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harry potter - Is Quidditch an inherently flawed sport?


I realise it's self evidently impossible, since real people don't have flying broomsticks. But even allowing for its fantastic nature, am I not right in thinking that it's alse self evidently unworkable as a sport?


Why? Because catching the snitch is all that matters.


It's worth 150 points, and ends the game. Most matches we read about in the books don't have score lines that differ by more than 150 points, in which catching it wins the game for the seeker's team.


But even if a team is down by 150 points or more, it's logical that their seeker should then stop looking for the snitch. If they catch it, the game ends as a loss for their team.


Either way, only the seeker and the snitch matter. So why bother with the goals at all? Why not just beaters, bludgers, snitch and seekers?


I realised this at the very first description of a Quidditch match in the very first book. And while I appreciate it has some narrative value, allowing Harry to take center stage as a Quidditch player, it spoiled all the Quidditch sequences in the whole series for me.


Am I right, or did I miss something?



Answer




Yes. Quidditch is inherently flawed. It violates several important points of game theory.



  • All players are not similar in importance. You have six players plus one additional add-on who does not interact, yet has a vital role.

  • The actions of one player can dramatically overshadow everyone else. Again, the Seeker is the special, special snowflake. They fly a simple pattern over the game, swoop in, and decisively change things.

  • The length of a game is difficult or impossible to predict. Games can stretch for days, or be over in seconds. This makes it difficult to gauge the value of a seat. Is someone going to feel cheated if they pay 15 Galleons for a box seat, only to have the match over within twenty minutes? Will you make a profit if you sell seats at 8 Sickles each and they're occupied for a day and a half? How many spectators will be willing to travel to your game (albeit quickly, via teleportation) and potentially have to choose between seeing the full game and missing the next day's work (or the next several days' work?)

  • There are no scheduled breaks in the game. Even when they're not exerting much physical effort to move (flying on broomsticks) playing any sport will tire you out. Spectators need time to hit the bathrooms and food vendors, players need time to regroup, take a breather, and plan strategy changes.


Harry Potter in a rationalist fanfic called Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discusses Quidditch's failings and comes up with a relatively simple solution: eliminate the Snitch and put the game on a timer. If something like that were done, Quidditch would end up looking something like basketball crossed with rugby, and would be an essentially normal sport.


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