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The books are full of contradictions
replied on: 8/25/2003 9:28:38 PM

~laughing~ As usual, Kassa, i find my thoughts pretty much falling right in line with yours.

And what i was looking for here was thought-provoking discussion of the concept that the books are an abyss of contradiction, so you have indeed provided a wonderful contribution.

Your point of view on the idea that we tend to look for absolutes has made me think. i hadn't looked at it that way before.

To me, i think the reason we hear references to the myriad of contradictions so often is twofold -

The first is the tendency to disregard the fact that we are seeing scenes that take place in many cultures.

A good example of this is the Free Companionship quote that (paraphrased in kali-speak) states one may have a bazillion slaves at any time but only one FC.

i find that to be true of the city-state cultures which i believe it was actually referring to at the time.

JN could appear to contradict himself when he gives us Bila Huruma living in the trees in the jungles with a couple hundred FCs, and yet, i do not see it as a contradiction at all.

Bila Huruma is living outside the social structure that the majority of Goreans embrace. His is a tribal people.

In those instances, it is imperative to examine the culture and society.

Just as we would find many so-called "contradictions" in a series of books written about our planet here with all its various cultures, customs, economies and so on.

When we learn of Gor from web pages that simply toss a bunch of quotes up without context, we miss out on so much and it CAN appear confusing.

You know, i even spoke of the books being full of contradictions once on the boards too ~laughing at myself now~ and i will freely admit that i did it because at the time my entire knowledge of gor was gleaned from random quotes on websites - and mostly because i had heard others say it.

It seemed to me to be the thing to say, i am ashamed to admit! i -thought- i sounded quite knowledgeable in spouting the accepted "catch phrase" ~laughing~

The second reason we hear it so much, in my opinion, is a combination of ignorance and stubborness to just do as we please. Wave it off with the excuse that the books are full of contradictions, gambling on the fact that so few have read the books enough to know whether it is true or not.

For example, i have posted quotes on a subject and had them rebutted as if they said something else.

Such as, suppose i posted a couple quotes that said all goreans wear hats on Sunday (no such quote exists, this is for illustration only). Oddly enough, the rebuttal has been "Oh the books are full of contradictions, we see men not wearing shoes on Tuesdays in several books"

~laughing~ Ok, what does the wearing of shoes have to do with a hat? And how exactly is that a contradiction?

Time to get back on track here though ~L~

i really enjoyed your thoughts on the use of exceptions to create drama and advance storylines, develop characters. i think it is an excellent point AND we would all do well to remember that very very VERY rarely does JN state that anything happens either -always- or -never-

So if we are told that commonly a gorean wears a hat on Sunday, is it a contradiction to see a man without one on Sunday? Or is it an exception that likely will lead to some further action in the current plot because he is acting outside of what is normal for whatever part of Gorean society he is in?

To me, a solid contradiction is something like "sleen have six legs" and then later to be told "sleen have two legs and two wings" (which btw, we are NOT told...i made that up ~L~)

i do actually have a contradiction that i am working on. In the beginning of the books it states clearly that the players are not a caste, but simply men of all castes who live for the game (kaissa).

Later in the books, we see it clearly portrayed as a caste, with a High Council and all the bells and whistles of a real caste.

That to me is a contradiction. One. The *only* clear one i can find in the books.

However, i am not without faith in JN ~L~ Each day as i do a bit more research the man surprises me with the way he weaves details into things. i am thinking that somewhere in the books is a small, perhaps seemingly insignificant scene that refers to how and when the caste was formed.

And in case the faithful readers missed it, in there was my admission that i learn something new from the books every day. i do not know it all nor do i claim to ~L~

So just bcause the players thing is the only solid contradiction *i* have found, it does not mean there are not more.

The floor is still open.

Toss em out! Let's get to the bottom of these contradictions once and for all!

PS...more comments on your FW-sex contradiction in a bit... need a bit to rest my fingers and take a breath ~L~

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