The Beginning
At one point in my life [probably during my lab years] I started to rate random things on a scale from 0-10, with 1 decimal point. I found it especially useful when communicating how things compared with one another. [E.g. On a scale from 0-10 where 0 represents absolute ignorance of SQL and 10 the best in the world, I am a 4.2.] I like the pseudo-accuracy aspect of the scale where things are not just "better" or "worse", but a person can plot all those things on one scale and see where things are among all things from my perspective.
The Journey So Far
Ratings are subjective of course, but throughout the years my friends and I have analyzed how I go about rating things. I don't think we have figured everything out yet [We don't have the luxury to sit on the couch for extended periods and just think about how we think at our life stages] but here is what we know so far about the Nathan Index:
- The scale goes from 0 to 10.
- I use it mostly to rate food.
- Most of the food that I have tasted falls around 5-7. This is due to my preference for good food and avoidance of bad food.
- I will account for variance by stating a range of scores instead of a score. This is more applicable with restaurant chains.
- Ratings generally do not change.
- Ratings do not change if I crave a certain thing or had too much of a certain thing.
- If ratings do change, it is usually due to a mistake of some sort or a life-altering event.
- We refer to a rating on the Nathan Index as the NI Score.
- A pleasant environment is likely to raise a score higher than if it was in a neutral environment.
- An unpleasant environment usually will have minimal impact on the score unless the food is terrible.
- Value contributes to the score but I am not afraid to shell out some money for good food.
- Health/Green/Sustainability has minimal impact on the score. I just want good tasting food.
Scoring
0.0 - This NI Score represents the worst food in the entire universe. I can't imagine eating something like this and I hope no one will eat this. This is probably something you'd give to your enemy so that they would suffer horribly instead of dying.
5.0 - This NI Score represents the true mediocrity. It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It will be easy to forget this food because I am not passionate about it.
10.0 - This NI Score represents the absolute best in the entire universe. Currently the Key Lime Pie is the closest thing I know. You can read more about the Key Lime Pie in another post.
With those points defined, there shall be no 0 or 10 in my lifetime. Upon my death, the scores shall normalize where the worst score becomes a 0 and the best score becomes a 10.
Known Biases
What I like might not be what you like, so here are a few things to help you find out if the Nathan Index will work for you:
- I generally prefer sweet over salty, sour, and spicy. However, there might be something in the universe that will break my paradigm.
- I grew up eating Chinese food.
- I generally avoid hurtfully spicy food. This means that 3 out of 5 stars is as spicy as I would go.
- I dislike the following food/ingredients [though I will still eat them at gun-point]:
- Celery
- Cilantro
- Durian
- Oatmeal
- Papaya
- Raw Broccoli
- Soggy Ramen
- Sour Cream
- Stiff Carrots
- Stinky Tofu
Modifiers
My friends generally like what I like and hence they are my friends.
They usually take my ratings seriously though some might add some sort of +/- modifiers or margin of error to my ratings for themselves.
The similarity of values between us correlates with how relevant the Nathan Index is to you.
The more your food experience overlaps with mine, the more relevant the Nathan Index is to you.
The more I explore and taste food around the world, the more relevant the Nathan Index is to you.
To Be Continued...
This post is subject to change as we discover more about the Nathan Index.
Hope you'll find The Key Lime Pie in your life!
