Scott S. Kellogg · 8 September 1993
George sez:
> Scott Kellog writes:
^^^
GRR! Didn't I just have a fit about this last time! Scott 2G Kellogg!
;-)
[Analysis of size of crew affecting design deleted]
I agree. Size of crew is definitely a factor, that's why all of the
Mercury Astronauts were under 6' tall. But that was not my point.
My point was that, one should not look to the anatomy of the race
building the ship to see how it will be laid out. A Droyne ship will
not necessarily look like it was cribbed from an anatomy chart for
a Droyne any more than Human anatomy appears in the Space Shuttle,
Saturn V etc. Just because the sternum of the human looks like the
keystone of an arch, that does not mean that all human doors will
look like arches.
Morphology however, will CERTAINLY have an effect on design layout. You
don't need stairs if you have wings. Or if you are a fish, you will
need a water filled ship. The size and shape of your hands and eyes
affect the control inputs & displays you have.
> Yes, and the rules on which advanced societies build things are carefully
> and closely linked to things like size. Try spending time in Japan for
> instance; the average Japanese person is several inches shorter than
> in the US, and they have smaller buildings (in all dimentions, and not
> just a little) and vehicles than we do. Lots smaller.
HA! You wanna see different scales of engineering?
Try living with a woman who's eight inches taller than you! |->
I come in at 5'6". My fiancee' (from Germany) comes in at 6'2".
Now, she's 5" shorter than the average Zhodani and a foot shorter than
the average Aslan. I can only imagine what THEIR architecture would
be like! WHEW!
However, Anthropometrics won't be so different for Human vs. Droyne
architecture. Droyne vary in height from 1 to 2 meters depending on
caste and function. Thus they'll be roughly on the same scale we are.
Furthermore, we are trying here to see what sort of major changes one
might see in Human vs. Droyne architecture. Scale does not, in my
opinion make such a major change. After all, a giant 1950's Buick
still looks an awful lot like a tiny 1990's Honda. 4 wheels,
2-4 doors, front engine, rear drive wheels... And when you look back
in history, (when Japan had less of a meat diet and average height was
even smaller), The Yamato *looked* pretty dang similar to the Missouri.
Scale doesn't account for the changes we're looking for.
Oh yeah,
Dane sagt:
> And, sort of connected, does anybody know where 'Freedonia' is?
Wasn't that the planet ruled by the Marx Brothers? :-)
- --
Scott 2G Kellogg
"Oh Freedonia!
Now don't you cry for me!
'Cause I'm comin' round the mountain
With a banjo on my knee!" -- Groucho & Chico