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Testing the limits of nactation

Posted By: Matt Ryder
Date: Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 7:39 p.m.

In Response To: Testing the limits of nactation (Timothy Chow)

So 416 letters aren't going to be enough.

Ah, but if you used a range of polychromatic fonts, the permutations rise beyond human reckoning!

Imagine a matrix that describes the rules for crimson E underlined, emboldened and italicised versus lapis lazuli lower case e underlined!

(I am of course joking.)

While a system could theoretically be devised to accommodate a truly vast number of positions with a single character, such a monstrosity would be way too unwieldy for any practical use. The beauty of nactation lies in its power to simply (and compactly) encapsulate early positional principles in a way that human beings can grasp.

So nactation is perfect for the early game, but I question it's efficacy (or relevance) in the later stages. It isn't ideal for highly disordered or entropic positions. (Nack might yet prove me wrong on that count.)

I have yet to see anybody use nactation to transcribe an entire game played through to the bearoff. Perhaps it isn't possible? For me, such a "deficit" does not diminish nactation's value as a shorthand for transcription and discussion of move sequences in the early to mid game one iota.

Matt

Messages In This Thread

• How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
  Philip Cherrington -- Monday, 3 January 2011, at 4:04 p.m.
  • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
    Timothy Chow -- Monday, 3 January 2011, at 5:16 p.m.
    • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
      Nack Ballard -- Monday, 3 January 2011, at 7:51 p.m.
      • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
        Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 12:03 a.m.
        • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
          Nack Ballard -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 1:42 a.m.
          • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
            Matt Ryder -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 4:51 a.m.
            • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
              Nack Ballard -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 6:15 a.m.
              • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
                Matt Ryder -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 8:21 p.m.
                • Assumption in Nactation
                  Nack Ballard -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 11:41 p.m.
                  • Assumption in Nactation
                    Matt Ryder -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 6:06 a.m.
                    • Assumption in Nactation
                      Nack Ballard -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 8:47 a.m.
                • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
                  Stick -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 11:20 a.m.
                  • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
                    Timothy Chow -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 3:53 p.m.
                    • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
                      Nack Ballard -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 9:22 p.m.
              • Nactating irregular doublets
                Matt Ryder -- Sunday, 9 January 2011, at 7:41 a.m.
                • Nactating irregular doublets
                  Nack Ballard -- Sunday, 9 January 2011, at 6:43 p.m.
                • Nactating irregular doublets
                  Nack Ballard -- Monday, 10 January 2011, at 4:49 a.m.
                  • Thanks Nack! *NM*
                    Matt Ryder -- Tuesday, 11 January 2011, at 3:57 a.m.
          • Testing the limits of nactation
            Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 3:15 p.m.
            • Testing the limits of nactation
              Casper van der Tak -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 4:20 p.m.
              • Testing the limits of nactation/ STICK question on search
                Bob Koca -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 7:24 p.m.
                • Most number of legal plays?
                  Tom Keith -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 2:41 p.m.
                  • Most number of legal plays?
                    Casper van der Tak -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 2:49 p.m.
                  • Most number of legal plays?
                    eXtreme Gammon -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 3:09 p.m.
            • Testing the limits of nactation
              Matt Ryder -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 7:39 p.m.
              • Testing the limits of nactation
                Timothy Chow -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 1:37 a.m.
                • Testing the limits of nactation
                  Matt Ryder -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 6:25 a.m.
                  • Testing the limits of nactation
                    Timothy Chow -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 3:47 p.m.
                    • Testing the limits of nactation
                      Nack Ballard -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 10:53 p.m.
                    • Testing the limits of nactation
                      Matt Ryder -- Thursday, 6 January 2011, at 5:30 a.m.
            • Testing the limits of Nactation
              Nack Ballard -- Tuesday, 4 January 2011, at 9:42 p.m.
            • Testing the limits of nactation
              Christian Munk-Christensen -- Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 7:49 a.m.
  • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
    Nack Ballard -- Monday, 3 January 2011, at 5:32 p.m.
    • How to nactate 52S-54-g 13/9 8/3*
      Nack Ballard -- Monday, 3 January 2011, at 7:34 p.m.
  • Why use Nactation?
    leobueno -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 4:49 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation?
      Timothy Chow -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 5:24 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation?
      Rich Munitz -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 5:48 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation?
      Nack Ballard -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 5:50 p.m.
      • Why use Nactation?
        Art Grater -- Friday, 21 January 2011, at 7:56 p.m.
        • Why use Nactation?
          Nack Ballard -- Friday, 21 January 2011, at 9:07 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation?
      Tom Keith -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 6:46 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation? / backgammon informator
      higonefive -- Sunday, 16 January 2011, at 7:24 p.m.
    • Why use Nactation?
      Frank Berger -- Monday, 17 January 2011, at 9:42 p.m.