Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
"More like a cross between an onion, a golf ball, and a roman multi-tiered arched aquaduct."

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


       

Descriptionary

a good description of everything
  (+2)
(+2)
  [vote for,
against]

An information breakdown for all pieces of information, striving to completely cover every aspect of its physical condition.

So for example if we have a picture of something we will also have a reconstruction of the probable 3d model of what was actually there, piecing together as much info as possible about the time and location of that picture, the history leading up to it, etc. This may seem a daunting prospect, but if we don't give up and do the best we can, this kind of database may be a good source for better knowledge.

Let's start with Paleography, the study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts. One of the things I do.

I have an ancient manuscript that was copied manually of course before the printing press was invented. It is written with the letter set of a language that I comprehend, but many of the words are in a language foreign to me. For example an early medieval book in Hebrew about science with many Latin terms, and some quotes in Jewish Arabic, all written with Hebrew letters.

Currently, what is done is to begin breaking down the letters finding Alef and Bet, and preparing a table of what these letters look like. We can then continue and decipher the text. But we can also compare the text with other writing styles or other versions of the same text, but perhaps with different handwriting. That way, we may find out when this copy was written and by who. By reading the content and comparing it to other known content we may be able to discover even more information.

The Descriptionary stores this information, the tables of letters, any hypothesis discussed about it, summaries of research relevant to this, etc. etc. Thus when any knowledge is needed, we go to the Descriptionary and look it up there. A fact check can be made for any description in The Descriptionary, and in fact, periodically there are self-testing sprees checking out the descriptions and comparing them with given data, or even finding out what people's opinions are when shown the description and the actual evidence which is behind it.

Other examples of info could be written biographies of people, movies, interviews, court documentation along with news clips describing them, meals and recipes, versions of technology hardware and software along with its plans and requirements and any documentation from the programmers or management.

pashute, Jul 20 2023

Related idea OCR_20OCD_20Apparatus_20Criticus_20XSD
[pertinax, Jul 20 2023]

[link]






       But is not oral tradition better? Writing things down is a very biased approach. Oral traditions with singing and chanting and elders with specific knowledge may provide more information here.   

       There's a bounty of elders being prepped right now, and with retirement ages being extended this can give them something to do.
mylodon, Jul 20 2023
  

       //But we can also compare the text with other writing styles or other versions of the same text, but perhaps with different handwriting//   

       This sounds a lot like an extension of the old apparatus criticus, but with more dimensions. [+]
pertinax, Jul 20 2023
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle