotism gets the best of her eventually.

[conuly]

God, I hope so. I hope she gets her comeuppance in a big way.

Sorry. I just see her as, among other things, exceptionally manipulative, and it's never commented on in the books as, maybe, just maybe, being a bad thing. Add that to her holier-than-thou attitudes (and smarter-than-thou as well), and... *shrugs*

What's weird is that other than that, I like the character. I just don't like how she never yet has faced the consequences of her actions and/or attitudes.

[snale.livejournal.com]

She's likable in many ways, and pretty scary in others. Mainly because she refuses to take into account other people's feelings. As a prefect, she's also been granted a bit of power, which I think has really gone to her head.

As for come-uppance, she very nearly got hers in the Forbidden Forest with the centaurs (if Grawp hadn't come along). Her arrogance nearly matches Draco Malfoy's at this point in the series.

[snale.livejournal.com]

At this point the only one of the threesome I really like is Ron. Both Harry and Hermione were extraordinarily obnoxious all through Book 5.

[conuly]

Well, Harry has his reasons, chief among them being the Raging Hormones of Death. Plus, he seems to have been infected with a virus that forces him to TALK LIKE THIS.

Hermione has her reasons too. Her reasons, however, are less understandable, mostly focusing on the fact that she doesn't realize she's an idiot.

[snale.livejournal.com]

Ha ha! Hee! Excellent analysis!
Mainly I could really relate to Ron, though. Goofing up whenever people were watching him and all... I definitely understand that feeling...

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Yet, even with being a witch, Hermoine seems like the sort to be closed minded over things like that. She hears that something's silly, she reads in books that it's a legend - why worry about it.

especially when the sources claiming it true are disreputable.

I mean, I never see you posting articles from weekly world news...

[leora.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of my older brother... as I mentioned, he's a genius. No doubt about that. He's smart, fairly well-educated, and good at self-learning. At 16, he was also quite an asshole. The problem was, he was too used to whenever there was an argument, the other person was wrong. Now, this was usually true. But because he could out-argue people even if he was taking a side he knew was wrong, this meant that he always felt he was right. Annoying, annoying brother.

This corrected itself as he got older. His now-wife then-girlfriend helped a great deal. She's smart, but she's probably not a genius. But she was able to stand up to him and say, I know you think that's true, but you're wrong, and I don't care how well you can argue it. And over time, he found he sometimes was wrong. But it's really easy when you're almost always right and you know you're one of or the smartest person in the room to not be an arrogant twit. But you can outgrow it.

This is why I am glad I both had that example and generally wasn't the smartest person around when I was growing up. I was smart, sure, but I wasn't the smartest person I knew.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Short but sweet, and you have a point. If Hermione was a completely logical person, I firmly beleive she would be in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat obviously sensed that Hermione is passionate and illogical at times. I don't think she thinks of every consequence when she does things, for all her brilliance.

Good meta, it doesn't always have to be long. :D

[conuly]

I firmly believe that the Sorting Hat's methods consist entirely of:

Sing a song telling people about the different houses
Put people in the house they want to be in

After seven years being surrounded by people who are daring, nervy, and chivalrous (and having wanted those traits yourself), you'll be a model Gryffindor.

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

My first paleontology professor always used to snarkily say, "Lack of proof is not proof of lack."

*ponders* I don't have a paleontology icon; how very odd.

[rho]

Simple answer is that she hsn't actually gone all that long. She's 16. At that age it's normal for people to think they know everything, especially if they do happen to know an awful lot.

[madamjolie.livejournal.com]

She's an atheist?

[snale.livejournal.com]

I think one of Hermione's big problems is that she believes everything she reads in books, and thinks that anything outside her knowledge is poppycock. She has the capacity to use logic (as we saw in book #1), but over the years her head has gotten so big (constantly spoken of as 'top of her class'), that she thinks she knows everything.
I wouldn't be surprised if this egotism gets the best of her eventually.

[conuly]

God, I hope so. I hope she gets her comeuppance in a big way.

Sorry. I just see her as, among other things, exceptionally manipulative, and it's never commented on in the books as, maybe, just maybe, being a bad thing. Add that to her holier-than-thou attitudes (and smarter-than-thou as well), and... *shrugs*

What's weird is that other than that, I like the character. I just don't like how she never yet has faced the consequences of her actions and/or attitudes.

[snale.livejournal.com]

She's likable in many ways, and pretty scary in others. Mainly because she refuses to take into account other people's feelings. As a prefect, she's also been granted a bit of power, which I think has really gone to her head.

As for come-uppance, she very nearly got hers in the Forbidden Forest with the centaurs (if Grawp hadn't come along). Her arrogance nearly matches Draco Malfoy's at this point in the series.

[snale.livejournal.com]

At this point the only one of the threesome I really like is Ron. Both Harry and Hermione were extraordinarily obnoxious all through Book 5.

[conuly]

Well, Harry has his reasons, chief among them being the Raging Hormones of Death. Plus, he seems to have been infected with a virus that forces him to TALK LIKE THIS.

Hermione has her reasons too. Her reasons, however, are less understandable, mostly focusing on the fact that she doesn't realize she's an idiot.

[snale.livejournal.com]

Ha ha! Hee! Excellent analysis!
Mainly I could really relate to Ron, though. Goofing up whenever people were watching him and all... I definitely understand that feeling...

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Yet, even with being a witch, Hermoine seems like the sort to be closed minded over things like that. She hears that something's silly, she reads in books that it's a legend - why worry about it.

especially when the sources claiming it true are disreputable.

I mean, I never see you posting articles from weekly world news...

[leora.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of my older brother... as I mentioned, he's a genius. No doubt about that. He's smart, fairly well-educated, and good at self-learning. At 16, he was also quite an asshole. The problem was, he was too used to whenever there was an argument, the other person was wrong. Now, this was usually true. But because he could out-argue people even if he was taking a side he knew was wrong, this meant that he always felt he was right. Annoying, annoying brother.

This corrected itself as he got older. His now-wife then-girlfriend helped a great deal. She's smart, but she's probably not a genius. But she was able to stand up to him and say, I know you think that's true, but you're wrong, and I don't care how well you can argue it. And over time, he found he sometimes was wrong. But it's really easy when you're almost always right and you know you're one of or the smartest person in the room to not be an arrogant twit. But you can outgrow it.

This is why I am glad I both had that example and generally wasn't the smartest person around when I was growing up. I was smart, sure, but I wasn't the smartest person I knew.