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blantyr · 07-29-2012, 05:03 PM

Also, while Tolkien was very good at many aspects of world building, realistic population levels and recovery times from things like plagues were not his strength. There are a lot of threads on these forums where we discuss in sometimes ridiculous detail things that Tolkien thought out well. Population levels aren't one of the areas he cared about most.

Realistically, in a darwinistic sense, populations of any given species expand to fully utilize resources. If elves and wild men take up the hunter-gatherer ecological slot, one might expect as many of them as there were once Native Americans in North America (before the arrival of the Spaniards and their European plagues.) Tolkien loved lots of wilderness. To get the feel of lots of wild spaces, he kind of ignored Darwin. He was a linguist rather than a biologist.

Clearly true west of the Misty Mountains. We know less of Valinor.

Not that I worry about it. I'm not about to crusade for 'realistic fantasy'. The feeling of the books just wouldn't be the same if the Fellowship could sleep over in some village every night.

07-29-2012, 05:03 PM	#16
blantyr Wight Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Settling down in Bree for the winter. Posts: 208	Population Levels Also, while Tolkien was very good at many aspects of world building, realistic population levels and recovery times from things like plagues were not his strength. There are a lot of threads on these forums where we discuss in sometimes ridiculous detail things that Tolkien thought out well. Population levels aren't one of the areas he cared about most. Realistically, in a darwinistic sense, populations of any given species expand to fully utilize resources. If elves and wild men take up the hunter-gatherer ecological slot, one might expect as many of them as there were once Native Americans in North America (before the arrival of the Spaniards and their European plagues.) Tolkien loved lots of wilderness. To get the feel of lots of wild spaces, he kind of ignored Darwin. He was a linguist rather than a biologist. Clearly true west of the Misty Mountains. We know less of Valinor. Not that I worry about it. I'm not about to crusade for 'realistic fantasy'. The feeling of the books just wouldn't be the same if the Fellowship could sleep over in some village every night.