In just over a year spent in Zelda discussion, I have examined theory upon theory, and considered every element of their build, from the weight of argument to the validity of canonical backings to the epistemology of logical mechanics to the psychological well being of the author =P.
It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when I realized last week that I had never once considered the value of a theory, not as a presentation of evidence but simply as a literary work (My Lit teacher would be ashamed).

As anyone with experience can attest, writing about writing, or writing about writing about writing, or (the good student’s secret) writing for those who write about writing about writing, literary evaluation is something set apart. One does not determine the merit of the piece by comparing against some contrived, predetermined norm but rather by quantifying the extent to which the piece meets its own, self set goals.

Judgment of an analysis is primarily based on a writer’s ability to provide evidence and explanation for the thesis of his choice, rather than on the quality of the thesis as a story-concerned statement; as such, a well performed judgment does reflect on the basic story knowledge of the writer, but rather on his or her over all ability to write.

I strongly feel that an evaluation of our particular brand of synthesis, when it is intended to create a measure of the associated synthesizer, should operate in a similar way. The matter theorized on (if sufficiently original and inherently interesting) need only be consistent with the ability of the theorist to support his conclusions in a manner consistent with the intended weight of the theory, and not with the evaluator’s personal notions concerning the importance, aptness, or correctness of said matter.

Attempting to organize this thought and develop a workable criteria set for an evaluation process, I open the floor to discussion. The primary question I'm considering here is what elements, contained within a theory, give a measure of the theorist and how can those elements by quantified.