HARRY POTTER
(Posted 2011-07-19 11:04:03 by ArchPaladin)

I suppose this really isn't the most appropriate category for this post,
but it comes close to its target audience, and I couldn't resist passing up
making the list.

*Why going to the New England School of Acupuncture is like living in Harry
Potter's world. (explanations given in parentheses)*

* The herbal dispensary is in the basement.  (Potions class is in the
basement.)

* There are multiple different tracks of study available at the school. 
(Different school houses - notably, the Slytherin house and herbal medicine
study have many similarities.)

* Within each track of study, there are certain faculty members that you
are likely to see multiple times.  (Heads of house.)

* Acupuncture businesses (at least here in New England) are often part of
other medical clinics, are generally not well publicized, and thus easily
overlooked unless you already know about them.  (Unplottable locations.)

* Students are not allowed to treat other people while in school.  (Magic
is forbidden outside school grounds.)

* Treatments are performed using needles of various gauges, lengths, and
material compositions.  (Wands, with their different cores and woods.)

* Patients often comment about how mysterious acupuncture seems.  ("Magic"
generally.)

* The acupuncture profession has developed a standard set of textbooks used
across many different schools for exams.  (The _Standard Book of Spells_.)

* Ethnic students often know Asian languages native to their culture and
speak it regularly to each other.  (Parseltongue.  I draw this comparison
without meaning to connote any racism.)

* Descriptions of Chinese medical conditions often use borrowed Chinese
language terms, or use translations of terms into English where the
specific meaning is semi-discernable but not easily explainable.  (Spells
are cast by pronouncing some phrase in dog latin [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_latin ] [wikipedia.org].)

* Each year that I've been in school our Business Practice Management class
has had a different faculty member.  (Defense Against the Dark Arts.)

* Some students claim that if a person does not grow up in a particular
ethnic heritage or has been exposed to a particular tradition or lineage
that they are not practicing "true" acupuncture, cannot understand "true"
acupuncture, and therefore their treatments and care are inferior. 
(Pure-bloods.)

* All students are required to pass a set of board exams in order to
practice.  (O.W.L.s.)

* Clinical supplies are dispensed by a person whose job title is the
"Supply Dragon".  (The dragon at Gringott's bank.)

* Students practicing in the clinic are required to wear white lab coats. 
(School robes.)

* Some practitioners who train the correct set of skills can treat people
through non-insertive means or allegedly at a distance.  (Wandless or
voiceless magic.)



I came up with this list over the course of about a weekend.  There are
probably a lot more comparisons that could be drawn, but I'll leave it at
this.

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