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Testing the limits of nactation

Posted By: Matt Ryder
Date: Wednesday, 5 January 2011, at 6:25 a.m.

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

In order to nactate 637 or 1637 plays, one really needs to be extremely careful and precise about what the rules are.

I must confess I don't understand why anyone might even want to consider nactation for such a purpose. The genius of the system lies in the notion that in positions where there are a limited number of options, a single character can evoke a principle that precludes the need for exact source/destination coordinates. For positions with a vast array of choices, a coordinate system is self-evidently preferable.

If brevity is your only goal, such a coordinate system could be expressed with a maximum of 4 characters and using 26 letters of the alphabet (with A-X representing points, Y representing the bar and Z the off tray) to delineate destinations. Such a system is arguably "comprehensive and comprehensible".

But nactation has other virtues: for example, one glance at a column of opening replies expressed in this format highlights interesting patterns and discrepancies.

Nactation is not a mathematical notation, nor was it intended to be. It has overlapping aspects, redundancies, etc. However, as a practical shorthand or as a system for categorisation of certain positions, it has immense value.

Personally, I have no need for it to be "comprehensive" beyond, say, the 10th move of the game at which point, nactation's virtues recede and it will become cumbersome to pick through an elaborate family of variants anyway.

On the other hand, I don't see why you assume that system is evolving in a careless or "ad hoc" fashion. Nothing about Nack's posts suggest that he is anything but "careful and precise" in his methodology. If anything, he is fastidious to a fault. His book "Backgammon Openings" is one of a handful of BG tomes that tackles its subject as a rigorous science not some kind of black art. So I have every expectation that his revised nactation tutorial will not "swarm with bugs". It seems unlikely to me that the supplemental principles published on this forum are ill-considered or unworthy of study.

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.