This is the formula, for all who are interested:
AV = UP / Pr + TA/S
Where
U is Unexpectedness
P is Prominence (of the key figure in the anecdote)
Pr is Prurience
T is Tellability
A is Attractiveness (the Attraction of interest toward the teller in the telling)
S is Simplicity
Still needed: variables addressing circulation and humor.
Still needed: variables addressing circulation and humor.
2 comments:
I may be misunderstanding this, but does this suggest
- Anecdotal value is inversely correlated with how sexual the anecdote is?
- Anecdotal value is inversely correlated with how simple the story is?
Neither of those feel intuitively correct, but would love an explanation.
Yes to the first question -- the "value" of the anecdote is lowered by the prurience factor. Sexual or scatological stories are apprehended primarily as gossip and thus have lowered value.
The second question is one I am continuing to grapple with. The scale needs clarification: the simplest story is 1, more complicated 2, etc., but this needs fleshing out.
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