So I got an 11 inch unicorn tail beech wand, a barn owl, and Gryffindor. Which would be fine with me (Jro is in Gryffindor too!) except Gryffindor is in dajfo;wajgwjgsdjfao; third place which is pretty much last :'(.
Here is an excellent article about the Pottermore sorting hat and the cultural stereotypes about the four Houses.
Pottermore: Is the Sorting Hat Rigged?
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On Pottermore, a lot of people are getting surprised by the Sorting
Hat. People who have identified throughout their entire Harry Potter
lives with one House or another are getting put into “the wrong
House”!!!
So what’s happening?
The Numbers Game
Some people think that the sorting is all really a numbers game. After all, they say, look at the House numbers!
Currently, with 392,561 students inside the Great Hall, the House breakdown looks like this:
Well, some math geeks predicted precisely this result – i.e., that as increasing numbers of people entered Pottermore, the Houses would distribute more and more evenly. In the beginning, from what I understand, the results were decidedly skewed towards Ravenclaw. As more people have joined, the distribution has become more even.
At any rate, it does not make sense to me – strictly from a business perspective – that JKR would involve herself in Pottermore, brand it as “more Potter” from J.K. Rowling, claim pride in the accuracy of her sorting mechanism… and then just leave the sorting to random chance. She knows the Houses. She wrote the questions. She claims that the people in her life who have taken the Pottermore sorting quiz have ended up in exactly the Houses she predicted they would end up in.
No, as crazy as those numbers might look, the notion that JKR would intentionally mislead the fandom about the sorting on a site that has involved multiple years of planning (and a tremendous amount of J.K. Rowling branding) simply makes no sense at all.
But I’m a Ravenclaw! How Did I End Up in ______________ ?!?!?!?!?
Ravenclaw is the new Gryffindor. Everybody wants to live in Ravenclaw Tower these days… and hardly anyone wants to end up in Hufflepuff. We see this fandom trend even in the Expecto Patronum! poll:
In the Ravenclaw House History, I learned that Luna Lovegood is not an outlier. She is the norm. Ravenclaws may possess “wit beyond measure,” but according to the History, Ravenclaw’s strongest claim to fame is the eccentricity of the House – filled with famous Ravenclaws wearing jellyfish hats, communicating only through smoke, or asserting the Wizarding World’s “inalienable right to party.”
Slytherin can be equally intelligent as Ravenclaw, but the House is focused less on eccentricity than on achieving greatness… i.e., on doing something extraordinary and learning as much about magic as possible. Unfortunately, such a goal can easily be abused (see Tom Riddle), but it doesn’t have to be abused (see Merlin, the greatest Slytherin of all time).
A lot of people think that the Sorting Hat is mis-sorting people because fandom stereotypes of the Houses are often not being confirmed in the sortings. Self-identified Slytherins are ending up in Ravenclaw. Self-identified Ravenclaws are ending up in Slytherin… and Hufflepuff… and, occasionally, Gryffindor!
But is the fandom right about the Houses… and JKR wrong? She wrote the questions, and she stands by the sorting. Is the fandom perhaps misinformed about the true nature of the Houses and needs to start re-evaluating the Houses based on the new information provided?
I know my answer. What is yours?
My username is LeviosaWing1561. :) If you add me, be sure to tell me your username in the comments so I know who you are. XD
So what’s happening?
The Numbers Game
Some people think that the sorting is all really a numbers game. After all, they say, look at the House numbers!
Currently, with 392,561 students inside the Great Hall, the House breakdown looks like this:
Hufflepuff: 98,573 members (25.1%)That’s a fairly even distribution – too even for some people to accept that it could possibly result from an honest sorting mechanism. Could it possibly be a numbers game – and the sorting itself be completely random?
Ravenclaw: 98,453 members (25.1%)
Gryffindor: 98,192 members (25.0%)
Slytherin: 97,343 members (24.8%)
Well, some math geeks predicted precisely this result – i.e., that as increasing numbers of people entered Pottermore, the Houses would distribute more and more evenly. In the beginning, from what I understand, the results were decidedly skewed towards Ravenclaw. As more people have joined, the distribution has become more even.
At any rate, it does not make sense to me – strictly from a business perspective – that JKR would involve herself in Pottermore, brand it as “more Potter” from J.K. Rowling, claim pride in the accuracy of her sorting mechanism… and then just leave the sorting to random chance. She knows the Houses. She wrote the questions. She claims that the people in her life who have taken the Pottermore sorting quiz have ended up in exactly the Houses she predicted they would end up in.
No, as crazy as those numbers might look, the notion that JKR would intentionally mislead the fandom about the sorting on a site that has involved multiple years of planning (and a tremendous amount of J.K. Rowling branding) simply makes no sense at all.
But I’m a Ravenclaw! How Did I End Up in ______________ ?!?!?!?!?
Ravenclaw is the new Gryffindor. Everybody wants to live in Ravenclaw Tower these days… and hardly anyone wants to end up in Hufflepuff. We see this fandom trend even in the Expecto Patronum! poll:
Ravenclaw (197 votes):The reason for the strong Ravenclaw preference is that the fandom stereotype of Ravenclaw is that these are the smart, bookish, nerds. But are they really?
30.78%
Gryffindor (160 votes):
25%
I don’t have a preference. I’ll let the Pottermore Sorting Hat decide (135 votes):
21.09%
Slytherin (112 votes):
17.5%
Hufflepuff (36 votes):
5.63%
In the Ravenclaw House History, I learned that Luna Lovegood is not an outlier. She is the norm. Ravenclaws may possess “wit beyond measure,” but according to the History, Ravenclaw’s strongest claim to fame is the eccentricity of the House – filled with famous Ravenclaws wearing jellyfish hats, communicating only through smoke, or asserting the Wizarding World’s “inalienable right to party.”
Slytherin can be equally intelligent as Ravenclaw, but the House is focused less on eccentricity than on achieving greatness… i.e., on doing something extraordinary and learning as much about magic as possible. Unfortunately, such a goal can easily be abused (see Tom Riddle), but it doesn’t have to be abused (see Merlin, the greatest Slytherin of all time).
A lot of people think that the Sorting Hat is mis-sorting people because fandom stereotypes of the Houses are often not being confirmed in the sortings. Self-identified Slytherins are ending up in Ravenclaw. Self-identified Ravenclaws are ending up in Slytherin… and Hufflepuff… and, occasionally, Gryffindor!
But is the fandom right about the Houses… and JKR wrong? She wrote the questions, and she stands by the sorting. Is the fandom perhaps misinformed about the true nature of the Houses and needs to start re-evaluating the Houses based on the new information provided?
I know my answer. What is yours?
I'm GoldSkull7245. I wish you could choose your own username.
ReplyDeleteI've taken the test 3 times (without cheating) and I've always gotten Slytherin, which is what I and everyone else said I am. Because I'm Slytherin to the very core.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue is, is that originally (very beginning, I was one of the first people on there) a lot of people were getting Hufflepuff. And that's because the qualities of Hufflepuff's are very common in people. And yeah, Ravenclaw is the new favorite house, so everyone claims to be these quirky and smart people, when really they are neither of those things.
After it got out that Hufflepuff was the leading house as far as members go, people started cheating on the Sorting Hat test.
But, since JK is smart, there is only so much cheating you can do. Which is why there are still a butt load of Hufflepuffs.
The numbers are fishy though. There should be a lot more Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors and a lot less Slytherins and Ravenclaws.
PS: I'm SeekerGoblet190!
ReplyDeleteEdit: Here are the numbers for houses now.
ReplyDeleteGryffindor - 278,361
Ravenclaw - 256, 904
Hufflepuff - 266, 767
Slytherin - 268, 572
Ravenclaw actually has the least. Gryffindor has the most. I still think people are cheating to NOT get Hufflepuff.
Great post, but seriously- sorting or how they get it done is the least of my worries right now (thought I doubt Jo would be so cruel). Every time I go to Chapter One: Moment One it freezes or Shockwave Flash crashes. It does it in Chrome AND IE. I just installed Shockwave and JavaScript is on. Pretty much the only thing I can do is look at the interface or relauch my browser again and again.. and again. -_-
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm SparksChestnut18964
I haven't been sorted yet, because I only got my account this morning (it took FOREVER for the confirmation to go through...), and I'm excited to find out! I don't care where I'm sorted because it doesn't matter to me. Yeah, it'd be awesome to be sorted into Gryffindor or even Ravenclaw, but I'm leaving it up to the website :)
ReplyDeleteI'm MidnightCrimson4565, and I'm going to add everyone who left their names, if that's okay!
Really cool! I had gotten on Pottermore early though I haven't done anything on it yet(I just started doing some things on there now). My username is CrimsonDawn161 :)
ReplyDeleteMine changed, because something messed up, I'm now ShieldOwl15637!!
ReplyDeleteWhile I would not consider my self a Harry Potter fan yet since I just finished watching the Goblet of Fire last week but I do like the movies so far. But what exactly is "Pottermore"? I know that is probably a really dumb question.
ReplyDeleteAlso from the tests I have takken on different site I am usually Gryffindor, which is my favorite. :D
-James
I'm Purpleash27432! I'm adding you and Savannah/Qui.
ReplyDeleteOk...had to tell you...I'm in Slytherin! BWAWAWAWA!!! I knew I would end up there. I just knew it. Snapes and Draco are my buddies. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBladeWizard27536 is my username. Interesting article. I sent you a friend request. I also wish you could choose your own username, however, nicknames certainly help.
ReplyDeleteWow. I have no idea if the Hat is rigged...I'm really not even supposed to know what the Hat is...i'm not allowed to read Harry Potter...but...
ReplyDeleteI wish I could join Pottermore...**sigh** :P working on it... :P
But I think I'm probably Ravenclaw...