[r-t] Proposed definition of a peal (Dons 10 Rules)

[Don Morrison]

On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 5:32 PM, List01 <list01 at shropshirelad.idps.co.uk> wrote:
> Don Morrison gave 10 rules

Ouch. I hope they don't really sound like "rules". My goal is simply a
definition, not a series of injunctions.

> Don's version
>
> 3) Between some or all of the rows of a piece of change ringing the
>   order of many of the bells will change. The number of bells that
>   are changing between some of the rows is called the stage. It is
>   an integer greater than or equal to 2, but less than or equal to
>   the total number of bells being rung. Traditionally these stages
>   are given names; for example the 6 bell stage is referred to as
>   "minor".
>
> I think the second sentence is ambiguous and should be changed to:
>
> "The total number of bells that change position between rows is called the
> stage."

Yes, I see what you mean, my choice of words is infelicitous. However,
I think your rewording falls into the trap I was trying to avoid: it
is not necessary for every changing bell to move each time. It might
stay fixed for 2, 3, 4, 6, dozens, hundreds or even thousands of rows.
2 is common, 3 and 4 are currently legal though rare within a method;
6 or dozens are not currently legal within a method but that seems an
arbitrary restriction; hundreds or thousands comes up in variable
cover.

I'll have a further think on how best to rephrase this. With luck
someone else will come up with better wording than I can.

> Item 7
> ----------
> Don's version
>
> 7) A piece of change ringing, if all of one stage S, is called true is
>   there is a non-negative integer N such that each of the rows in the
>   extent at stage S occurs at least N times and no more than (N + 1)
>   times.
>
> I'm being a bit pedantic but the second "is" should be "if".

Yes, sorry. You're not being pedantic, I made a typo, and it should be
fixed.

I will try to address these issues as part of the revision I put
together to try to make (1) say what I meant it to say.

Thanks!


-- 
Don Morrison <dfm at ringing.org>
"With balloons, as with life itself, it is important to know when not
to let go of the string. The whole point of balloons is to teach
small children this."   -- Terry Pratchett, _A Hat Full of Sky_