Question A drop that, a drop of this and a f*cking drop of everything

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by canaria23, Jul 31, 2019.

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  1. BLKCandy

    BLKCandy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, readers wouldn't have a clue if author used old units. Though there are many which did well with vague measurements like 'stone throw away', 'a bell walk', or 'a candle long' things.

    I would say in this case, 'murica imperial units work in novels better than the sane SI units.
     
  2. canaria23

    canaria23 『  』

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    Yeah, units like li and etc. which at have a definite measurement are passable but vague units like the ones you mentioned are irritating to those who have ocd, like people have different breathing rhythms, a drop can be 3cmm or it can be just .003cmm, etc.
     
  3. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Oh yeah, some vague measurements can work too~

    ... Why would a mile be any better or worse than a kilometer though? *tilts head*
     
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  4. BLKCandy

    BLKCandy Well-Known Member

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    Miles, not so much. Yards, pounds, stones, etc though.

    Mostly because imperial units were standard unit before someone figure out every unit should work in base 10. So there was no kilo, centi, mili and the relation between smaller and larger units were weird. So, they were crappy and confusing like how measurement units were back then, except that there were actually defined. For SI users it would look like some ancient units.

    Again on the other hand, I feel moderately upset when sci-fi use imperial units. Use SI dammit. You are in space!
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2019
  5. BLKCandy

    BLKCandy Well-Known Member

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    Was kinda the point though. It was messy and irritating for modern people who used to modern precision. But back then measurement was a mess which is why a skilled craftman was so valued. They don't have technical drawing or measurement units/tools. Knowledge of a craft were often kept secret. It was much harder for even a new skilled guy to pick up the previous guy's work.

    As you said, people breating rythm were different. Imagine a master alchemist written recipe as boil at medium heat for 100 breath. What was medium heat? How long was 100 breath? Even if we replace the breath with 'more reliable' candles or incense it still varies a lot. Even hourglass varies. The master and his apprentice may know from experience, but other alchemists will have a hard time following the recipe.

    I believe one of the reasons people came up with standard units was because the man and an arm high wall he ordered became either a dwarf or giant wall. Or that a forearm long shortsword became a hand long dagger.
     
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  6. Aina Seira

    Aina Seira Princess For Life

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    I thought they measure time in terms of how many cups of tea they could boil within that period of time. Hahahaha
     
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  7. Hanten

    Hanten Well-Known Member

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    Ching Chang used 3 drops of demon blood and 9 drops of phoenix tears, 6 drops of ginseng essences
    Vs Ching Chang used spoon of demon blood
    And 9.6 mill of phoenix tear, lf half cup of ginseng essence
    Choose.
     
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  8. xiazixin

    xiazixin Well-Known Member

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    I did say
    Ching Chang 21ml of demon blood, phoenix tears and ginseng essences in a 1:3:2 ratio.
     
  9. Hanten

    Hanten Well-Known Member

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    Perfect
     
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