Topic

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Topics (also Tech or Innovations) are part of knowledge.

There are around 300 innovations that can be discovered. Many of them have requirements, and many do not, so it's kind of a tech forest/grassland rather than a tree. Notably missing are innovations related to practical labors in the game (which will be added later in development).

Several innovations require innovations from other branches, and since all knowledge is individually tracked, that implies some investigators will need to be at least well-read if not skilled in various topics (there aren't currently joint research projects). There are some old and new mechanisms in place to ensure this happens.

There are 9 "branches" of the knowledge system.

Astronomy

Topic	Description
Geocentric Model	The theory that the sun moves around the world
Daylight And Seasons	The variation of daylight with the season
	The relationship between the lunar and solar year
The Sun and Seasons	The rise of the sun according to the season
	The path of the moon
The Moon and Seasons	The rise of the moon according to the season
Moon and Tides	The relationship between the moon and the tides
Celestial Cartography	The creation of star charts
Heliocentric Model	The theory that the world moves around the sun
	Methods of empirical observation in astronomy
Lunar Phase	The phases of the moon

Chemistry

Topic	Description
Adhesives	The preparation and use of adhesive materials
Mineral taxonomy	The classification of ores
Evaporation	The theory and method of evaporation
Material taxonomy	The classification of materials based on which elemental materials might form them
Laboratory Science	Methods for performing experiments systematically in the laboratory
Ampoule	The construction and use of the ampoule
Alembic	The construction and use of the alembic
Alloys	The mixture of metals to produce alloys
Solvent Extraction	The theory and methods involved in the extraction of a constituent liquid from one solution to another
Blast Furnace	The construction and use of the blast furnace
Retort	The construction and use of the retort
Basicity and Acidity	The classification of alkali and acids

• Oil of vitriol
• Spirit of niter

Engineering

Topic	Description
The Pulley	The construction and use of the pulley
The Lever	The construction and use of the lever
The Windlass	The construction and use of the windlass
The Screw	The construction and use of the screw
Models and Templates	The use of models and templates in engineering
The Warded Lock	The construction and use of the warded lock
The Tumbler Lock	The construction and use of the tumbler lock
The Siphon	The action of the siphon
Gear Mechanics	The reasons why gears are effective
The Crystal Lens	The construction and use of the crystal lens
The Funnel	The construction and use of the funnel
Camera Obscura	The construction and use of the camera obscura
Buoyancy and Water Displacement	A precise description of buoyancy and water displacement
Valves	The construction and use of valves
The Bellows	The construction and use of the bellows
The Straight-Beam Balance	The construction and use of the straight-beam balance
Wedge Mechanics	The reasons why the wedge is effective
Water Clocks	The use of water-based devices to tell time
Lamination	The use of lamination
Wheel Mechanics	The reasons why the wheel-and-axle construction is effective
Pulley Mechanics	The reasons why pulleys are effective
Screw Mechanics	The reasons why screws are effective

Differential gears are a difficult innovation and a prerequisite for pointing chariots and astrariums.

Geography

Topic	Description
Surveying	The process of surveying land
Anemology	The forces that govern wind patterns
Econometrics	The process of economic data collection
Economic Map	The placement of economic information on maps
Surveying Staff	The construction and use of the surveying staff

The geography innovations include several related to cartography.

History

Innovations for historians are, in part, writing forms like biography, and then any historian that reads a biography can start writing them as well. Innovations include comparative biographies describing multiple people, and matters of sourcing, etc.

Historians can start to understand how cultural differences and state bias affects source reliability and think a bit about social forces.

Topic	Description
Archaeology	The method of collecting and evaluating artifacts to learn about history and culture
Cultural History	The method of accurately and comprehensively describing cultures and civilizations"
Source Reliability	The reliability of sources
Personal Interviews	Using personal interviews as sources
Autobiographical Adventures	The method of writing a biography of oneself, particularly as it concerns a military campaign or adventure
Historical Causes	Discourse on the cause of historical events
Biography	The method of writing the history of a single individual
Cultural Comparison	The method of comparing and contrasting different cultures
	The role of cultural differences in source reliability and interpretation
Biographical Anthology	The compilation of brief biographies into one large collection
Genealogy	The compilation of family lineages and methods of displaying them artfully
Biographical Comparison	Compiling several biographies to compare and contrast the subjects' character and to gain insight into history
Alternate History	The exploration of how history would be different if some key past events had transpired differently the notion of historical, governmental and social cycles
Cyclic History	The notion of historical, governmental and social cycles
Historical Causation	The causes of historical events

Mathematics

• Divergence of harmonic series
• Symbol for addition
• Proof by contradiction

Topic	Description
Positional Notation
Large Sums	Simple formulas for certain arbitrarily large sums
Equations	The technique of balancing and completion for solving equations
Very Large Numbers	Notation for very large numbers
Nothingness	A symbol for nothingness

Medical science

Medical innovations include dedicated hospitals with specialized wards, staffing, medical labs and treatment for many illnesses.

Topic	Description
Diseases	The diseases of creatures
Mineral Remedies
Disease Classification	The classification of disease
Toxicology	The classification of toxic substances
Suturing	The surgical method of suturing
Traumatic Injuries	The treatment of traumatic injuries
Draining	The surgical method of draining
Bandages	The method of bandaging wounds
Paroxysm	The notion of paroxysm
Fracture Treatment	The treatment of fractures
Scraping	The surgical method of scraping
Anesthesia	Anesthesia
Practice models	The use of practice models in surgery
Surgical Instruments	The use of specialized surgical instruments
Anatomy	Anatomical studies for medical edification
Ocular Anatomy	The anatomy of the eye
Disease and Foul Water	The connection between disease and fouled water
Herbal Remedies	Herbal remedies
Physical Examination	The method of physical examination in diagnosing illness
Probing	The surgical method of probing
Prognosis	Determining the likely outcome given a patient's current status
Progressive Pathology	The notion of the exacerbation of a patient's condition
Cauterization	Cauterization

Natural science

Toady on natural science innovations:

And so on through the other seven branches - there are innovations in naturalist writings, for example, and then they can investigate specific critters with those in mind when they get down to work observing foraging behavior or performing dissections.

Naturalists can build a theory of rainbows using water-filled spheres and a camera obscura, and they can calculate the height of the atmosphere based on atmospheric refraction using the law of refraction (though it tries not to get into the actual shape of the world, since that might vary).

Topic	Description
Physical Features	The classification of creatures by their physical features
Climactic Adaptation	The way that creatures are suited to the climates in which they live
Migratory Patterns	The migratory patterns of creatures
	The origin of rainfall through evaporation and condensation
	A world-wide cycle involving precipitation, oceans, rivers and other forms of water
Water Displacement	A precise description of buoyancy and water displacement
Foraging Behavior	The foraging behavior and diet of creatures
Reproductive Behavior	The reproductive behavior of creatures
Social Behavior	The social behavior of creatures
Dissection	The dissection of creatures

Philosophy

The specific view that a philosopher takes on, say, the nature of beauty or methods of education will depend on their individual/cultural values, where they apply, and a philosopher that encounters a philosophy book on beauty can then provide their own take (having acquired the innovation).

Toady on philosophy innovations:

For fields like philosophy, I've tried not to make judgments about which ideas are "right" or anything like that, but rather which subjects can be thought about at all.

Topic	Description
Art	Value Agendas	The Worthlessness/Value/Nature of "Personality Facet"	Examples:	The nature of truth
Interpersonal Ethics	Discourse on ethics as applied to interpersonal conduct
Causation	The nature of causation
Diplomatic discourse	Discourse on diplomacy
Discourse on Contentment	Discourse on the meaning of individual happiness
Economic discourse	Discourse on economic policy
Civic ethics	Discourse on ethics as it regards the benefit of the state
Phenomenology	Discourse on the nature of perception
Theory of justification	Discourse on the nature of justification
Objects and Properties	The relationship between objects and their properties
Horology	Discourse on the nature of time
Philosophy of Mind	Discourse on the nature of mind and body
Martial Ethics	Discourse on ethics as applied to war
Aesthetics	Discourse on the nature of beauty
Jurisprudence	Discourse on law
Syntactic theory	Discourse on grammar
Political science	Discourse on government
Dictionaries	Dictionaries
Formal Reasoning	Formal reasoning
Welfare Theory	Discourse on social welfare
Theory of Events	Discourse on the nature of events
Pedagogy	Discourse on education
Doxastic Theory	Discourse on the nature of belief
Medical ethics	Discourse on medical ethics

Unknown/unsorted

Topic	Description
	Economic policy, its forms and recommendations
Dictionaries
Shadow Clocks	The use of shadows to tell direction and time
Social Welfare	Social welfare, its forms and recommendations