Picard is better than Kirk!

There are far worse plot holes in the books than the ones you mentioned, but I'll out myself even further as a nerd.

Thestrals can only be seen after you see death and it sinks in. He did not directly witness his mother's death (he couldn't see over the edge of the crib), and he was still in shock over the death of Diggory, so it hadn't sunk in yet.

For the mirror thing, it's not really a "plot hole" that Harry is kind of stupid. He's been kind of stupid through all seven books. He's quick on his feet and cool under pressure, but in terms of outright critical thinking, he's kind of dumb.

For the painting thing, Rowling changed the paintings several times, but allegedly there is a limit to their knowledge and how much Dumbledore's painting could have told him. It's an imprint of Dumbledore's personality, but not the full store of his knowledge and being.

Dumbledore was, iirc, over 150 years old. I don't think his lack of a love life ever really needed explaining, that's not really a plot hole.

Harry spent most of his time in the magical world, such as at Hogwarts and in the Ministry. Anytime you have a large concentration of magic, it interferes with electrical devices and signals so that they do not work. This is explained in one of the first books, iirc.

Since I am the same age as Harry Potter, I can speak to the cell phone issue. Nobody had cell phones while I was in High School. Some people had pagers, but cell phone plans were still too expensive at that point. It wasn't until about summer 1998 that "free nights and weekends" started showing up more and more, and cell phones became more viable. My family had one cell phone while I was in high school, and it was only used for traveling emergencies... and the cell phone was huge by comparison to my RAZR!

i must admitt that this is the worst article to grace the den yet, and that really says a lot. What is the point....that you say there are problems with the books, but you still like them. These books are a work of FICTION deal with it.

This opinion piece seems oddly untimely and out of place. There has been little mention of Harry Potter in the media, let alone regarding books four and five--especially since movie 6 will be coming out later this year, and book seven graced the shelves more than half a year ago!

Yeah, it's true -- this piece is a bit untimely and would have worked better coinciding with a book or movie release. However, I must admit that this headline listed under the "most commented" section drew my attention immediately (I'm a Potter nerd also.) So I guess you did something right.

As far as the cell phone issue goes -- I'm pretty sure a cell phone would have intrigued Mr. Weasley, as he would have seen it as a fascinating Muggle artifact, but regardless of the fact that such a device makes communication easy -- it would have stood out like a sore thumb in the wizarding world. Very out of place in the Potter books.

I find this a little sad that I'm arguing about Harry Potter... I am totally lame.

I think it was a good review, i don't see why people are complaining that it doesn't coincide with a movie or book release...what has that got to with it??? besides the site is about plot-holes and that's just what we got, i've seen other sites where they come up with spelling mistakes as plot holes!
as far as i'm concerned this was a good effort

Cell Phones: The Harry Potter books take place 10 years ago 1991-1998, and High School students didn't carry around cell phones back then.

Europe might have had wide use of cell phones sooner - they've caught on to technological networks faster than the US has, but still, wizarding families don't seem to be part of the rest of the world, particularly the pure-bloods with money wouldn't have been interested in muggle technology. Ron's dad was interested in muggle technology, but he didn't know much about it at all (once remarking that his greatest wish in life was to know how an airplane stayed up, something I could have told him the basics of in elementary school), and besides they were poor.

Harry's aunt and uncle didn't seem like the type to give him anything; even today he'd be one of the 14% of teenagers who don't have a mobile. Hermione, being muggle born and part of the real world, might have been given one, but it wouldn't have done her much good if neither Harry nor Ron had had one as well.

Thestrals: I noticed this one as well. Rowling explained that Harry didn't understand his mother's death, being only 1, to explain why he didn't always see the thestrals. However, I imagine he would have seen them on his way out of Hogwarts after Cedric died, but he apparently doesn't for some unstated reason. Of course, Rowling could make up something here as well, like it takes a while for the effect to sink in, but it's a stretch for someone who claimed she spent 5 years working on the laws and logic of her magical world before writing the books. It is a gaping hole though, as I picked it up on my first read.

Also, in Book 5 Neville seems to have no problem seeing the thestrals to jump on their backs on the way to the Ministry, but I can't figure out how he sees them. At first I though of his parents, but they're not dead, merely tortured into insanity.

I understand Luna never mentioning it, she wasn't in Harry's year or part of the group until Book 5, and everyone thought she was crazy besides, but one would assume Neville would have said something. Neville is mentioned as being with Harry, Ron and Hermione in the carriage to Hogwarts in Book 4, but he doesn't say anything about the undead-dragon-looking-horse-thing pull them along.

If Neville's parent's torture, which I'm not sure he even personally saw, would enable him to see the thestrals, then Neville would have seen them when he sat with Harry, Ron and Hermione in Book 4. If torturing into insanity doesn't count, then Neville would have had to see someone die between Books 4 & 5, but he didn't see Cedric's death. If it was the effect of Cedric's death or seeing his dead body then Ron & Hermione would have seen the thestrals as well.

I can't see an explanation out of this one, unless Neville sees someone die between the beginning of Book 4 and the latter part of Book 5 and either I can't remember it or it was never mentioned - one would imagine a major supporting character watching someone die would deserve a sentence somewhere in there. It's a pretty major plot hole that's hard to make up something to fill in the logic.

for those people who don't pay attention to details in books you would know that in the fourth book it is stated that muggle electronics like cellphones do not work in the wizarding world. so they couldn't use cellphones even if they wanted to. So quit going on abotu them not having cell phones and shut up!!

hello!
book three: F-ing time travel. "About three turns would do it," how about 25, 50, 0r 100? Put Scabers in a cage, take him to the ministry of magic. DONE, book over. If one knows they have the ability to travel back in time, why not even take a second try at it after the first time didn't turn out as planed. come on time travel is a terrible plot device because it is completely under used and explained. seeing another copy of yourself telling yourself that they are from the future isn't going to be werid when YOU HAVE THE TIME TRAVELING DEVICE AROUND YOUR NECK and have been using it for the past six months!

We find out harry was born in 1980 in the second book, NOOB

As to the cell phone issue, Rowling said early on that the wizarding world is void of modern technology. No electricity, no phones, no ball-point pens
What they do have is indoor plumbing, which actually makes a bigger plot hole than the lack of cell phones. They had sinks 900 years before they were invented in the muggle world, based on the claim that Slytherin engineered the Chamber's entrance into the castle's construction.

Harry Potter blows. I'd rather analyze and resolve real-life issues. Grow up children.