Aug-19-2010, 10:51 AM (UTC)
I think that the above points demonstrate the strength of the dragon-elderling-human symbiosis. Dragons have long memories and are able to think long-term but tend to be rigid and inflexible. Humans are adaptable and innovative but incline to short-term thinking. Elderlings represent a mid-point, combining and integrating these perspectives.
With regard to Tintaglia's abandonment of the hatchlings, I wonder whether this was as much due to their lack of ancestral memories as to their physical malformation. Even the other hatchlings did not regard Spit and Sedric's bronze (her name escapes me) as "dragons" until they were able to communicate and showed some evidence of memory/sentience.
With regard to the difference between growth and regeneration, even animals that grow throughout their lifetimes cannot usually replace missing limbs or other major structures. Also, birth defects do not usually correct themselves during growth, even when they do not have a genetic basis. For example, babies born with stunted limbs due to exposure to thalidomide do not develop normal limbs during subsequent growth. The limbs of the hatchling dragons were clearly described as stunted in proportion to their bodies. The correction of this developmental flaw must arise from a process of regeneration rather than simple growth.
Farseer - I think that the discussion that you are searching for was posted in the "Human Diversity" thread.
With regard to Tintaglia's abandonment of the hatchlings, I wonder whether this was as much due to their lack of ancestral memories as to their physical malformation. Even the other hatchlings did not regard Spit and Sedric's bronze (her name escapes me) as "dragons" until they were able to communicate and showed some evidence of memory/sentience.
With regard to the difference between growth and regeneration, even animals that grow throughout their lifetimes cannot usually replace missing limbs or other major structures. Also, birth defects do not usually correct themselves during growth, even when they do not have a genetic basis. For example, babies born with stunted limbs due to exposure to thalidomide do not develop normal limbs during subsequent growth. The limbs of the hatchling dragons were clearly described as stunted in proportion to their bodies. The correction of this developmental flaw must arise from a process of regeneration rather than simple growth.
Farseer - I think that the discussion that you are searching for was posted in the "Human Diversity" thread.
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