(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In an early essay for this Patreon, I made an offhand comment about how before we had monetary systems, the economies of early societies operated on the basis of barter. … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In the roleplaying game Legend of the Five Rings, set in a fantasy world heavily based on historical Japan, there’s a lineage known as the Kitsuki who are notorious for … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) These days, the word “trial” calls to mind a courtroom, a judge, learned people arguing about evidence and the law. But that’s not the only way of doing things. Most … Continue reading
Top-level legal concepts like civil vs. common law are rarely going to play more than a background role in a story — even a story set in the real world. But when it comes to trials, our TV, movies, and … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Many of the largest topics in worldbuilding are difficult to address in anything like a detailed fashion because they spread their tentacles through many other parts of society. In the … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Humans will bet on the stupidest things. When my husband and I went to the Penn and Teller show in Las Vegas years ago, at one point Penn asked the … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Our modern craze for competitive sports may be noteworthy in its scale, with top athletes being paid enough to put them firmly among the economic elite, but the passion for … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Shortly after we invented intelligence, we invented boredom. And shortly after that, we invented games. I said in the discussion of toys that they’re intended for play, and associated primarily … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In studying the archaeological record, it can be a bit difficult to tell when you’re looking at a toy. After all, toys are mostly defined by their use: they’re intended … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) It’s all well and good to take an extended tour through all the different corners of stuff your fictional world might contain. But as in the proverb about the elephant … Continue reading
