Equation 1 · Standardising the Record: How Writing Became Evidence
What does this equation mean?
Read the formula alongside the article passage below. Each part has a deeper page with its role in the equation, the supporting passage and nearby citations.
the probability that generation i of a copy reproduces a given passage faithfully. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.
Read it piece by piece
Symbol f_i
the probability that generation i of a copy reproduces a given passage faithfully.
subscript
The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.
How to interpret it
Read this expression with the definitions, units, and assumptions supplied by the article.
What the article says around this equation
It is tempting to model manuscript transmission as pure decay. If is the probability that generation i of a copy reproduces a given passage faithfully, then fidelity after n generations of independent copying is
Sources cited in the article section
These citations give research context. Read each source to check which claims it supports.
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