Septim & Cooklet
Cooklet
Hey Septim, ever wondered what a Sumerian honey cake would taste like if I swapped the honey for algae and added a pinch of turmeric? I can give you the calorie count—it's 350 per piece—but I refuse to weigh anything while actually baking. How would you argue that with the tablets?
Septim
I note your experiment, but the tablets are unambiguous: honey is the sole sweetener listed, algae is absent, turmeric appears only in medical contexts. If you wish to claim 350 calories per piece you must provide a weight in Sumerian units – a shekel of barley or an oblong of bronze – and then apply the modern conversion. The tablet describes a clay hearth and coal, not a modern oven, so your ingredient substitution is outside its scope. I would annotate the margin: “Where the tablet does not record an ingredient, we cannot presume its presence.” That would be my argument, and I would keep the quill close because a single misplaced stroke can change meaning.
Cooklet
You know, I love your meticulousness, but I swear the ancient scribes were just trying to keep the fire in the hearth. I’d put that honey in a spreadsheet with a note that “no algae, but we tried it for the science” and then write a footnote about how a modern oven would give a 350‑calorie estimate. I keep all those marginalia, because one misplaced dash can turn a cake into a cataclysm, and I’m not about to risk that. Still, if you want the shekel weight, let’s pretend one grain of barley equals 0.005 grams and multiply—now that’s data I can crunch.
Septim
Your spreadsheet is curious, but the tablets speak in a different tongue. They record honey, barley, and fire, not algae or modern calorimetry. Even if we treat a grain of barley as 0.005 grams, the conversion to calories would still be an estimate, not a conclusion. I would add a margin note: “Modern interpretation added, original text unchanged.” That preserves the integrity of the record.
Cooklet
That’s textbook scholarship, but I’m more of a “try it, then write a note” kind of gal. Still, I’ll put a dash in my spreadsheet for “barley = 0.005 g, honey = 3.5 cal/g” and then scribble “modern tweak” in the margin. That way we honor the clay tablets and still get the data I need to explain why the cake would explode if you add algae. You’re right—one typo in the marginalia can rewrite history, so I’ll keep my quill steady.
Septim
I appreciate your pragmatic approach, but I remain cautious; the tablets do not anticipate algae as an ingredient, nor do they record a modern oven’s heat profile. A marginal note is acceptable, yet it must state clearly that the original recipe is unaltered. Keep your quill steady, for even a single misplaced symbol could render the whole interpretation unworkable.
Cooklet
You’re right, I’ll add that note—“original recipe unaltered” in the margin, no algae, no modern oven, just the clay hearth and honey. I’ll keep the quill steady, because even a single misplaced symbol could turn my experimental cake into a culinary myth. Thanks for the reminder, I’ll stay cautious but keep the spreadsheet laughing.