> On May 13, 2018, at 9:38 AM, Jerry Barrington <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> This sort of analysis suffers the same as every similar analysis: We all know why the Imperium is described as it is.  It's because that's what GDW wrote.  Anything else is pure rationalization. :/

Yes it is ‘pure rationalization’ because if we want to utilize it as a setting, rationalization is what’s needed, in the alternate sense of the word:

"• the action of reorganizing a process or system so as to make it more logical and consistent: the rationalization of accounting standards. "

Alternatively, think of it as black-box reverse engineering. We have a known set of outputs from a known set of inputs. The job is to derive the general rules of the black box from that data set.

Besides, it’s vastly more fun that counting how many gunbunnies can dance on the head of a meson cannon…:-)

--
Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs