Random weird thought:

In a medieval fantasy type world (Lord of the Rings,  Game of Thrones, even Blizzard’s Warcraft) you have, basically, a technology level fitting the 14th century Earth. Right? Longswords, full plate armored knights, etc. You get the idea.

Now, in these stories, you often see references to something that happened a long time ago. For instance, in the case of JRR Tolkien, he talks about the last battle against Sauron, which happened… 3,000 years ago? More? I can’t remember. Many thousand years ago, is the point. You see the same thing in the Warcraft games, where there are references to battles also thousands of years ago.

I’m guessing the key point they’re trying to convey is that the world is old and that these traditions/items/whatever are ancient and - thus - powerful.

Here’s my problem: If they had longswords and full plate armor and what-not 3,000 years ago, why the hell aren’t they flying fighter jets today? I mean, it took humanity only 600 years to go from full plate armor to laser guided missiles.

My suggested answer? Wizards. The bastards are trying to keep the people around them down. It’s the only reasonable answer. Magic makes people dumb, and wizards take advantage of it. By making sure that no new technology is ever invented, the wizards can maintain dominance.

Now imagine Frodo in a black hawk helicopter. ‘Nuff said.

Happy Friday, folks!