[PREV - STANDING_TOOLS] [TOP]
December 17, 2005
Rev: January 23, 2007
You know how people rate
stuff "on a scale of 1 to
10" and so on?
Well, the "Brenner Scale" As invented by the
is a little different
(of course): TOADKEEPER
Zero is neutral, with
positive or negative
values counting up or
down from there.
Roughly there Though really
are 7 levels: it's a little
+1 more complicated
+1/2 than that.
0+
0 There are ratings
0- such as "0+?",
-1/2 where the uncertainty
-1 might indicate it's
a little weaker
than a "0+".
Some features: (And why we put
the plus or minus
o Zero is absolutely after the zero,
neutral, neither I could not tell
good or bad. you.)
o If you feel like you
gained something, you
give it a positive Note: the focus is on
rating; if you feel your own reactions.
like you lost
something, then you You're not allowed to
give it a negative. count the benefit to
some hypothetical It could be that
o There's no specified audience. this is a flaw
limit to the range of of the scale.
the numbers, but being
very restrained in You can not
magnitudes is use it to
recommended. judge politcal
propaganda,
Most things just get rated for example.
0+ or 0-: "plus side of The idea is to
neutral" or "minus side of be sparing
neutral". with praise.
On occasion you'll see a Having a relatively
+1/2 or so. small number of levels
helps keep you from
A rating of +1 is getting bogged down in
extremely high praise. inane comparisons.
"Does this deserve a 6
out of 10? But isn't
it a little better than
that thing I just gave
Works of art can't a 7 to?"
be compared in
quality with any
meaningful degree of
precision, so you It's a much simpler question
shouldn't try. to answer: "Do I feel like I
got something from this, or
The interpolation of those "1/2" was it a waste of time?"
levels is something of a compromise
on that original notion.
You can, if you like, interpolate
more values, e.g. 3/4... but
that's so awkward, in practice
you're going to avoid doing it.
That's a feature.
--------
[NEXT - KAEL_TECHNIQUE]