How does the Pensieve allow....

[Faid]

How does the pensieve allow Harry access to the world around him at that time. Harry seems to enter the world as himself, only invisible to the people around him. When inside the past, he can overhear the conversations of the Marauders, even though Snape obviously wasn't there to overhear such conversations. When the gang was doing their OWLS how had Harry been able to see what was going on with the people behind Snape, especially when Snape would of been focusing on his own test?

1. How?
2. Could Harry technically travel to OTHER places within Hogwarts and overhear conversations Snape would never have been able to hear?

Furthermore, what if Ron for example when into Harry's mind right as the Prophecy was falling, and then put his ear right up close to listen to what the prophecy said? Would he be able to hear it, even though at the time Harry and Neville couldn't?

[Little Miss]

i suppose its a bit like in a douglas adams book, one character hypnotises the other to recover the memory of a college dinner party and when its over, the hypnotist reveals to the hypnotised that he remembered much more about the scene under hypnosis than he did when just using his concious memory.

it is probably drawing on the theory that our unconcious mind is aware of everything around us and filters out anything we dont really need to know, transfers whats left to out concious mind, and stores other information for later referance. (so for instance, if you enter a building for the first time your mind will register even the tiniest details about your surroundings but later in the day when you are called upon to remember it, you will only remember what is relevant to you. but on re-entering the building you'll feel familiar with it, maybe notice if someone's put a vase of flowres on the cabinet in the hallway, or notice that a picture you didnt pay much attention to earlier has been cleaned)

i assume it works something like that, but i suppose the only person that could answer for sure is JKR.

[Lord Schaudt]

I think its more like this:

You live in a enviroment that you perceive everything around you, however you can't fully realizes this as a human, built in limits to our system for processing information. however when someone gos into a Pensive vision they can see as much as you would have if you hasd none of those limits. as for things behind snapes head, well classroom walls don't change, and im sure he looked around before sitting down.

[Little Miss]

Originally posted by Lord Schaudt
I think its more like this:

You live in a enviroment that you perceive everything around you, however you can't fully realizes this as a human, built in limits to our system for processing information. however when someone gos into a Pensive vision they can see as much as you would have if you hasd none of those limits. as for things behind snapes head, well classroom walls don't change, and im sure he looked around before sitting down.

yeah thats kinda what i meant... cept i cant explain stuff properly :(

[Pilgrim Grey]

Doesn't Dumbledore say in GOF that it allows you to explore your own thoughts or something? We thought that just meant that you could see what you'd already thought/taken in, but it still allows for the possibility that he meant it allows you to explore the past that you have experienced.