Voyages of discovery? (spoilers for all RotE books)

[maulkin]

That Chade has not long discovered gunpowder (as Nuytsia pointed out, and has been discussed somewhere else on thePlenty...if I could find the discussion, I’d probably place this post there instead of here!) also shows us that things are progressing in this area?

The discussion is in the thread entitled "Chade's powder equals..." Perhaps we should revive it so that newer members can contribute.

Maybe if the cataclysm had not happened, wiping out entire generations of dragons, people etc and progress, technology in the RotE may have surpassed even that in SS. As it is, such weaponry as is seen in SS is still unknown to many inhabitants of thatworld. In this example is proof that one does not even have to be separated by a great sea to be at a different stage of technological development...even simple differences such as politics, finances, culture and beliefs etc can create as great a divide as time, water or land.

This is a good point. For centuries, Chinese technology was far more advanced than European technology, yet China failed to industrialise, largely for political reasons. The Chinese developed gunpowder many years before Europe but never developed effective guns. As a consequence, when Europe did industrialise, Britain was able to defeat the entire Chinese fleet with a single battleship. Although separated by great distances, China and Europe were connected by trade and aware of one another's existence throughout most of history. Their differences in technology can only be attributed to "politics, finances, culture and beliefs" and perhaps to other factors such as geography, population density and availability of natural resources.