The Star Wars expanded cosmos is immense . Really huge . Like , you just wo n’t believe how vastly , hugely , mind - bogglingly huge it really is . To grasp the full extent of this hugeness , a team of data scientists used a novel reckoner program to analyze it , revealing some unexpected thing about the prolonged saga .
A inquiry team from Switzerland ’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne used a new computer program to study hundreds of web Page devoted to the Expanded Star Wars Universe , primarily viaWookieepedia . Then , to make sense of all this data , the researcher enforce a bit of graphical record theory and some math ; this allow the researchers to get a hold on all the characters , community , and timelines ask in the story , and how everything fits together . The labor was led by Gallic datum scientist and Star Wars enthusiastKirell Benziand attend to by Pierre Vandergheynst of EPFL’sSignal Processing Laboratory 2 .
No doubt , one of the more singular things about Star Wars is the fashion it contribute itself to universe building . In gain to the seven full - length feature films , the saga has grown in other way , include through legion books , television receiver series , telecasting games , and other creative outlet . Here ’s what the researchers learned when they put it all together .
The Expanded Star Wars Universe consist of a whopping 21,647 characters . That number drop to 19,612 if every reference listed as “ unidentified ” is move out . Of these , an staggering 7,563 play an of import theatrical role . Among those draw to the way of the Force , 1,367 are Jedi and 724 are Sith . These characters are dispersed among 640 decided communities on 294 planets . astonishingly , 78 pct of the galaxy ’s population is human .
Not content to stop there , Benzi and Vandergheynst also position each theatrical role within the timeline of the report . Star Wars takes place over the course of 36,000 age , which is broken down into six main periods : before the Republic , the Old Republic , the Empire , the Rebellion , the New Republic , and the Jedi Order . psychoanalysis show that Star Wars character are n’t evenly distribute throughout the length of the story .
“ We see that the most popular eras are from the films : Rise of the Empire and the Rebellion era,”Benzi explain on hisblog . “ The Old Republic geological era is also democratic ( despite having few mass ) thanks to the MMORPG ( video game ) Star war : The Old Republic . ” The extra gloss on the chart above highlight characters live on in different eras . Darth Vader , for representative , make an appearance in both Rise of the Empire and in the Rebellion epoch .
“ As you’re able to see the whole Star Wars population is coherent and fun detail can be discover using graph hypothesis , ” noted Benzi at hisblog . “ However countenance ’s not draw a blank that we need information to do data - scientific discipline . In our showcase , wiki contributors are of paramount grandness as they actually create the content we employ to blog about . May the Force be with them , always . ”
Benzi ’s squad also mapped the most connected character in the Star Wars Universe . Not astonishingly , Anakin Skywalker tops the listing . Super interesting to see Boba Fett at number 10 ; that bounty Orion clearly gets around . And match outRevan , a character from the Old Republic Era , who makes an appearing in the 13th slot .
“ To put some order into this massive forest of data , we based our approach on mesh analysis . In other words , all the connector that one lineament has with all the others , ” noted LTS2 research worker Xavier Bresson ina insistence command . “ Using these cross - references , we are capable to accurately fix the time period of the quality almost without fail , when this data is not right away provided in the book or movies . ”
This full project may seem indulgent , but this data - parsing technique could be apply elsewhere . As Benzi explained , this “ program maps out connections in the mass of unorganized data uncommitted on the net . ” These algorithms can not just distill data accord to accurate criteria , they can also create links among information points , do sorting , quantification , interpretation , and seek out missing information . In future , a syllabus like this could be used to do historic and sociological inquiry , along with other scientific enquiry interest .
[ EPFL ]
All effigy : Kireli Benzi / EPFL / LTS2
information scienceEntertainmentScienceStar warfare
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
word from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
