Harry Potter and the Real World

Rachel Beeler is an English and Psychology major at the University of Michigan who plans on entering the medical field after graduation.

The end of the road is near, and the long, dreaded goodbye to the wizarding world we all fell in love with has begun. The seventh and final novel of the beloved Harry Potter fantasy series by J.K. Rowling is being split into two films, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens in theatres next weekend. The last installment marks the end of the series, but I don’t think we have seen the last of the influence the wizarding world has had on the world of Muggles.

In fact, it seems that the universe of Harry Potter and the real world are beginning to blend. The wizarding sport Quidditch has recently gained popularity on college campuses, including the University of Michigan.  It may not be airborne, but brooms are still used, and most positions are played during intercollegiate matches. Valerie Fischman, a student at the University of Maryland, is even waging a “long-shot campaign for recognition from the National Collegiate Athletic Association” to see Quidditch become a credible sport that will last.

Scientists at the University of St. Andrew in Scotland are also creating magic without having to wield a wand. A new “smart meta-flex” material is being developed which will make you “appear invisible by manipulating light,” and the discovery may allow for “invisible” clothing to be manufactured.

So for those of you who wish to avoid being detected by Snape while roaming the corridors at night or to evade the watchful eye of Filch as you work your mischief, invisible clothing is a step closer to having your very own invisibility cloaks.  But what dangers does the existence of such a material pose? Since military groups fund much of the research on invisible clothing, it will inevitably be used in war, perhaps to hide weapons or conduct espionage.  But if ordinary citizens get their hands on this material, there’s a lot of potential for it to be abused in pursuit of criminal ends as well.

Sure, everyone wishes from time to time to be invisible, but should we realistically have access to it? What else from the wizarding world will find its way into our reality next?

–Rachel Beeler

(Image by woodleywonderworks used under a Creative Commons license.)