Log24

From a Log24 post of Feb. 5, 2009 —

An online logo today —

See also Harry Potter and the Lightning Bolt.

Harry Potter, star of the new film
"Imperium," with lightning-bolt
scar on his forehead

Hoax and Hype 
Four Years Ago Today—

There is Plato's diamond—

and there is diamond theory—

… but there is no "Plato's Diamond Theory."

See, however, today's noon entry, "Plato's Code."

"You gotta be true to your code…" —Sinatra

Some fear that the Harry Potter books introduce children to the occult; they are not entirely mistaken.

According to Wikipedia, the “Deathly Hallows” of the final Harry Potter novel are “three fictional magical objects that appear in the book.”

The vertical line, circle, and triangle in the symbol pictured above are said to refer to these three magical objects.

One fan relates the “Deathly Hallows” symbol above, taken from the spine of a British children’s edition of the book, to a symbol for “the divine (or sacred, or secret) fire” of alchemy. She relates this fire in turn to “serpent power” and the number seven:

Kristin Devoe at a Potter fan site:

“We know that seven is a powerful number in the novels. Tom Riddle calls it ‘the most powerfully magic number.‘ The ability to balance the seven chakras within oneself allows the person to harness the secret fire. This secret fire in alchemy is the same as the kundalini or coiled snake in yogic philosophy. It is also known as ‘serpent power’ or the ‘dragon’ depending on the tradition. The kundalini is polar in nature and this energy, this internal fire, is very powerful for those who are able to harness it and it purifies the aspirant allowing them the knowledge of the universe. This secret fire is the Serpent Power which transmutes the base metals into the Perfect Gold of the Sun.

It is interesting that the symbol of the caduceus in alchemy is thought to have been taken from the symbol of the kundalini. Perched on the top of the caduceus, or the staff of Hermes, the messenger of the gods and revealer of alchemy, is the golden snitch itself! Many fans have compared this to the scene in The Order of the Phoenix where Harry tells Dumbledore about the attack on Mr. Weasley and says, ‘I was the snake, I saw it from the snake’s point of view.‘

The chapter continues with Dumbledore consulting ‘one of the fragile silver instruments whose function Harry had never known,’ tapping it with his wand:

The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed, and after a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled into he air… A serpent’s head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story; He looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up.

“Naturally, Naturally,” muttered Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. “But in essence divided?”

Harry could make neither head not tail of this question. The smoke serpent, however split instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfaction Dumbledore gave the instrument another gentle tap with his wand; The clinking noise slowed and died, and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze, and vanished.

Could these coiling serpents of smoke be foreshadowing events to come in Deathly Hallows where Harry learns to ‘awaken the serpent’ within himself? Could the snake’s splitting in two symbolize the dual nature of the kundalini?”

“… he triumphed again with The Goldberg Variations. Mr Jay, assisted by Goldberg, a concentration camp survivor, is rehearsing a montage of biblical scenes in Jerusalem. It is inspired satire, laced with Jewish and Christian polemics, sparkling wit and dazzlingly simple effects. For Golgotha a stagehand brings on three crosses. ‘Just two,’ says Jay. ‘The boy is bringing his own.’ Tabori often claimed that the joke was the most perfect literary form.”

Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix for Xbox 360 “is based on the fifth book and is timed to coincide with the release of the movie of the same name…. The game consists of Harry walking around and talking to characters and performing spells and tasks in order to advance the plot. I jokingly considered calling this review ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Random Tasks Needed to Advance the Plot.'” —July 9 review at Digital Joystick

The Real Hogwarts

is at no single geographical location; it is distributed throughout the planet, and it is perhaps best known (apart from its disguises in the fiction of J. K. Rowling, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other Inklings) as Christ Church.  Some relevant links:

Christ Church College, Oxford

• Harry Potter at Christ Church, Oxford

Christchurch, New Zealand

• University of Canterbury
  Physical Sciences Library:

  Keeping Current with the Web:
  Maths & Statistics, June 2002

  Diamond Theory:
  Symmetry in Binary Spaces
  http://m759.freeservers.com/
  The author of this site is Steven Cullinane, who has also written booklets on the subject.  The web site provides detailed discussions of Diamond Theory, and is intended for college math students or mathematicians.  According to Cullinane, Diamond Theory is best classified in the subject of “finite automorphism groups of algebraic, geometric, or combinatorial structures.” The site also includes links to other resources.    From the NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering and Technology, Volume 1, No. 9, 7 June 2002, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002.  http://scout.cs.wisc.edu

Christ Church, Christchurch Road,
Virginia Water, England

• The Vicar of Christ Church has written a scathing attack on white-trash religion, “Christian Zionism,” that should be required reading for all prospective U. S. demagogues.

Finally, on this Sunday in June, with The New York Review of Books of July 3, 2003, headlining the religion of Scientism (Freeman Dyson reviewing Gleick’s new book on Newton), it seems fitting to provide a link to an oasis of civilisation in the home town of mathematician John Nash — Bluefield, West Virginia.

Christ Church,
Bluefield, West Virginia