SP> 1) Dialectic (the two Runes cause activity by their SP>opposition. This is the classic God Learner interpretation.)
NW>Is this the God Learner view, or the western view in general?
I think the west still believes this. However the modern west does not really work with runes these days, IMO, as the major use for them is defunct. I'm thinking that the God Learners used RQ sight amongst other spells to see the Runic interflow of the various spells they cast. That done they could perfect the spells they had uncovered (ie Seshnegi Elemental spells, Atomicist Teleportation magics, God Learner 'SynthiRune Magic' etc) by Accentuating the Positive, Minimizing the Negative and Not Messing About with Mr In-Between. (Brithini Sorcery had already been perfected by Zzabur and others who didn't meass around with the elements because they feared then that it might be illogical and thus wrinkle inducing. Nowadays Brithini use the new magics without any such fear).
Nowadays most of the work is done and nobody really swots the Runic Lore as perfected by the God-Learners. They may see it as some sort of ethically dubious experiment that does not have to be practiced anymore. It is much much better to keep your faith in the Invisible God. Kind of like how the European 'Dark' Ages were actually more technically advanced than the (Western) Roman Empire that preceded them. The Modern Wizards of the West merely recite these by rote learning.
Oops, digressed a bit there. Back to topic.
NW>Now there are a couple of major cultures whose view of the subject has NW>not been explored in this thread yet:
NW>Dara Happa
They are not really hung up about runes as such. They merely use them as signs for concepts and/or planets rather than the West and the God Learners thinking that the Runes are the concepts. They do have some idea of opposed concepts but are not consistant (from a God Learner PoV) in such. The major example of opposition is the One being opposed to the Other. Given that this is modeled upon Imperial Rule, I would suggest that their intepretation is that the One opposes nobody but the Other sets itself up as Opposing the One because of an inferiority complex. The One must resolve this dilemma by conquering the Other and thus enlightening him. The Dara Happans also contrast Sky and Earth but see this as a continuum via the Sacred Sky Pillar of Dayzatar>Yelm>Lodril.
NW>Theyalan/Orlanthi
A similar situation as per the Wizards of the West. Meaningless works from Yesteryear mutated into a system of cataloguing every bit of lore they can get their hands on.
NW>Doraddi (who seem like a practical-minded people, so do they really care NW>about that kind of philosophical details?)
They probably denounce it as an evil thing because the Six Legged Empire appeared to be big fans of it. I'm not too sure what the Fonritans actually think about runes.
NW>Aldryami
The Opposition probably lies between Grower and Maker. Attempts to apply reductionism would be meaningless from their point of view.
NW>Uz
As they're not into abstract concepts the only major runes they would oppose would be Hunger and Full Stomach.
NW>Mostali (there is no such thing as opposed pairs. It only looks like that NW>to those who cannot view the complete scope of the World Machine.)
Or rather as per Eric Rowe's idiot savant model, they can give you a precise answer of what the strength of the interaction would be but can't really say why it was so.
Interviewer: What is the field strength of that particular plinth in
terms of interaction of the Life and Death Runes?
Silver Mostali: The Field Strength is 12.64 Iron Bars.
Interviewer: And you calculated this on the basis of the Zorak Zorani
Death Curse placed on it?
Silver Mostali: Yes.
Interviewer: Now is the Life/Death duality such because it is opposed,
or is it complementary, a continuum, mirrored or balanced?
Silver Mostali: [blank stare].
>Dragonewt (probably some weird explanation which is unfathomable to
>anyone who can't think in five dimensions or something like that.)
I think KoS says that the Dragonewts can't write. QED they don't use runes. The EWF runes a subtle versions of the standard God-Learner ones. E is the mastery Rune on its side, W is the River while F appears to be a multilated mastery rune for some reason.
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #3
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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