Skip to main content

harry potter - Why didn't Flamel make more than one Philosopher's Stone?


In Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, Harry Potter plans to use the Philosopher's Stone to guarantee immortality for everyone. (Yes, ambitious goal, dreams are free, etc etc...)


Obviously, things are a bit different from HPMOR to Harry Potter canon, where: Spoiler! If you are planning to read HPMOR (and you should), DO NOT read the spoiler.



Nicholas Flamel is not an immoral transgender liar who claimed that the ancient relic (the Philosopher's Stone) was actually made (not stolen from the previous owner), thus shutting out billions of people from immortality.




In the original Harry Potter universe, why didn't Flamel make more than one stone? He already knew how to do it and he had done it before, why didn't he make more stones so that everyone else could benefit?


Surely a 'good' wizard—companion of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, re-discoverer of the fabled Twelve Uses of Dragon Blood—would be concerned about everyone?



Note: not a duplicate of Why was there only one Sorcerer's Stone?, as that question is asking:



'Why did only Flamel make a Philosopher's Stone' (eg why didn't someone else make one)



while this question is asking:




'Why did Flamel make only one Philosopher's Stone' (eg why didn't Flamel make more than one stone).




Answer



Most people don't think they want to live forever, and don't think that other people really want to live forever.


In most literature (and stories, prior to writing) those who seek immortality find only tragedy. Most people would look at someone seeking the Stone and say, "They're greedy, and not good people."


We don't know why or how Flamel created the Stone, nor do we know if it can heal (as opposed to simply producing an elixir which extends your life). Flamel was obviously (given his agreement to destroy the stone) of the opinion that eternal life was NOT necessarily a good thing.


I, personally, agree with Harry from HPMOR (and the creator of that story, Eliezer Yudkowsky) that eternal life for everyone would be a good thing. Flamel, however, didn't. He thought it was better for people to eventually die than to live.


Presumably, the process to create a stone was one that required great precision and/or expensive/rare materials. I would presume that, were it reasonable to do so, each government would produce at least one Stone for their own use. The fact that no government is known to have done so indicates that the creation process is so difficult that only a scant few people could do it successfully, or that the materials are so rare as to be nigh-impossible to obtain.


So there's a few possible reasons Flamel would have not created more:




  • He's evil. The power MUST be his and his alone.

  • He can't. The process requires ingredients or rare circumstances that can't be brought about again.

  • He doesn't think it's a good idea.

  • The idea never occurred to him.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more