Questions tagged [culture]
For questions dealing with the customary and artistic characteristics of a society.
769
questions
7
votes
15
answers
2k
views
What kind of pressures would make a culture force its members to always wear power armour
I'm writing a science-fantasy story where there is a culture that forces its members to constantly wear power armor in public. There are different types of armor depending on the specific job the ...
- 111
-1
votes
7
answers
188
views
What are the underlying social, economic, or cultural elements that create a scientifically minded society? [closed]
I am creating a little republic, one founded by religious dissidents and breakaway cults of the main religion of the setting. It's a trading republic, a wealthy one with high literacy by premodern ...
- 705
-4
votes
2
answers
99
views
What would be the German and French attitudes toward marriage? [closed]
The story that I'm writing is set in an alternate, vaguely-medieval Europe. There are some differences, since in this world, magic has been a known and relatively steady influence on culture and ...
- 11
-2
votes
2
answers
210
views
is everyone dark skinned in a realistic cyberpunk story? [closed]
following global trends it suggest that eventually fair skin will be as rare as redheads are today as Europeans or ethnically "white" people are staling or going down in population, eastern ...
-1
votes
3
answers
157
views
Why would yellow be considered a manly colour? [closed]
I am writing a story that is set in the Fourth World (metaphor meaning uncontracted people, hunter-gatherers, nomads, pastoral peoples, and some subsistence farming peoples, and sub-populations from ...
- 5,374
5
votes
4
answers
338
views
How does constant darkness effect a culture's clothing?
In my world, Elves live in a tall forest with a canopy so thick that almost no light reaches the forest floor. Due to this, Elves have all but gone blind. The sun still warms the upper layers, but ...
- 163
5
votes
1
answer
755
views
What materials and building techniques would a Late Medieval-Renaissance city use next to an ocean?
I'm designing a coastal city (called Bruxport), and I'm wondering what types of materials and techniques would be used to help combat erosion, water damage, and salt build-up from damaging buildings?
...
- 53
-2
votes
1
answer
89
views
Futuristic fusion of university campus with desi cultural heritage preserved [closed]
So my idea is to redesign my university campus in a more modern and futuristic setting. But the aim is to keep the original cultural feel to it. For reference the campus is pretty old say 50-60 years ...
3
votes
2
answers
186
views
Would a bioengineered man with Aromatase excess Syndrome naturally accept that he looks naturally feminine? [closed]
I was searching about Aromatase Excess Syndrome and I read some case studies about it and I was imagining if bioengineering/Synthetic Biology was used to create a man with such a condition( not ...
3
votes
2
answers
134
views
What would climates be like outside areas of controlled weather? [closed]
If weather was controlled in circuitous paths of airships, Swipes lets call the rainbands, where it rains predictably every 7 days, and these Swipes were 1000's of miles apart, what would the other ...
- 39
1
vote
2
answers
135
views
How does a wing membrane from shoulder to knee affect the clothing of a humanoid?
This species called Artisans has a second shoulder on the lower half of the ribcage which extends into a pterosaur-like wing, and a membrane that goes from the wing shoulder down to about the knee. I ...
- 163
0
votes
1
answer
179
views
How many cultures can a world have without being too complicated? [closed]
I'm trying to create a dystopia that takes place on Pangea Proxima, and I'm using Azgaars Pantasy Map Generator to do it. As you probably know, Azgaars has a feature where the map has different ...
- 135
4
votes
2
answers
141
views
How can a modern-day nomadic culture preserve its lifestyle? [closed]
In modern times, how can this ancient clan, bound by religious duty to visit 12 holy sites across Asia each year, and once serving as messengers between kingdoms but no longer doing so, confront the ...
- 183
0
votes
1
answer
226
views
How to make alcohol in the ocean?
Last night my friends and I visited a pub in Atlantis and have a great time with the merfolk, everything seems pretty normal until I noticed there they don't serves vodka, in fact they don't consume ...
- 48k
7
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How can an octopus paint underwater?
In my story, humanity engages in World War III, ultimately bringing about their extinction. The irradiation of the ocean causes a mutation in an octopus (Enteroctopus Dofleini), enabling her to pass ...
- 1,096
14
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Is a society where children are entirely raised by boarding schools sustainable?
In my previous question, I brought up a hypothetical society where children aren't raised at all by their biological parents. Instead, the children are taken care of by hospital staff for the first ...
- 4,443
18
votes
13
answers
5k
views
How are sapient crows utilized if there are phones for communicating?
A shaman society secret to normal humans, in the late 2000s era where phones and the internet exist: why and how would they still put to work their black feathery friends?
They were crucial before all ...
- 398
2
votes
3
answers
817
views
Office Superpowers: which augmented soft skills help with happiness? [closed]
Office Universe:
In my fictional universe, superpowers exist, but they manifest in a peculiar manner. Individuals are granted abilities that are strictly related to enhancing their office work and ...
- 3,759
6
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Extrapolating a culture from its use of armored fighting vehicles? [closed]
Ok, rewriting this one, so some of the answers and comments are from a simpler version:
Let's say, in an alternate timeline, or on another world, we discover the equivalent of mechanized warfare -- ...
- 69
1
vote
3
answers
217
views
How would a species with intangibility-powers deal with war and violence? [closed]
I've got an idea for an alien species with intangibility powers, similar to Kitty Pryde from the X-men or Mira Nova and the Tangeans from "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command". They are capable ...
- 1,317
9
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Could a species be highly apathetic to their brethren yet have a strong pack/herd mentality?
This species comes from a world 1.7x the mass of Earth that is about 75% water.
I would like them to be very apathetic so that when a space-faring species contacts then there is a definite difference ...
- 976
6
votes
4
answers
701
views
What are the parenting options available to species that reproduce by fragmentation?
How would a species that forms new life only when the parent fragments, do parenting?
Like sea stars and molds, my species forms a new child when the parent is broken. However, this is the only means ...
- 8,179
3
votes
4
answers
505
views
How would a fantasy world change if every mage exploded/caused natural disasters upon death [closed]
In a fantasy world I'm building, one of the main two types of mages have innate control over natural elements. About 1 in 50 people in this world have the ability to take part in the ritual to give ...
- 31
15
votes
5
answers
3k
views
What would aliens glean from our consumer grade computers? [closed]
David just bought a $1500 grand computer, he put the parts together himself. He was about to play some games on it and aliens just yoinked it to study. Without even looking at David or the biology of ...
- 1,415
6
votes
1
answer
209
views
Could earth like planet support a second moon, if it was approximately 1/4 of real moon size?
I would like for my world to have two moons. I think it would look simply stunning at night. Also, I came up with a pretty cool idea for a "God Eye" cult. When the smaller moon would have ...
- 143
3
votes
12
answers
4k
views
What are the practical reasons for a species of humanoids to all wear sexy, revealing clothing?
Many cultures throughout human history have depicted skin, but few have done so explicitly for the purpose of being sexually enticing, especially not in their everyday routines.
Hence, I've been ...
user104995
14
votes
22
answers
5k
views
Why would a highly advanced society still engage in extensive agriculture?
What are some plausible reasons why an advanced, futuristic society would still have a sizable agricultural/rural component, and a significant rural population? This hypothetical civilization is ...
- 141
5
votes
6
answers
711
views
Cultural identity in an Multi-cultural empire
I'm world-building for a universe. I just came up with Deals Best Kept, and I realized I wanted to have a bunch of fantasy races interact, be very culturally diverse and mixed, and also account for a ...
-3
votes
5
answers
326
views
Why would LGBTQIA+ people be sacred individuals? [closed]
In my world, there are magical humans often called wizards (their scientific name is Homo magicus) (so, they are still humans, just not Homo sapiens). They are traditionally a very religious race. ...
- 5,374
10
votes
14
answers
4k
views
Is there any way to justify very different levels of technological development within a few thousand miles?
Imagine a continent the size of Africa.
At the coasts are sophisticated cities, where people use digital technology, electric cars, and whatnot.
Travel inland, across a mountain range or through a ...
- 4,735
4
votes
12
answers
883
views
What are good reasons to create a city/nation in which a government wouldn't let you leave [closed]
I am building a city that the main character will be prohibited to leave from and yet their intentions of entering the city are to save the world form an extra-planer threat. So they have to go in. ...
1
vote
6
answers
277
views
Why might a repressive order allow for flamboyant newscasters?
Thanks in advance and sorry if this isn't within the scope of the forum, I'm new but I've lurked so I totally get it if this doesn't really fit.
Anyway, let's get into it. Setting is a far-future ...
- 99
6
votes
2
answers
559
views
Conditions required for a society to develop aquaculture?
While researching Kwak'wala, because I think the languages of the Pacific Northwest have this amazing aesthetic I want to mimic in some languages in my world, I came across the fact that the Kwakwak'...
- 215
7
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Orthographic change over time
This is related to a previous question of mine: Rate of linguistic change among geographically separated descendants of a common language
If you had 4 groups of humans with the same language and ...
- 956
2
votes
4
answers
250
views
Rate of linguistic change among geographically separated descendants of a common language
I'm developing a story set on an exoplanet where a relatively small terraforming expedition is forced to settle on the planet due to some catastrophe 20,000 years before the story's events.
They ...
- 956
5
votes
4
answers
451
views
Is it plausible for constructed languages to be used to affect thought and control or mold people towards desired outcomes?
In 1984, newspeak is used to control thought, and to make certain ideas impossible to express, or even to think.
I'm imagining a future totalitarian state which develops custom languages which it ...
- 443
7
votes
5
answers
543
views
Litmus Test for whether my worldbuilt cultures are too close to modern America/Britain/etc
I was listening to a video on how to write, and the person giving the lecture said something along the lines of "I'm bored with stories where the setting is supposed to be in the far-flung future,...
- 109
3
votes
2
answers
220
views
Need Help with a Fictional Modern Baltic Country’s Name?
I want the name of the country to mean “eastern border/land”, but I’m not a professional in the Latvian/Eastern Baltic languages.
As an example, would it be Austgale or Austrumgale (gale meaning “...
2
votes
5
answers
573
views
Why would a society persecute people who are antisocial misanthropes (sociopaths, psychopaths, narcissists, and sadists)? [closed]
An alternate-historical story is set in a third-world country in 1977 of the Gregorian calendar (the year George Lucas' masterpiece, Star Wars, was released). The country is a Costa Rica pastiche (...
- 5,374
3
votes
2
answers
209
views
In a righty-dominated society, how can authorities prevent a right-handed child from being born to two lefty parents?
In this society, superstitions regarding right- and left-handed people are accepted as fact. (I'm going to be politically incorrect and call them "righties" and "lefties" ...
- 2,177
8
votes
7
answers
620
views
How can bonobo that evolved sapience maintain their 'conflict resolution' strategy without risking spreading of STIs?
If humans die out tomorrow the two most likely candidates to achieve sapience after us are our closest genetic relatives. One of these, chimpanzee, has been discussed quite thoroughly in stories such ...
- 33.6k
15
votes
8
answers
2k
views
How to keep paper copies of a "knowledge base" up-to-date in a fantasy world?
I am currently working on a fantasy world, in which one city maintains a written knowledge base about all knowledge they have about the world. This knowledge base consists of dozens of tomes, each ...
- 181
5
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How could a nomadic society establish a stable civilization?
In my world, there is an entire nomad-based society. While they have some influence based on gypsies, they are mainly based on Mongolian Horsemen. At some point in my fictional history (ca. 12th-13th ...
- 2,601
3
votes
2
answers
556
views
Can there be an Underwater Advanced Civilization? [closed]
After watching Aquaman and, most recently, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which features Namor and his underwater empire, I got curious about the feasibility of an underwater civilization composed of ...
- 1,211
0
votes
1
answer
208
views
What are some of the most culturally universal names? [closed]
This is mostly a shower-thought type query rather than an active problem I'm looking to solve, but here it goes.
Say I have a character that gets an opportunity to choose his own name, and he wants to ...
- 17
4
votes
1
answer
317
views
How to name an Ancient Egyptian Prince?
I have created a character and only still need his name. I've spent the past 3-4 hours googling stuff about Ancient Egyptian royal naming conventions, and it's a lot! @_@
The character is a young man (...
user99624
0
votes
2
answers
158
views
Impacts of matricentric reproductive laws [closed]
My world is a matricentric America that holds men legally responsible for unplanned pregnancies. Roughly, the idea is that if an unplanned pregnancy occurs and the woman does not get an abortion, the ...
- 150
3
votes
4
answers
246
views
Any natural way that a River can "move" by hundreds of kilometers seasonally
I'm designing a Nomadic culture and I had an interesting concept.
One of the reasons for nomadism is to find resources that "move" annually.
In the case of pastoral nomads, it is to find new ...
- 697
33
votes
14
answers
8k
views
In a fantasy world where people can ride monsters and fantastic beasts, why does the horse still remain in active duty?
A fantasy staple, the fantastic mount (TvTropes). People in Fantasy Land ride giant yellow chickens, giant wolves, giant beetles, caterpilars, ants, and other insects, evolved bears, sharks, miniature ...
- 14.6k
2
votes
2
answers
161
views
What would modern color wheels look like if the human eye saw fewer/different spectral colors?
The typical human eye can see wavelengths between 350nm and 750nm. In 1666, Isaac Newton used a triangular prism to split a beam of white into a rainbow and then define the first color wheel.
Fast-...
- 484