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A scale for knowledge/familiarity with something
Like the scale that I proposed for obscurity of anime series, with which I started the "Sliding Scale of Anime Obscurity" article on TV Tropes, I propose the following, as a way to start quantifying a person's familiarity with any given topic:
Level 0: Layperson. Able to, at most, name famous facts about the topic.
Level 1: Beginner. Understanding of basic aspects.
Level 2: Intermediate. Understanding of some more advanced or involved aspects beyond the basics, but not enough to really say one knows what's going on or how stuff works.
Level 3: Intern. (Needs a better name.) Decent familiarity with the topic, generally able to explain things to laypersons, but perhaps not familiar enough to go on one's own.
Level 4: Advanced. Familiarity with many aspects of the topic. Able to explain basics to those less knowledgeable. May need to consult more knowledgeable persons occasionally, but familiar enough to at least do an entry-level job or its equivalent on the topic.
Level 5: Master. Extensive familiarity with and working knowledge of the topic, including its details and nuances.
Level 6: Grandmaster. On top of being a master, regarded as a leading authority on the topic.
Note that while everything has these levels, for some things levels are more easily attained than others. It is easier to familiarize oneself with the details of Final Fantasy VI than with the details of fluid mechanics, for example. So if you were to ever build an RPG system that used this sort of scheme for knowledge skills, make sure you take that into account. Also, the levels are approximately exponential in their depth (i.e. the scale is logarithmic)--it takes far more time to go from level 4 to level 5 than it does to go from level 0 to level 1.
Finally, if you do want to work this into an RPG system or something like that, you can pretty easily make it work like a tech tree. It was in fact a tech tree that inspired me to create this in the first place--for example, you need to have level 2 calculus (or so) in order to succeed at the AP Physics C exams.
Comments
Oh man, I remember when I made that forum game that eventually turned into those Sliding Scale just-for-fun pages. But anyway, a tech tree of this seems like an interesting concept. To use your example, I could maybe pass for level 4 calculus.
For some names, can I suggest the Elder Scrolls style "Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master, Grandmaster"?
Layperson, Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master, Grandmaster...that sounds nice.
What exactly does "journeyman" mean anyway?
Basically, a grad student.
Except it sounds more like you're a wizard or something, as I assume everyone in the Middle Ages was.
Me or a journeyman?
A journeyman.
Not you.
Unless you're also a journeyman.
Well, he's a grad student.