Apropos of nothing - a random HP thought.

[ridicully]

Where does half the fandom get the impression that Harry is cheating by using a book with notes in it?

They are allowed to use their book while brewing and are supposed to have read up on the potion they are preparing in class.
And in written tests, I doubt they are allowed to use their books anyway, so the notes won't be any help to him there.
The only difference I see between Harry and a Ravenclaw (in this instance) is that the Ravenclaw would have made the notes himself - and probably not in the book, but on a spare bit of paper.

Having better reference material is rarely considered cheating. No matter how much of an advantage it gives you.

Comments

[ryf.livejournal.com]

What Harry did was the equivalent of just coping out the answers and handing them in, instead of trying to work the problem out on his own, and only referring to the answers when he got stuck.

Like all the other stdents, too. They don't really learn something in Potions class if they don't want to. Everyone there just brews a potion from the instructions of a book. They don't have to learn anything, they don't have to memorise. They just have to weigh, count and stir.

Also, giving an answer you found the easy way is also a way of learning. Not a good way, but many people can remember answers they wrote down or gave in class better than when they just read them in a book they had to read.

[conuly]

I'll agree with you here.

If I thought that potions classes were like chem classes, and you were expected to understand why it works, I'd agree with the statement that using the better recipes isn't learning.

But as near as I can tell, it's just memorising recipes. I don't think much of this form of education, but Harry is just doing what everybody else is doing - except better, because he has a better cookbook.