On Tue, 12 Apr 2005, Scott Schultz wrote: > Or rather, where's the development of Easterner society? There's the Guns/Germs/Steel-style argument that the geography of the East is inclement - not enough island or peninsular nations. There's "The Empire's periodic stomping has impeded development." There's the "What's witchcraft? Chopped liver?" argument. And the associated "The fact magic works makes physics uninteresting to study." There's "The presence of locally unusable high tech next door has discouraged invention [which works for Greenaere, too]." > Are the Gods deliberately keeping the Easterners in check [...]? That's my favorite.