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[Retro]

Hm. I've been thinking about the "I committed SCIENCE!" thread a lot, as well as other experiment-purposed threads... and I think it'd be a good idea to add a Dwarven Science page to the wiki (obviously as D for Dorftastic).

How I can see it being set up: Experiments broken up by findings and logs, including those in progress or only discussed in theory... so each would have a write up with its purpose (as in, "capture walruses," higher meaning is discouraged), its status, and some screenie grabs plus fun facts learned. Probably all in a semi-over-the-top educated scientific writing style for funs.

Suggested things to go up would be stuff like the bridge dynamics experiments, proper ocean piercing, mermaid farming, walrus trapping, degrinchinators, magma trap mechanics, etc. Basically, it'd be a hub for all those "I implemented this wacky thing but there's not really a page on the wiki for it to go" projects. Not so much just "Hey I did this" but more of a "I came up with a new way to do this / have repurposed this for new uses" thing - like the diagonal door-pathing through water design that Firnagzen came up with on the aforementioned thread. The idea came to mind when discussing how to weaponize elves (aggregating large groups after a few years' trade so many come, wall them in with a lever-linked door to a cage hall so you can capture the berserk ones after they slaughter the rest, plant the cages, and drop on enemies) on the suggestions forum the other day, and I thought "Man, we're weaponizing traders for military defense. Why is there nowhere on the wiki that this is suitable to put?" It'd be a good way to keep track of all the insane things forumers have discovered or figured out how to do without sifting through random pages.

Plus at the top there would be an awesome and hilarious writeup on the nature of dwarven science itself and how it is conducted (oft with magma and/or screaming elves/humans/goblins/other dwarves).

Thoughts? Consensus? Magma?

[Innominate]

Remember that it isn't dwarven science unless there's a high probability of genocide. Anything less than eliminating a race is just dwarven sport.

[Grimlocke]

I like this idea, theres so many hilarious topics scattered around the forums about all these horrible/silly/funny/allthepreceding expirements. Putting them all in 1 place for people to enjoy seems like a good idea.

I suggest adding a number of requirements though, maybe something akin to those of real science.

For example, results are only reliable with many experiments under the same condition.

You dont prove a 10-z-level drop kills a kitten by tossing 1 kitten 10 z levels down, sending its bodyparts off to make a rather huge mess for a such a small creature, you prove it by doing that with at least a few dozen kittens!

This gives players a reason to build some sort of testing rig thats made to handle testing on large, of not huge scales. Like an automated, waterpowered bridge-a-pult for kittens. Preferable made to automatically drop kittens in it as they are born.

Well, just a thought. Theres probably a bunch more requirements that you can set, but I cant think if any right now.

[digitCruncher]

I am fine for this, so long as all entries obey the Scientific Method:

It must be observable. You must be able to SEE genocide/death/pain/suffering/magma-related-pain occuring
It must be repeatable. You must not be satisfied with only one dead/injured kitten/goblin/elf/species, you must repeat the experiment
It must be emperical. Experiments must be done, or at the very least, a design for a fort to perform this experiment must be created.
It must be verifiable. Many other fort leaders must be able to repeat your results... in fact, they are encouraged to!!

[Firnagzen]

Hey. My name is spelled with an 'i', not an 'e'.

Also, I approve. But get my name right.

[Retro]

:[

My bad, went from memory. Off to edit.

[Sensei]

Dwarven Science usually just belongs in the section to which the research is relevant. Maybe as a formatted 'Dwarven Science!' box. But not on its own page.

[Nidokoenig]

Stupid Dwarf Trick would have quite a bit of overlap with this. Perhaps just use the forums for posting ideas and testing, and then put them up there once they're confirmed to work?

[Pandarsenic]

Is there a wiki article on ocean-draining?

[Doomshifter]

Is there a wiki article on ocean-draining?

Just checked. No there isn't.

[Pandarsenic]

Well, that'd be a good one to add, either to our theoretical dorfscience article or to Stupid Dwarf Tricks. We even have the Walrus Trap method as far as ensuring you can get to the bottom.

[Rozenbuddy]

What about containing magma/lava/water in barrels (magma-resistant for lava/magma of course.) for experiments...

[Retro]

Dwarven Science usually just belongs in the section to which the research is relevant. Maybe as a formatted 'Dwarven Science!' box. But not on its own page.

Stupid Dwarf Trick would have quite a bit of overlap with this. Perhaps just use the forums for posting ideas and testing, and then put them up there once they're confirmed to work?

True, to both - I was thinking more of the Science! page having a collection of links with a very short writeup for each. The main page would have some lulz about science along with these, and we could probably add a Science category as well. Stuid Dwarf Trick seems to have a lot of hypothetical stuff, too, that nobody's likely to ever do - Science would be more for stuff that's underway, already happened, or somebody wants to know if it's possible. ie. Trick: Encase all of maximum-embark-size map in obsidian, Science: How can we harvest [insert some mythical beast of dignity and legend here] for fun and profit? And the Science one would later be followed with an explanation a la the walrus and mermaids thread.

More or less, yes, there'd be an overlap, but Science would be more about how to use / exploit / toy around with mechanics so as to have a final purpose/use (ie. weaponizing merchants) and Tricks would be more for random stuff you can do with that (ie. releasing said merchants on an unsuspecting siege).

Is that clearer? Still too much overlap/blur?

I think overall Science would be a rather amusing read that also teaches players some cool thing they can do combining lots of different things that wouldn't have any other place on the wiki to go, as well as encouraging players to think of their own crazy things they can do. Yes, specific research would go in specific places, but players would more or less have to stumble upon them to find them - being able to direct people to the Science page that they can look at a whole bunch of stuff would be convenient, I think.

[wagawaga]

There is not that much overlap imo.

Science is about discovering how a mechanic works, either it is how far do kittens fly when on a bridgeaoult, or from what height do kittens splat horribly wonderfully.
All experiments should be documentated through a log.

Stupid dwarven tricks are the practical application of the discoveries from Science. If you want to build a machine that sends thermonuclear cats at your enemy, you do not want to scroll through pages of algorythm of experiments on how much cats do smoke, or how many tries have been done to find out that. You juts want to smash someone's head with a cat with exploding uranium bones!

The difference is pretty clear: just like difference between theoretical physics and experimantal physics.

[Foa]

I should find the DSDC homesite... heh, for being the second member, and the active of two, I should be better to the site!
And currently it's lost to time... found it... And now I'll leave to rot, and find a place to transpose the data.