| Antipodean Opaleye
Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: making playlists
Posts: 9,750
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Maggie Woods
Gryffindor Seventh Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Levi Jourdan
Slytherin Sixth Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Hwang Minji
Games & Sports
Ministry RPG Name:
Finlay Bracken
Transportation  x4  x2
|  PHILOMATH ❅ not one atom, but two ♪ ♪ made of starstuff ❅ def main():
Text Cut: hermionesclone Quote:
Originally Posted by hermionesclone  Oh, so that was answering the question, then?
His smile only grew as she spoke but he soon found his eyes wandering back to the ice sculpture itself. Countless uses to life and humans sounded right, but he was still failing to understand what this had to do with Arithmancy. Could you find the meaning behind water? Was that what they were doing today?
This already sounded like a lesson that was going to make his head hurt.
His eyes wandered over towards the board when the numbers and meanings started to appear on there. What numbers would they see? ...... Uhhhh....... Yeah, he didn’t know. Not at all. Could they guess? Because he only had guesses at this point and no real meaning behind those guesses.
So, it was with that thought in mind, that he raised his hand up in the air. "Okay, so, for that ice sculpture, I’m thiiiiiiinking........ a four would fit? Because...... uh...... oh! It’s structured and rigorous. It’s a solid, basically, not the normal liquid consistency of water, you know? That’s how it can keep the shape of an elephant." Was he rambling? "And it would be hard to move something like that." He was rambling.
The first answer! Ayana smiled warmly over at little Lucas, and made sure not to look even a little bit disappointed at the quite incorrect response. The purpose here was to learn, not get a lucky break! "It is true that four symbols structures, and solidity but would you think this elephant resembling ice sculpture is structured? Notice how it's already melting, and the charm has changed its shape from regular ice to an elephant, would that change the numbers you might get?" food for thought, little Lucas. It's important to keep thinking.
Text Cut: oh its Erik ok Quote:
Originally Posted by oh its Erik ok Take that one best friend Nina Castillo. Her answer was actually a good one. Shows how much you know about arithmancy or water in this case. Ok...to be fair she is probably smarter than Eloise her but lets not get into that.
Wait, how did tomatoes get involved..oh water in them. But why not talk about humans at that point we have a lot of water in us. Weird.
"So would it just be as simple Double Eight if you tried it on like you for example since we have water in us like said????"
Hey it was a question or would it be the exact opposite for like a puddle or something.
We were making waves with this lesson weren't we.
No, no waves. "A double eight!" Ayana repeated with a wave of her hand, indicating the particularly bright red tomatoes. "Double eights mean so much life, life bursting at the seams, the very object you're casting on overflowing with life," she exaggerated her tone just slightly and on purpose, and looked again at the red fruit. "But this poor tomato is, quite frankly, a little dead don't you think? And the clouds aren't very alive either... You're right that water provides life, but does it inherently exhibit it? What if we had a fishbowl?" thought food for you too, Eloise. This is excellent thinking, excellent!
Text Cut: sweetpinkpixie Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie ......what was THAT look for, Nina? Offering her an equally unimpressed look - because what answer had she even provided? - his hazel-green eyes all but challenged her to do better than him the next go around. Put your galleon where your mouth was, Castillo.
Even more irritating was the professor calling him out too, it gave him Care of Magical Creature flashbacks which were the most unappreciated sort of flashbacks. The desire to offer a sarcastic quip was there, but he valued his time too much for that and potentially spending it in detention again was not optimal. Plus, he rather liked Professor Sissay. She was intelligent and interesting. Maybe someone Grandpa Charles could get friendly with and then leave his Uncle Ryu alone.
Hmmm.
"Alchemy," he offered with a light shrug. "Ingredient or harnesses its elemental qualities. Sometimes both depending on the procedure." There.
And since he had challenged Nina to a battle of the intellects - mostly to try and expose her in the process - he would be sitting this question out. Though his thoughts immediately went to forces of nature, tsunami, and the number 77 or 99 being present. Which was, also, somewhat uninspiring and lacked insight. It was a rather straight forward thought.
Another somewhat disappointing series of long minutes from Eiji Rasting, but Ayana was far too wrapped up in everyone else's excellent thinking to dwell on the surly Slytherin. Giving him a nod, she moved on.
Text Cut: ArianaBlack ft. Bold Text Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Anything to add?
Nina shook her head. She had plenty she could have added to the discussion, but she would rather not contribute to the lesson in anyway. It would be far too risky. And she didn’t take risks. Instead, the Slytherin feigned disinterest as others continued to give their answers to the question. She did, however, see the LOOK that Eiji had given her. And she knew exactly what he meant by it too.
He was so agitating. And it wasn’t going to work.
Only it did work.
Because if there was anything worse than outing herself in the middle of a lesson, it was that smug look that Eiji Rasting wore on his face. And so without a proper analysis of his potential motives, Nina’s hand shot up to answer the next question posed to the class. There was a first time for everything.
“Different bodies of water have differing characteristics by their very nature,” having to do with their size, mineral content, location, etc. “Surely as a result, arithmancers could associate different numbers with each.” It was obvious, really. Nina was almost surprised that no one else had thought to raise the point yet. “Take a lake for instance, they are completely surrounded by land giving them rigidity and structure, qualities one can associate with the numerical value of 4. A river, in comparison, is free-flowing and changes in size, shape, and volume dependent on many factors. Association with the number seven would make much more sense.” She kept her back straight and her eyes on Professor Sissay as she gave her answer with confidence. “Perhaps an ocean could be associated with the numerical value of 1, as it is boundless, full of life, and entirely it’s own entity, unlike the others.” Really she could go on and on with these examples. There were so many different examples to draw from. Seas, gulfs, ponds. She had hardly even touched the surface.
HA.
She looked back over at Eiji to give him a look to convey that she had one-upped him and dropped the figurative mic, before turning back to realize what she had just done. Immediately her hand flew up to grab a lock of hair, which she began twirling around her fingers. “Like, um, maybe?”
This... was possibly more surprising than Mr. Kowalski's hug at the beginning of the lesson. Honestly. Ayana had been sure she'd need to have a stern talking to with the girl after the holidays. Wonderful! Wonderful. She hoped these academic challenges between Nina and Eiji continued. "You've raised some very interesting points, excellent thinking Nina. I do especially like your reasoning for one being associated with the ocean," Ayana's voice almost had a whimsical tone, remembering her first time trying to assess the numbers and meanings of water. Futile, of course, but they did not know it as of yet. Nina had arrived pretty close to the point she will be making soon, and for that she received a very warm smile and several slow, pleased nods.
Text Cut: Lissy Longbottom Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom ...what was happening?
Nettie watched Nina and Eiji in interest, her mouth pulling in to a small smirk as she watched the two Slytherins go back and forth. It was always fun watching Eiji get in to arguments. It was amusing watching him get all worked up about something, but it was ALSO amusing when someone put up a good fight and provided a successful argument against whatever he was saying.
But, this was Arithmancy, and Nettie's brain was already hurting and they were only on the second question. So who had the better argument? She had no clue. She didn't really CARE either. But it was still amusing, and Nettie always enjoyed when the drama in the classroom didn't revolve around her.
It didn't happen often, but when it did - it was refreshing.
She raised her hand after a period of thought to drop her two knuts in to the conversation. "I think 9 would be good for water, because it means complexity, and as we've established, water is a VERY complex element," she answered simply. Arithmancy was probably not nearly as difficult as she made it out to be, most days.
Nine! Quite good, quite good, as wrong as the rest of them but an excellent attempt! "Very good thinking! Nine is the epitome of complexity," oh that had rhymed, how wonderful, she'd need to remember the turn of phrase, "but have we established that water is complex? Its uses are complex, like creating energy or providing a habitat for life, but what about the water itself? Brain food in the form of questions is the best way to keep the wheels turning.
Text Cut: lazykitty Quote:
Originally Posted by lazykitty "I think Nina has it completely wrong. She hasn't even accounted for the basic chemical formula of water, H2O or for the basic properties, power and potential for destruction it holds, no matter which state it's in," Archer started with....wait was that a bit of her chuckle returning? Why yes, yes it was. "With that in mind, I think that there are a few basic numbers that would show up in regards to water, no matter the state: the double nines showing the aforementioned power, with one of those nines being the central figure revealing water's underlying complexity; an eight for its pure infiniteness," Was that even a word? Oh well, it was now. "as the water that's on Earth now is the same stuff that's been here since the planet formed, also for the repetitiveness of the water cycle itself; a three for it's the very foundation for life on a planet; and possibly a six for the chaos it can sometimes cause." Ugh, that had been a mouthful.
As for the objects? "I think that if you cast the charm on the ice sculpture and the waterfall, you would get the same numbers. After all, they're still both water, just in different states. But the tomato wouldn't have the same numbers, since it's a plant, something that, while it depends on water to survive, is still something fundamentally different."
By Hypatia, this was antagonistic. Ayana didn't appreciate the tone, though she very much liked the girl's thinking. Hmm. "I must intercede here, please do not tell your fellow students that you think they're wrong Archer," Ayana began, addressing that first before anything else. "Especially during discussions, I request fact based and thoughtful opinions from everyone, and encourage a thought provoking dialogue, there is no room for wrong or right among opinions," and, certainly not about water. That's the wonderful thing about it.
"Now, about your own opinion. It's very, very well thought out, just like Nina's. Your suggested numbers are excellently picked," Ayana nodded, the warm smile returning as she remembered the girl's case for nines and sevens. Certainly, it would make sense for there to be lots of those. "But you have touched upon a point that I would like you to think of.. Water, is a singular thing, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. How would you cast the spell on the tomato? I can't see any water. I know it's there, but I can't see it? And how about those clouds above your head?" There's a certain... problem, that they'd be touching on very soon.
Text Cut: siriusblackliveson Quote:
Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson He supposed Nina had a point but he wasn't so sure that Sterling had it right either. Sure water had a base that was always the same H2O but it didn't always have the same properties, creeks were something he could drink out of as a kid. Lakes were contained so often dirty as all get out. So he supposed that while different they were still bodies of water.
"I think I agree with both Nina and Sterling. I think that even though all water has the same chemical make up its all different. Like we drink out of streams, but we would never drink lake water. Some oceans have more salt in the water than others. Some of the oceans are really cold water but are really warm in others. Doesn't that actually account for something?" Wow he never tried to start these kind of conversations in a class he wasn't 100% confident with. It wasn't something that he often did and he was kind of surprised in himself.
He was writing down all of the things on the board he began to wonder if 13 was as unlucky for water as it was for other things in the world but kept it to himself. Nope not going to go down the rabbit hole today.
Ayana loved Patrick's response, and the accompanying warmth she felt from it. Very, very good. Very good. She hoped he had a wonderful Christmas, just for this. "You've touched on a very good point there Patrick! How many times do we really interact with pure water? It usually has salts and minerals in it, when we drink, or dirt, or any other assortment of non-water things. It certainly sounds like that presence would change the numbers we would expect to see." Ayana was nigh on trembling with excitement. Or was it cold? It was quite cold in here. Perhaps she'd let the elephant melt, to get some warmth back into her bones.
Text Cut: MadMadamMalfoy Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Did that really just happen? Did she actually give a correct answer to an arithmancy question? Tina positively beamed when Professor Sissay praised her answer. Maybe this class wasn't such a lost cause after all! Her sudden burst of confidence diminished slightly when she heard the next question, though. Great, another one of those vague, opinion-based questions she hated! Too much guesswork and uncertainty for her liking… she dealt in hard, undebatable facts.
While her classmates seemed to be focusing mostly on the ice sculpture and waterfall, Tina turned her attention to the bowl of cucumbers and tomatoes, pondering possible numbers. The first one that jumped out at her was 8… infinity, repeatable, life. The water inside those vegetables sustained them as part of a living plant, and the vegetables themselves would, in turn, provide life-sustaining nourishment. Okay, that was a good start. What else? She thought for a minute. What about 3? That meant foundation, versatility, growth. Water was one of the foundations needed to grow a seed into the plants that eventually produced those vegetables, so that sort of fit, right? Or was it too much of a stretch?
Unfortunately, Tina didn't consider either of her ideas concrete enough to voice out loud, so she kept quiet. She knew she'd made the right decision as soon as Hogwarts's resident loudmouth over there (Archer) piped up. Wow… just why? Disagreeing was one thing, but there was a right and a wrong way to do it. Mentioning names and calling someone wrong in front of a classroom full of other people was definitely the wrong way! And that insipid chuckle - as soon as Tina heard it, she was 100% convinced that the Hufflepuff knew what she was doing and was actively trying to humiliate that other girl (Nina). If there wasn't a professor present, Tina would've let her have it, but she wasn't worth the loss of house points. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from scoffing. Honestly, she didn't know why she continued to be surprised by that one's complete and utter lack of tact!
Just when Tina thought all kinds of chaos was going to result from that comment, her attention turned to the Slytherin prefect who spoke (Patrick). Thank Merlin some of the leaders in this school showed conduct befitting the rank they held! She gave an appreciative nod, as if to say, I agree with what he said.
Alas, more quiet from Tina's corner. Ayana had hoped that the girl might be opening up a bit more, and maybe would be encouraged by Nina's sudden outburst of speech. She offered her a questioning raise of her brow, quietly encouraging. She thought the girl had a very good head on her shoulders. She'd do very well with the number charts that were lined up for their spring module.
Ayana raised her hands once again to bring the discussion to a close. "Let's summarise, or attempt to, shall we? Water is complex and vast and structured, we've heard double sevens and eights and nines, we've heard one, we've heard four, and a six," there may have been more, but those were the ones that she had remembered. "What about the figure two? Water exists in harmony with the earth does it not? Once upon a time, this entire planet was covered in water," Ayana began pacing in front of the class again, weaving her story with hand waving and a steady, engaged tone. "Or a five, did anyone say five? Water is one of the most adaptable substances I can think of, one that wears down mountains to make changes nothing else can.
And what about zero?" she looked around, her dark eyes twinkling as they often do when she'd ready to teach something huge, "Death? Water is dangerous, Eloise here pointed that out. In the Dead Sea, where nothing lives, water is empty. One could argue that the salt content is the real culprit, but the salt without the water wouldn't be a sea." Ayana waited a few moments to let the concepts settle before pulling out her wand and pausing next to the waterfall, where the water was still happily trickling down.
"Let's test our theories then? Emfanizou Arithmou!" she pointed her wand at the little formation, and the number that appeared as she circled the tip were numbers they had already seen - for the rock behind the water. "Well, it's not the rock I wanted, let me try that again," Ayana cast the charm once more, and new numbers emerged. Three eights, two sevens, one five and one six. "Exciting! Who was right?" Ayana turned to the class with an amused little grin. "But wait! Let me cast again, just to double check..." she quickly piped up, and on the second go an entirely different set of numbers emerged. Four nines, one zero, two fives. Curious. Very curious. Interesting right? The Minoans thought so too.
"I'd like you to practice your charm, casting on the waterfall or the ice sculpture, or even the clouds, and tell me if perhaps you can arrive at some concrete numbers," Ayana spread her hands wide, and stepped aside for them all to have space. Her little 'slip up' with the rock will be touched upon at the end of the lesson, if she had some time left over. She still wanted to introduce them all to elemental probability calculations and its exceptional use in predicative arithmancy.
"Try, while you're casting, to see if you can spot any reoccurring figures, or any sort of discernible pattern!" Good? Good.
OOC: Numbers and water and hints of maths oh my! You can use random generators to come up with the numbers, or just have fun with them! The students shouldn't have much of an issue with the spell, they've been using it since the beginning of term ^__^ | I've had to mess around with the times for this lesson and I apologise that there isn't a bit more for this part, you'll have up to 48 hours to complete it before we move on. Go forth and numberise! (that's not a word, I know, but it's late and I like it so we're keeping it cheers good night)
__________________ yeah I like tеlling stories________________________
but I don't have to write them in ink_____
_____________I could still change the end |