Re: Ferochromon: the Ebisedian conworld (fwd)

On Wed, Jul 24, 2002 at 12:15:03PM -0700, JS Bangs wrote:
> I thought I'd save HS Teoh the trouble and forward this myself. It's quite
> informative.
Thanks. I was just about to post a few messages on a website somewhere :-)
(Perhaps I still will. I might even start writing up more details on said
website, too.)

>  The only further complaint that I have is that the
> con-physics are almost entirely conceptual and not at all mathematical,
> which makes me suspicious. Physics just ain't right without some serious
> number-crunching behind it.
[snip]

Nah ... :-) I've always been a qualitative person. I can do abstract
calculus theorizing like a snap, but mundane, everyday arithmetic gets me
completely stuck all the time. Or calculating actual values for definite
integrals, for that matter. I used to know qualitative organic chem like
the back of my hand in high school, but at the first sight of actual
numbers, everything goes out the window. :-P

The problem with creating a purely mathematical model for this particular
set of con-physics is that it must apply on the universal scale. (After
all, it *is* an entire universe; fictional, but infinitely large
nonetheless.) It would probably take several lifetimes to get anything
resembling a "consistent" system, which is much more than I have
time/interest for. Besides, I haven't actually decided whether or not this
con-world actually follows mathematical laws. You might say that in that
case it shouldn't be called "physics", and I agree, to a certain extent.
It isn't "physics" in the sense of actual, quantitative measurements and
conclusions drawn from that; but it *is* "physics" in the sense that it
operates according to governing principles.

The Ebisedian conworld has always been, since its conception a number of
years ago, an unlikely union of sci-fi and fantasy. In a sense, one of the
reasons I haven't gotten to the mathematical level is that I'm still
molding this beast. It's far from finished. There are still many things
that I haven't resolved yet. Creative processes, IMHO, usually need some
degree of freedom to form and take shape, before being subjected to more
rigor and working out of detail. I've always found, whether in conlanging
or conworlding or composing music, that being overly analytic from day one
usually leads to a dead-end rather quickly.

And since this *is* fictional, there really is no pressing need to
completely resolve everything. I do try not to be sloppy, and make things
as consistent as possible, but I really don't mind if this fictional world
is a bit self-contradictory. It makes it more interesting. :-)


T

--
All men are mortal. Socrates is mortal. Therefore all men are Socrates.