Re: probably a bloody obvious question...

Yoon Ha Lee wrote:

>When you get right down to it, for a writer (and any other
>world/culture/language builder), *every* field is useful.  Something like
>40-60% of my leisure reading is in varied nonfiction fields (see
>http://yhl.freeservers.com/booklist/nonfiction.html for a sample).  It's
>all good.  :-)  Writing is one of the most interdisciplinary disciplines
>I know!
Absolutely.  My Dwarvish language and culture made enormous leaps in realism
and complexity after taking a basic Geology course.  I devised names for all
the geologic terminology and invented a classification different than the one
geologists used based on other features.  It had a much more cyclic feel to
things that the standard Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary division.  And I've
always wanted to take a botany course to help with the realism of Telek.

Marcus