14.7. Making the verb "to weigh"

| Chapter 14: Numbers and Equations |

| 14.7. Making the verb "to weigh"

So now we can invent notations for weight. We could, for instance, write:

> Weight is a kind of value. 1kg specifies a weight. Every thing has a weight.

And that allows us to write:

> The lead pig is in the Salt Mine. The weight of the lead pig is 45kg.

But nobody would say it that way: they'd say "The lead pig weighs 45kg." So what we really need to complete our setup is a verb "to weigh".

We have already created new verbs, but none of those methods are quite convenient for this. We want to relate something tangible (the lead pig) to something intangible (45kg), and there's no convenient relation to express this; if we set it up as a condition, we'd get something we couldn't assert, only test. Instead, we'll do something different this time:

> The verb to weigh (it weighs, they weigh, it is weighing) implies the weight property.

Previous definitions like this ended "implies the ... relation", rather than "implies the ... property", but the idea is the same. The meaning of "X weighs Y" is that the weight property of X is equal to Y. So we can now write:

> A thing usually weighs 1kg. The lead pig weighs 45kg.
> something weighing 20kg
> if three things weigh 5kg, ...

And as we saw in the chapter on Descriptions, we can also set up adjectives, comparatives and superlatives:

> Definition: A thing is heavy if its weight is 20kg or more.

which creates "heavy", "heavier" and "heaviest".

247
| Example Dimensions This example draws together the previous snippets into a working implementation of the weighbridge. |
RB

248
| Example Lead Cuts Paper To give every container a breaking strain, that is, a maximum weight of contents which it can bear - so that to put the lead pig into a paper bag invites disaster. |
RB

The following uses a few features which will not be explained until later chapters, but it shows the kind of "realism" rules which could be introduced using weights. Not entirely realistic: we do not bother to rupture containers out of the player's sight. "Lead Cuts Paper" A weight is a kind of value. 10kg specifies a weight. Everything has a weight. A thing usually has weight 1kg. A container has a weight called breaking strain. The breaking strain of a container is usually 50kg. Definition: A container is bursting if the total weight of things in it is greater than its breaking strain. A lead pig, a feather, a silver coin and a paper bag are in a room called the Metallurgy Workshop. The paper bag is a container with breaking strain 2kg. The lead pig has weight 50kg. Every turn when a container (called the sack) held by someone visible (called the chump) is bursting: say "[The sack] splits and breaks under the weight! [if the player is the chump]You discard[otherwise][The chump] discards[end if] its ruined remains, looking miserably down at [the list of things in the sack] on the floor."; now all of the things in the sack are in the location; remove the sack from play. Test me with "get bag / get feather / put feather in bag / get pig / put pig in bag / look".

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