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From: phillips@cisden.UUCP (Tom Phillips)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Vulcan arithmetic
Message-ID: <290@cisden.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Oct-85 13:37:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: cisden.290
Posted: Mon Oct 21 13:37:10 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Oct-85 06:08:02 EDT
References: <1137@rayssd.UUCP> <298@utflis.UUCP> <199@astroatc.UUCP>
Reply-To: phillips@cisden.UUCP (Tom Phillips)
Distribution: net
Organization: ConTel Information Systems, Denver
Lines: 17
Keywords: seven tenths

>>In article <1137@rayssd.UUCP> m1b@rayssd.UUCP (M. Joseph Barone) writes:
>>>	In 'Errand of Mercy', where Kirk and Spock try to help
>>>the Organians from Klingon domination, Spock computes their odds
>>>of success to be some_large_number.7 to 1.  I want to know where
>>>the .7 came from.  Any number divided by 2 will have either an
>>>integral quotient or a quotient with a remainder of one (0.5).

Who says that the odds against success are strictly 
(# of enemies)/(# of friendlies)?  Perhaps there were modifications for
armament, organization, desperation, historical precedents?

In any case, "(some large number).7 to 1" is totally bogus.
Too much uncertainty in the calculations.  Perhaps the writers left
out a :-)?

				Tommy Phillips
				cisden!phillips