Blackadders Map

The BBC Comedy "Blackadder II" is set in Elizabethan England. In the episode "Potato", the protagonist, one Mr. Blackadder seeks fame and fortune by setting off to explore the Sea of Certain Death.

Before Blackadder sets off on his journey, Lord Melchett, one of the Queen's courtiers hands him a map and says,

: "The foremost cartographers of the land have prepared this for you. It's a map of the area that you'll be traversing."
: (The map is completely blank.)
: "They'd be very grateful if you could just fill it in as you go along."

The Wiki has this same nature. When you come across something that's never been mapped before, you're expected to fill it in as you go along.

The map is not completely blank as it will necessarily have:

boundaries (limits and connections)(departure points) from the known
measures (distances)(scale)
orientation (directions, bearings, etc.)(North South East West)

That what exists within the space is not defined and plotted makes it a task and a project to be included concurrent with the planned and directed activities of the space-explorer. -- DonaldNoyes

I suspect Blackadder is based upon a Colonel Blackader, who wrote a book about his adventures under Marlborough, and is famous for always taking the most negative view.

Does anyone know anything more?

-- EricUlevik

I don't know of the Colonel. The comedy is spread over 4 series each set in the different period of history. The first series was rather different in character to the others (and not very good, in my view). -- DaveHarris

Blackadder definitely got smarter in the last 3 time periods. The "Witch smeller" episode of Blackadder 1 was great though. No idea about the Colonel either. -- JasonYip

The first series was written by RowanAtkinson. In the remaining three series they added BenElton and RichardCurtis as co-writers, which meant that the jokes got a lot smarter, and less reliant on Atkinson pulling faces.

It's time for the first question of the WikiChristmasQuiz?:

Q Which quote from which episode of Blackadder has been used in an "official" article on XP and by whom? For bonus points: explain its true relevance to XP.

Quoted in KentBecksChangeCostXpArticle:

http://www.adtmag.com/joop/crarticle.asp?ID=1559

: "In 1914 the nations of Europe were bound so tightly in bonds of trade and culture that war was simply unthinkable. There was only one problem with this theory."
: "What was that?"
: "It was complete bollocks."

From the start of the first episode of the fourth series, set in World War One. Writers: RichardCurtis and BenElton.

Relevance: analogy to the theory of exponential cost-curves.

9.5 marks out of 10! Your Wiki T shirt will be winging its way to you just as soon as we've finished editing the appropriate text.

But it's not just the "theory of exponential cost-curves" surely? Surely this is just one argument (and always a highly dubious one?) for combined WaterFall, BigDesignUpFront, PhaseIst theory?

Brilliant use of UK comedy anyway thanks Kent. Still almost my top favorite XP quote of all time!

Happy Christmas one and all. Ho ho ho ....