[Torg] Why 0-21? Or why not ?

[Chris]

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 4:31 PM, Jasyn Jones <jasynj at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Feb 22, 2010, at 1:55 PM, Dominick Riesland wrote:
> >> The tech example
> >>
> >> The science is described with an exponential growth  by sociological
> models.
> >> Following this idea one could have :
> >> Ex for a tech scale :
> >> 0 : none
> >> 1 : furs and wall painting LL
> >> 2 : Antiquity, Land Below, Tz Ravok.
> >> 3 : Aysle
> >> 4 : Orrorsh
> >> 5 : Nile Empire
> >> 6 : Core Earth
> >> 7 :Nippon Tech
> >> 8 :CyberPapacy Tharkold
> >> 9 : Space Gods
> >> 10 : Full Tech, Time Travel and so on.
> Axioms as numbers to generate reconnection numbers = quantitative. Your
> definition.
>
> Axiom 10 chart: Highest difference between the Character's axioms and the
> Lands = Base DN. Any other single axiom above the Lands = +1 to base DN per.
> + Fudge factor (x3 DN).
>
> M/S/S/T: 2875 (Land)
> M/S/S/T: 6398 (Character)
>
> Reco DN: Highest difference Character > land is 4 (Magic). Character has 2
> other axioms above the Land's, +1 per. Total = 6. x3 = 18 DN.
>
> Switch land for character. Reco DN: Highest difference is 5 (Social).  No
> other axioms higher. Total = 5. x3 = 15 DN.
>
> A 0-10 scale is quantitative, based on your own definition. Any numeric
> scale would be, because it provides numbers. Therefore, all numeric scales
> are quantitative, per your own definition.
>
> (And lest anyone complain about the equation, this is almost exactly the
> same equation actually used to generate the current reconnection charts.)


I'm just going to trim this part out and reply before I continue reading
anything. The section as a whole is confusing to me. Maybe its just the
extreme shortness of everything that is being said. However, the 0-10 scale
(as I re-pasted back in above), being 0-10, does not make it quantitative.
It is merely a list of values with corresponding alphanumeric labels that
happen to be numbers. Yes, I can count that there are 11 entries, and in
that sense it is quantitative, but what is the difference between 1 and 2,
and 2 and 3. Are they the same? Am I to presume that the Tech difference
between Core Earth and Nippon Tech is the same level of difference than
between, say, Land Below and Aysle? I have a hard time believing that could
be the case. Even in relative proximity, I believe there is a greater
difference between Nile Empire and Core Earth, than Core Earth and Nippon
Tech. This is where the quantitative aspect is missing. What is the
numerical value assigned to the difference of two cosms axiomatic ratings?
That is the quantitative value we would need.

Oh, and as for norming the Social/Tech with the Magic/Spirit, I don't see
how you would need to norm the different axioms against one another, as they
are entirely separate values, measuring things that are (for simplicity's
sake) unrelated systems of measure. So long as your individual axioms have a
consistency to them, there should be no problem.

-chris
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