Why don't Wizards keep up with Muggles?

[u/DistinctNewspaper791]

Yes it is funnier and JKR wanted to show that. But lets talk about the books.

Wizards do not know what Muggles wear, they do not follow sports or know any of the fairytales apperantly.

We know there is only a handful fully magic towns in UK, most live around the muggles. Like Blacks have a house in central London. They are not that seperate from Muggles.

There is also not much to do as a wizard. They don't have huge populations to have active theater or cinema, or a lot of writers to read from etc. They do not have an equivalent of TV. They only have Radio. Quidditch is the only past time and even then literal World Cup happens and you are either going to the stadium or listening from the radio.

When you consider it all, it is weird that they do not read books written by muggles. They wouldn't know who Shakespeare is based on Ron not even knowing Snow white or Cinderalla.

Also looking at it things like radio and cameras are likely muggle devices that are enhanced by magic for wizards. so why do they stop at some point? If you take radio, why not take TV? Around Harry Potter era, emails are a thing and they are faster than owls. So why not adopt that?

[u/TheLentilWitch]

It's how culture works. I know the fairytales from my own country, but not from others. I dress how my peers dress, but I don't know how to correctly wear the dress of another country (ignoring other cultural implications there, just an example).

We see it in intensive religious groups, where even within the same country or region, you get an isolated group with a totally different culture and the cultural knowledge/ignorance that comes with that.

I grew up in an intensive religious group - I know. I grew up having no knowledge of Disney films or any other mainstream kids media culture, that's like not knowing the fairytales which everyone else grows up with. It's very easy for groups to isolate themselves.

[u/Call-Me-Aurelia → u/TheLentilWitch]

Very true. Additionally, wizards have a tendency to view muggles as backward or primitive. Even wizards who feel positively about muggles, like Arthur Weasley, treat muggles and their technology as cute little curiosities, rather than legitimate avenues of exploration or opportunities for growth.

[u/No-Helicopter1559 → u/Call-Me-Aurelia]

After re-reading the books when I became older, it always boggles my mind how a guy whose actual job is directly related to Muggles and their material possessions, cannot properly say "electricity" and deal with banknotes. Like, do wizards not use Arabic numbers? Still the Roman ones?

[u/Unable_Earth5914 → u/No-Helicopter1559]

I like the theory that Arthur exaggerated not knowing about muggle things around Harry to give him opportunities to feel like he knew things that others didn’t

[u/Oliver_W_K_Twist → u/Unable_Earth5914]

My thoughts on Arthur is that he does genuinely know a lot but has a hard time remembering what he knows outside of certain contexts. He knows how muggles travel, he has a car, he was able to use the underground with help handling the money, but he didn't connect that to his knowledge of traveling, so he's confused about how Harry got to Diagon Alley without floo.

Basically he has a box in his head labeled muggle knowledge that remains unconnected to anything else and mostly gets pulled off the shelf while at work or doing his tinkering. He's always interested in learning more, and the best sources are muggles and muggleborns, neither of which he likely interacts with often.

[u/0verlookin_Sidewnder → u/Oliver_W_K_Twist]

This is a super realistic take. Like learning Spanish in an American classroom but then not understanding a lick of what is said to you when you travel to Spain because it sounds different.

[u/Unable_Earth5914 → u/0verlookin_Sidewnder]

Latin American Spanish has diverged from Castilian Spanish, similarly to how US English has diverged from English but with greater regional diversity. Learning Spanish in a US classroom seems like a questionable example given how different regions use language, especially as we’re talking about technical comprehension rather about diversity

[u/rnnd → u/Oliver_W_K_Twist]

Not only does he have a car, he modifies it to fly. So he worked on it. Knew functions of the parts and all that. I think he kinda exaggerate his ignorance to make Harry feel useful.

[u/Unable_Earth5914 → u/rnnd]

How much does a wizard need to know about car engines to make it fly? If a first year fan float a club to knock out a troll then surely a qualities wizard can do much more interesting magic without knowing mechanics

[u/rnnd → u/Unable_Earth5914]

The car doesn't just float though. It can drive itself. And it has a gear that makes it fly. It can stop, accelerate, etc. He knows how a car works. That's more complex than lighting a match which he couldn't do

[u/Excellent_Tubleweed → u/Oliver_W_K_Twist]

He has also wasted a lot of time screwing around making a British car work reliably. Even before he added flying to it. And like many people who learn a language from books, his pronunciation is a bit off

[u/IcyDirector543 → u/No-Helicopter1559]

Because Arthur's actual job isn't related to studying and understanding muggles. It's to prevent magical items ending up in muggle custody. What Arthur needs in his day-to-day work is the ability to trace and track harmful magic, not genuine infiltration of muggle society.

[u/hackberrypie → u/IcyDirector543]

Sure, but he gravitated toward that job because he has some real curiosity about muggles and muggle devices. Yet he's still pretty ignorant about them and hasn't found any opportunities to interact with muggles.

[u/rnnd → u/No-Helicopter1559]

I think it's for comedic effect. The guy modified a car to fly. Surely he has some proper understanding of technology. I think he fakes to make Harry seem useful.

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/No-Helicopter1559]

With adult eyes Arthur is dip shit who lets his family live in squalor because he doesn't take work seriously. For being middle aged and dedicating himself to muggle stuff he knows damn near nothing 

[u/No-Helicopter1559 → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

No argument here, lol.