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Revision as of 13:49, 14 December 2015

This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.


Topics (also Tech or Innovations) are part of knowledge.

There are around 300 innovations that can be discovered. Many of them have requirements, and many do not, so it's kind of a tech forest/grassland rather than a tree. Notably missing are innovations related to practical labors in the game (which will be added later in development).

Several innovations require innovations from other branches, and since all knowledge is individually tracked, that implies some investigators will need to be at least well-read if not skilled in various topics (there aren't currently joint research projects). There are some old and new mechanisms in place to ensure this happens.

There are 9 "branches" of the knowledge system.

Astronomy

Topic Description
The theory that the sun moves around the world
The Astrolabe The construction and use of the astrolabe
Daylight And Seasons The variation of daylight with the season
The relationship between the lunar and solar year
The Sun and Seasons The rise of the sun according to the season
The path of the moon
The Moon and Seasons The rise of the moon according to the season
The relationship between the moon and the tides
The creation of star charts
The theory that the world moves around the sun
Methods of empirical observation in astronomy
The phases of the moon
The height of the tides, the moon and the sun

Chemistry

Topic Description
The preparation and use of adhesive materials
The classification of ores
The theory and methods involved in evaporation
The classification of materials based on which elemental materials might form them
Methods for performing experiments systematically in the laboratory
The construction and use of the ampoule
The construction and use of the alembic
The mixture of metals to produce alloys
Liquid Extraction The theory and methods involved in the extraction of a constituent liquid from one solution to another
The construction and use of the blast furnace
The construction and use of the retort
The classification of alkali and acids
The construction and use of the beaker
Oil of Vitriol The preparation of oil of vitriol
The construction and use of the crucible
The theory and methods involved in distillation
The construction and use of laboratory ovens

Engineering

Topic Description
The Pulley The construction and use of the pulley
The Lever The construction and use of the lever
The reasons why the lever is effective
The Windlass The construction and use of the windlass
The Screw The construction and use of the screw
Models and Templates The use of models and templates in engineering
The Warded Lock The construction and use of the warded lock
The Tumbler Lock The construction and use of the tumbler lock
The Siphon The action of the siphon
Gear Mechanics
Gears
The reasons why gears are effective
The Crystal Lens The construction and use of the crystal lens
The Funnel The construction and use of the funnel
The Glass Lens The construction and use of the glass lens
The Camera Obscura The construction and use of the camera obscura
The construction and use of valves
The construction and use of the bellows
The construction and use of the straight-beam balance
The Wedge The reasons why the wedge is effective
The use of water-based devices to tell time
The use of lamination
The Wheel-and-axle The reasons why the wheel-and-axle construction is effective
The reasons why pulleys are effective
The reasons why screws are effective
The construction and use of the padlock
The reasons why the lever is effective
The construction and use of water-filled sphere as a lens
Water Clock Reservoirs The use of reservoirs in water-based clocks to improve their accuracy

Differential gears are a difficult innovation and a prerequisite for pointing chariots and astrariums.

Geography

Topic Description
The process of surveying land
The forces that govern wind patterns
The process of economic data collection
The placement of economic information on maps
The construction and use of the surveying staff
The origin of rainfall through evaporation and condensation
The process involved in creating maps
The process of the formation of deltas at the mouths of rivers
The placement of geological information on maps

The geography innovations include several related to cartography.

History

Innovations for historians are, in part, writing forms like biography, and then any historian that reads a biography can start writing them as well. Innovations include comparative biographies describing multiple people, and matters of sourcing, etc.

Historians can start to understand how cultural differences and state bias affects source reliability and think a bit about social forces.

Topic Description
Archaeology The method of collecting and evaluating artifacts to learn about history and culture
Cultural History The method of accurately and comprehensively describing cultures and civilizations
Source Reliability The reliability of sources
Personal Interviews Using personal interviews as sources
Autobiographical Adventures The method of writing a biography of oneself, particularly as it concerns a military campaign or adventure
Discourse on the cause of historical events
The method of writing the history of a single individual
The method of comparing and contrasting different cultures
The role of cultural differences in source reliability and interpretation
Biographical Dictionaries The compilation of brief biographies into one large collection
The compilation of family lineages and methods of displaying them artfully
Comparative Biography The method of compiling several biographies to compare and contrast the subjects' character and to gain insight into history
The exploration of how history would be different if some key past events had transpired differently
The notion of historical, governmental and social cycles
Historical Causation The causes of historical events
The method of examining artifacts to determine how techniques have changed over time

Mathematics

Topic Description
Positional Notation Positional notation
Large Sums Simple formulas for certain arbitrarily large sums
Equations The technique of balancing and completion for solving equations
Very Large Numbers Notation for very large numbers
Negative quantities The notation for negative quantities
Nothingness A symbol for nothingness
The method of proof by contradiction
An algorithm for dividing one number into another, possibly yielding a remainder
Geometric objects: points, lines, circles, triangles, and so on
The divergence of the harmonic series
The properties of similar and congruent triangles

Medical science

Medical innovations include dedicated hospitals with specialized wards, staffing, medical labs and treatment for many illnesses.

Topic Description
Diseases The diseases of creatures
Mineral Remedies
Disease Classification The classification of disease
Toxicology The classification of toxic substances
Suturing The surgical method of suturing
Traumatic Injuries The treatment of traumatic injuries
Draining The surgical method of draining
Bandages The method of bandaging wounds
The notion of paroxysm
The treatment of fractures
The surgical method of scraping
Anesthesia
The use of practice models in surgery
The use of specialized surgical instruments
Anatomical Studies Anatomical studies for medical edification
The anatomy of the eye
Disease and Fouled Water The connection between disease and fouled water
Herbal Remedies Herbal remedies
The method of physical examination in diagnosing illness
The surgical method of probing
Determining the likely outcome given a patient's current status
The notion of the exacerbation of a patient's condition
Cauterization
Pulmonary medicine
Remedies prepared from animals
Lithotomy Surgery The lithotomy surgery


Natural science

Toady on natural science innovations:

And so on through the other seven branches - there are innovations in naturalist writings, for example, and then they can investigate specific critters with those in mind when they get down to work observing foraging behavior or performing dissections.

Naturalists can build a theory of rainbows using water-filled spheres and a camera obscura, and they can calculate the height of the atmosphere based on atmospheric refraction using the law of refraction (though it tries not to get into the actual shape of the world, since that might vary).

Topic Description
Physical Features The classification of creatures by their physical features
Climactic Adaptation The way that creatures are suited to the climates in which they live
Migratory Patterns The migratory patterns of creatures
A world-wide cycle involving precipitation, oceans, rivers and other forms of water
Foraging Behavior The foraging behavior and diet of creatures
Reproductive Behavior The reproductive behavior of creatures
Social Behavior The social behavior of creatures
Dissection The dissection of creatures


Philosophy

The specific view that a philosopher takes on, say, the nature of beauty or methods of education will depend on their individual/cultural values, where they apply, and a philosopher that encounters a philosophy book on beauty can then provide their own take (having acquired the innovation).

Toady on philosophy innovations:

For fields like philosophy, I've tried not to make judgments about which ideas are "right" or anything like that, but rather which subjects can be thought about at all.

Topic Description
Value Agendas Writers can push value "agendas" if they are skilled enough.

Description format: The [worthlessness | value | nature] of [belief]

Examples:

  • The nature of truth - probably related to TRUTH
  • The value of art - probably related to ARTWORK
Interpersonal Ethics Discourse on ethics as applied to interpersonal conduct
Causation The nature of causation
Discourse on diplomacy
Discourse on the meaning of individual happiness
Discourse on economic policy
Discourse on ethics as it regards the benefit of the state
Discourse on the nature of perception
Discourse on the nature of justification
The relationship between objects and their properties
Discourse on the nature of time
Discourse on the nature of mind and body
Discourse on ethics as applied to war
Discourse on the nature of beauty
Discourse on law
Grammar Grammar
Discourse on government
Dictionaries
Formal reasoning
Discourse on social welfare
Discourse on the nature of events
Education Education, its forms and recommendations
Discourse on the nature of belief
Discourse on medical ethics
Whole and Parts The relationship between wholes and parts
The notion of etymology

Unknown/unsorted

Topic Description
Economic policy, its forms and recommendations
Dictionaries
Shadow Clocks The use of shadows to tell direction and time
Social Welfare Social welfare, its forms and recommendations
Formal Reasoning Formal reasoning
Water Displacement A precise description of buoyancy and water displacement