I have noticed that a single downvote sometimes counts for -2 rather than -1. Sometimes I'll undo a downvote because I think a comment wasn't bad enough to cost 2 points. I have been trying to spot the pattern behind it for over a year with no luck. Can you explain this or is it secret?
In a weaker gravity field with a low sample frequency the algorithm does indeed appear 1:1. The complexity arises once a peripheral second gravity field can no longer be ignored or a certain noise threshold is passed.
Once you start thinking about it in terms of the definite integrals of a piecewise function you'll see where the weights would be applied in more extreme situations.
