The Science of HDM

So, you want to know about science in the books, do you?

If that's you, then congratulations, this is the right place. We've got links and homemade tidbits for your perusal about every aspect of science in HDM (that we could think of, anyway). Have at it.

But maybe that's not you. Maybe you're just browsing. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you have no interest in science at all. Well, pardon us if we try to change your mind.

I'll tell you the truth: I'd be hard-pressed to call HDM science fiction, at least in the traditional sense of the term, but we're not here to be traditional. HDM is more science fiction than you might realize. From dark matter (Dust, anyone?) to quantum entanglement (lodestone resonator) to parallel universes (please tell me you at least figured that one out for yourself), our beloved trilogy is chock full of the stuff, and even if you call a book with witches and specters and talking polar bears a fantasy, you have to admit that the line between the two is at least somewhat blurred here. In fact, I'd argue it's non-existent in the first place, but I digress. The point is, there's a lot of science in these books, and even if you don't find science particularly interesting, there are a host of other reasons to inquire for yourself. Maybe you're an aspiring writer like me, looking for ideas, looking for something wild and spectacular and dazzling to the eye. I'll grant, science as we know it today won't get you there, but there are still enough loose ends (hey, Pullman grabbed three of them right there) to make for something interesting, as long as you have to imagination to take it somewhere. Maybe, on the other side of that coin, you're looking for that imagination. Wouldn't it be worthy to see how scientific puzzles on paper turn into great fiction in the mind of an author?

Okay, if you're still reading my little introduction, then those gambits didn't get you, either. You're more interested in fantasy; you lean more toward sword and sorcery than sulfur and selenium, like me. Well, I submit to you that we both love the same thing, then. Science fiction and fantasy are two sides of the same phrase (if it's been coined, anyway). Both build worlds with their own rules and internal logic. They depend on some kind of strange source for those rules (whether those rules be based in physics or magic). We see the dragonslaying adventurer and his epic journey mirrored in the equally iconic space-faring scoundrel (a.k.a. Han Solo). Their histories are rich and detailed, a bridge between our own world and theirs. And so, if it would make sense to have a page detailing the system of magic in Harry Potter, doesn't it make sense to have one devoted to explaining the science behind HDM?

Well, we think it does, so welcome to the BttS science page.