Re: OT: What makes a good conlang? (was Re: Super OT: Re: CHAT: JRRT)

Michael Poxon wrote:

>The name "Sheliak" caught my eye and raised the question of where these
>writers get their names from. Sheliak is actually the
>real-world name of a star (beta Lyrae). So do the writers trawl through
>astronomy books picking out appropriate-sounding names,
>or did this episode actually feature a race of people from a planet orbiting
>beta Lyrae? (Unlikely, as it's a near-contact double star
>with orbital instabilities which I'm sure the astro-aware writers would have
>picked up on)
>
>
I contest that sun-like stars/systems are the only ones where life can
arise.  Life like us, certainly, but life in general is very, well,
generalised.  It inhabits every nook and cranny of the earth, no matter
what the conditions(This is, of course, a lie.  But it's pretty close to
true).   I think life could pretty much get anywhere.

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