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Equation 4 · Part 3 · Standardising the Record: How Writing Became Evidence

Symbol n

Fn=∏i=1nfi,F_n = \prod_{i=1}^{n} f_i,
nn

What this part means

n appears in the bound of this product. The bound states where the repeated operation starts, ends, or which values it includes.

Its job in the formula

n appears in the bound of this product. The bound states where the repeated operation starts, ends, or which values it includes.

The passage around this formula

It is tempting to model manuscript transmission as pure decay. If fif_i is the probability that generation i of a copy reproduces a given passage faithfully, then fidelity after n generations of independent copying is Fn=∏i=1nfiF_n = \prod_{i=1}^{n} f_i. which for any constant per-generation fidelity below one falls exponentially in n . The model is illustrative and its value lies in the assumption it exposes rather than in any number it produces. It assumes errors accumulate…

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Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

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Sources cited in the article section

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