Revisionist DS history?

[Ghost Rider]

As far as I'm aware, WEG numbers are dubiously canon, so the 1 million number from there isn't a bottom line. The quote from Luke is also not necessarily true - it is certainly reasonable to suggest that the NR would change the DS crew number for propaganda purposes. Given the classified nature of the DS, it's unlikely anyone would really be able to refute their number, and if Imperial authorities tried, it would be put down to propaganda from them. Hence, is there anything in canon which stands directly in the way of a higher (and, IMO, much more reasonable) number?

Luke blew the blew the damned thing up. If anyone was going to want to know the real numbers it would be him. Although I hate them, I find zero reason to doubt them.

In that respect how would he know?

I'm not impugning the sources as such but pointing out trusting them is a matter of some conjecture.

For one, what Luke comments is likely from a Rebel Intelligence source and given all they had were the schematics, they could only give a baseline number. If we want to go into that arguement one can easily point out that for the longest time, people claimed the 8 KM was the proper size of the Executor and by proxy every SSD. In fact all but one canon source kept pounding this number into everyone. The movies was the only source not saying. So questions on sources of numbers that are absurd is a valid point of debate. Especially when it flies in the face of literally every other number they present.

This is the problem of only one million. They are giving this number when they claim an object that is orders of magnitude less, or that an ISD has a crew capacity of 40,000. So the in universe numbers make no sense unless there is some immense technological difference in the ISD having around 4% of the crew capacity of the DS, and yet they are of the same technological base.

The problem comes about that one of the numbers(either the ISD is inflated or the DS number is immensely low balled) is somewhere wrong but given we cannot scale any numbers from either, we're left basically up to conjecture.

[Havok]

The exact quote from Shield of lies includes crew, officers, stormtroopers and other troops IIRC, mostly because they were shown on the NR "Battle of Yavin' memorial that Luke saw - and from there were burned into his mind.

Edit, here it is:

"But the signs at the massive cutaway model of the Death Star in the museum had spelled out the numbers in its table of specifications, and Luke could still recite them: 25,800 stormtroopers, 27,048 officers, 774,576 crew, 378,685 support staff-
"One million, two hundred five thousand, one hundred nine," Luke said quietly. "Not counting the droids".

Are you sure that quote is correct? I just added up the numbers a few times.
That solves all our problems... Luke sucks at math and his figures can't be trusted!!

[Havok]

As far as I'm aware, WEG numbers are dubiously canon, so the 1 million number from there isn't a bottom line. The quote from Luke is also not necessarily true - it is certainly reasonable to suggest that the NR would change the DS crew number for propaganda purposes. Given the classified nature of the DS, it's unlikely anyone would really be able to refute their number, and if Imperial authorities tried, it would be put down to propaganda from them. Hence, is there anything in canon which stands directly in the way of a higher (and, IMO, much more reasonable) number?

Luke blew the blew the damned thing up. If anyone was going to want to know the real numbers it would be him. Although I hate them, I find zero reason to doubt them.

In that respect how would he know?

I'm not impugning the sources as such but pointing out trusting them is a matter of some conjecture.

For one, what Luke comments is likely from a Rebel Intelligence source and given all they had were the schematics, they could only give a baseline number. If we want to go into that arguement one can easily point out that for the longest time, people claimed the 8 KM was the proper size of the Executor and by proxy every SSD. In fact all but one canon source kept pounding this number into everyone. The movies was the only source not saying. So questions on sources of numbers that are absurd is a valid point of debate. Especially when it flies in the face of literally every other number they present.

This is the problem of only one million. They are giving this number when they claim an object that is orders of magnitude less, or that an ISD has a crew capacity of 40,000. So the in universe numbers make no sense unless there is some immense technological difference in the ISD having around 4% of the crew capacity of the DS, and yet they are of the same technological base.

The problem comes about that one of the numbers(either the ISD is inflated or the DS number is immensely low balled) is somewhere wrong but given we cannot scale any numbers from either, we're left basically up to conjecture.

Good point. Perhaps since the actual crew specs were classified, the NR just went on the skeleton crew numbers, which I think someone else said already.