Sliding Scale of Alternate History Plausibility: Difference between revisions
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* '''Type IV - Utterly Implausible AH:''' These are works that are so Soft that they melt. Works that are so implausible as to be effectively impossible and so Soft as to prove impossible to take seriously. Works where research was so poor or ill-considered, [[Author Filibuster|author politics so prevalent]], Butterflies so ignored, details (logistics, politics, etc.) so overlooked, often purposefully, that there's no way anyone with even a passing familiarity with the history can take it seriously. Infamously implausible scenarios like Operation Sealion <ref>[[Nazi Germany]]'s plan to invade Britain during [[World War II]], which has been shown by the members of [[Alternatehistory.com]] (where it's become a [[Memetic Mutation]] because of this) to be one of the worst military plans ever conceived -- it would have been a catastrophic defeat for Germany that would have effectively destroyed the Wehrmacht and allowed the Allies to win up to a year earlier.</ref> are often placed here, as are utterly implausible technology jumps, such as Aztecs developing breech loading rifles in 1420. Over-the-top totally ludicrous [[Alternate History Wank]]s are usually put here. Obviously a lot of YMMV here. One good "rule of thumb" is if a PoD necessary to make the outcome plausibly happen is so far in the past that Butterflies would totally negate the very events that created the setting (such as a PoD to give Hitler the fleet he needed to invade the UK would need to be before WWI, probably negating the rise of Nazism), then it may be a Type IV. ''Note:'' These works are often defined as [[Alien Space Bats]]; in fact the original term "[[Alien Space Bats]]" was coined to refer to these type of implausible works! |
* '''Type IV - Utterly Implausible AH:''' These are works that are so Soft that they melt. Works that are so implausible as to be effectively impossible and so Soft as to prove impossible to take seriously. Works where research was so poor or ill-considered, [[Author Filibuster|author politics so prevalent]], Butterflies so ignored, details (logistics, politics, etc.) so overlooked, often purposefully, that there's no way anyone with even a passing familiarity with the history can take it seriously. Infamously implausible scenarios like Operation Sealion <ref>[[Nazi Germany]]'s plan to invade Britain during [[World War II]], which has been shown by the members of [[Alternatehistory.com]] (where it's become a [[Memetic Mutation]] because of this) to be one of the worst military plans ever conceived -- it would have been a catastrophic defeat for Germany that would have effectively destroyed the Wehrmacht and allowed the Allies to win up to a year earlier.</ref> are often placed here, as are utterly implausible technology jumps, such as Aztecs developing breech loading rifles in 1420. Over-the-top totally ludicrous [[Alternate History Wank]]s are usually put here. Obviously a lot of YMMV here. One good "rule of thumb" is if a PoD necessary to make the outcome plausibly happen is so far in the past that Butterflies would totally negate the very events that created the setting (such as a PoD to give Hitler the fleet he needed to invade the UK would need to be before WWI, probably negating the rise of Nazism), then it may be a Type IV. ''Note:'' These works are often defined as [[Alien Space Bats]]; in fact the original term "[[Alien Space Bats]]" was coined to refer to these type of implausible works! |
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* '''Type X - [[Alien Space Bats]] and Fantastical AH:''' In contrast with Type IV, these works are '''deliberately''' designed as pure fantasy, typically following the [[Rule of Cool]]. Some sort of [[Applied Phlebotinum]] or [[Sufficiently Advanced |
* '''Type X - [[Alien Space Bats]] and Fantastical AH:''' In contrast with Type IV, these works are '''deliberately''' designed as pure fantasy, typically following the [[Rule of Cool]]. Some sort of [[Applied Phlebotinum]] or [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]s or [[Negative Space Wedgie]] or [[A Wizard Did It|blatant magic]] causes a PoD that completely changes everything. [[What If]] [[Worldwar|aliens invade Earth during World War II]]? What if time traveling modern Cherokee give assault rifles to their distant ancestors in 1820? What if the modern island of Manhattan was [[Mass Teleportation|time-ported]] to the Mediterranean in Roman times? A sub-type of this rewrites actual history in fantastic terms: what if George Washington's army used nature magic to fight necromantic redcoats? Ironically, many Type X works can become very "Hard" following an initial fantastical PoD, diligently using historical research and Butterflies to see what would logically happen if the Cherokees really did have Kalashnikov assault rifles in 1820. Type X works can be "steered" or "unsteered". '''Note to Tropers:''' when posting examples please make a note on how "Hard" the work is after the initial PoD if the PoD is the ASB element; for example "after the [[Negative Space Wedgie]] moves Manhattan, the rest of the work follows a more Type II or even Type I level of plausibility". |
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Needless to say, the line between the different Types is [[Your Mileage May Vary|highly subjective]], often depending on an individual's personal interpretations or what historical theory he/she believes. Where history is vague (such as Prehistory) pure creative writing or blatant [[Ass Pull]]s might be used. The perception of Type II vs. Type III vs. Type IV in particular can be very much in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, perceived extreme cases of implausibility in a Type III can lead to cries of ASB ("and what magical fairy gave the Japanese the cargo ships they would have needed to invade Hawaii ?") |
Needless to say, the line between the different Types is [[Your Mileage May Vary|highly subjective]], often depending on an individual's personal interpretations or what historical theory he/she believes. Where history is vague (such as Prehistory) pure creative writing or blatant [[Ass Pull]]s might be used. The perception of Type II vs. Type III vs. Type IV in particular can be very much in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, perceived extreme cases of implausibility in a Type III can lead to cries of ASB ("and what magical fairy gave the Japanese the cargo ships they would have needed to invade Hawaii ?") |
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