Or in this case, someone bases an off-the-cuff theory on an en passant mention in decade-plus old material, and is told that it isn't quite right. I've not tracked down the mention of Third Eye Blue in the DW Mostali issue, but from what I've seen said here, it isn't even clear that the original wasn't from an entirely culturally-biased point of view (e.g., what either the 3EB cultists or the dwarves have to say on the matter).
> So what is the purpose? We know that GS thinks of himself, at least
> in part, as a shaman, and those of us who know anything about shamans
> know that they are tricksters who love to pull the rug out from under
> people.
As he's also described himself variously as an Arkati, and Illuminant, and a Wakboth fanboy (in varying degrees of seriousness), I don't think this bit is in dispute.
> [...] (c) wants to encourage us to leave official glorantha and
> create our own unofficial gloranthas?
> I don't really care to analyse GS's real motives more deeply (though
> IMO apparent motives are fair game), but perhaps the belief that would
> let the most people stay sane would be c, and we can adopt it
> unilaterally? Answer c will work in Glorantha, though obviously it
> works even better in a non-G setting, so let's keep it in mind (along
> with MGF) as we develop our petit-Gloranthas.
This new maxim isn't really much more help than the first, as both boil down to "Do whatever you like". Which is perfectly fine as a philosophy, but isn't a basis of (sensible) argument.
Let's bear in mind that we have all been Officially Encouraged to not stick to the "official line" on Glorantha if we don't like it (or at least as much to the point, don't know what it is). But this often seems like a certain scene from Monty Python ("You are all creators of your own Glorantha." <in a unison monotone> "We are all creators of our own Glorantha.), probably for the very evident reason that people want to discuss their Glorantha(s), disagree instantly, start flamewars, and then try to "settle" the issue by argumentum ad Greg. Whether one takes the First Book of Greg as the definitive word on any subject (like the Brithini, ignoring Malkion when he went bonkers and started contradicting and amending his own Law), or one changes one's Glorantha like a weathervane in the shifting currents of Greg's opinions, doesn't alter the basic reality his influence, intended or not, on how people think about Glorantha, and will continue to develop their thinking on it. (I now have visions of net.brithini and Breath Shamans of Greg becoming terms of abuse to hurl at the opposing camp.)
Nick Brooke, in a post with the misleading Subject line of Yanafal:
> Alex writes, misleadingly:
> > Well, if you're all _that_ worried about the One True Greg's opinion
> > on the matter, go ask him.
> He means, of course, ask him if you want to know his *current* opinion.
This is only misleading if you misparenthisise it, of course. That's not: (One True (Greg's opinion)), but: ((One True Greg)'s opinion). Didn't you know that Greg associated to the left?
> I'm pretty convinced (circumstantially) that Greg's answer can only have meant:
> "The list of Kralori Emperors published in RQC, which starts with Aether and
> ends with Vayobi, doesn't omit anyone from that sequence."
Please pay attention Nick, I suggested this many a yonk ago. The telling evidence is that there doesn't seem to _be_ any other list, so if Greg was answering with respect to some other one, it's on a little bit of the Godplane all by itself, with no Mythic Events connecting it to or from anywhere else.
Alex.
Powered by hypermail