Significant Digits, Analysis and Thanks









I really enjoyed

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. HPMOR

excelled in its characterization, its intricate plot, its careful phrasing and riddles, and in its use of dramatic tension and catharsis. I loved the way it took aspects of the original

Harry Potter

and extrapolated them out into a world and timeline, using reasonably pessimistic expectations to establish a small set of premises and then draw the logical conclusion.

Some of the scenes I found particularly affecting were the following:

Chapter six, where Harry talks about a childhood trauma when he felt unsafe, and we can feel that the author has shown us something very real and raw to him;

Chapter sixteen, when Harry has his first Battle Magic class and virtually the whole of the story is set in motion in a compact and subtle way;

Chapter forty-five, when the first Patronus 2.0 is cast and we read Harry’s mental cri de cœur ; and

Chapter eighty-one, the courtroom scene in which we learn everything we ever need to know about the awesome majesty of Minerva McGonagall.

When I set out to write

Significant Digits

, I tried to honor everything I enjoyed and admired about

HPMOR.

The result is bound to be unsatisfactory for some people, because not everyone was fascinated by those same elements. Further, I was very specifically not trying to mimic the original story. To imitate another author’s voice and recreate their patterns over an entire work would be very difficult and not very fun, and I had no taste for the attempt.

I wanted to write a story about a changing world -- the

whole

world -- as all the ambitions of the characters played out and met their difficulties. I wanted to write a story about the realization of the rationalism and humanism to which Harry aspired. I wanted to write a story about extravagance: extravagant planning with layered redundancies, extravagant characters whose passion led them to discard the literal and logical conclusions of their own beliefs in favor of still-greater pursuits, and extravagant events befitting the process of optimizing the world.

I wanted

Significant Digits

to answer some of the questions that had lingered with me. These were big questions, and even in three hundred thousand words, I couldn’t completely answer all of them -- but I did answer some. What was it like in the larger world of

Harry Potter

, outside the confines of the school? How would magic and magical races have shaped history and the hidden events behind them (ignoring the well-meaning but utterly insane history of canon)? How could the continued existence of this world be explained, given the elements we knew to be present?

Lastly, of course, I sought to tell a story with interesting characters and events that follow a rationally-unfolding plot, both at simple levels and in intricate mental leaps. There were many twists that everyone solved, some that only a few grasped, and a few that no one at all predicted. This has been an amazingly intelligent and creative group, and it was a considerable challenge to find the right balance. Congratulations are due to those individuals who guessed some of the biggest twists and puzzles, most particularly Reddit user /u/psinig, who identified the Second of the Three.

In some respects, I have succeeded. In others, I have failed. I was certainly overly ambitious, and should have given myself twice as long and twice as many words. These limitations cramped plot development, curtailed events, and required me to rely on implications in some regards. But I do believe that I accomplished much of what I wanted to create, and that I have done one more thing besides: left room for others. There are other stories to be told. I’ll write some of them, but others have begun their own:

is a prequel that’s already begun.

There’s a whole big world to play in.

There’s a lot I would change now, even though I’m pretty happy with the story. It’s my first work of this length, and my first work of serial fiction, and naturally there are all kinds of changes I would make in hindsight. I became a better writer over the course of this past year, and a more critical thinker. I should probably have cut back on some of the secondary storylines, in retrospect, since I didn’t have time or room to do them justice.

There is one chapter, though, that I would not change and that I am utterly happy with -- a chapter in which I did every little thing I wanted to do, and yet somehow arrived at something that was even more than the sum of all those parts. Chapter Fourteen, Azkaban , is everything for which I have aimed, and will continue to aim in my fiction. I can recommend that chapter to you, at the least, with a full and proud and happy heart.

As for the rest, that’s for you to decide.

Gratitude is due to many people.

Writing the story would have been quite literally impossible if it weren’t for the extraordinary efforts of 4t0m, go_on_without_me, pa55word, and a final editor who wishes to go unnamed. Their tireless willingness to sweat the small stuff despite unreasonably short deadlines, challenge poor phrasing or poor ideas, and cheer on our joint successes was extraordinary. This was their story and their accomplishment, too. Thank you all.

Readers and commenters have provided an enormous amount of support and constructive criticism, both of which have helped me improve as the story continued. I have been writing for a long time, but this is the first thing that’s ever gotten this kind of response, and a large part of that was that the community of

HPMOR

fans is so creative and clever and kind. Amazing individuals improved my website, fixed up the subreddit, donated a laptop when I complained about a green tint on my screen (!), and put together PDF and EPUB versions of the text. Thank you all.

Generous patrons on Patreon provided a real reason to keep going when things were hard. While I frequently remind people to consider their priorities before donating to a writer, it’s also true that money is the unit of caring. Patronage provided a message of support and very real assistance that could not be explained away as courtesy or indifferent politeness. Thank you all.

Eliezer Yudkowksy wrote something genuinely new and good, and inspired legions. And I certainly wouldn’t have begun the story at all if it hadn’t been for his gentle encouragement and reception when I first posted a snapshot of my ideas. Thank you.

Nothing would have been possible, or worthwhile, if it hadn’t been for my wife Lizzie. She walked with me in the woods while I talked about ideas. She proofread all the early chapters. She took the cover picture. I know that there is some ineluctable grace in this world, because I know her. Thank you.

My next story will be the

The

Consolation of Conquest

. It will begin in about a month, and updates will come at a more reasonable fortnightly basis. Please subscribe to my mailing list or RSS feed or subreddit to receive updates.

Thank you.







