[Dragaera] Centuries and Centuries of Dragaeran history and no one has invented a steam engine?

[Jon via Dragaera]

On 5/30/2016 1:11 PM, Howard Brazee via Dragaera wrote:
>> On May 30, 2016, at 1:31 PM, corey+scratchfactory.com via Dragaera <dragaera at lists.dragaera.info> wrote:
>>
>> Perhaps the sudden and unprecedented flourishing of sorcery during (or immediately after) the Interregnum gives weight to the idea that the Cycle somehow inhibits technological innovation?
>>
>> Perhaps part of the Cycle's purpose is to hold the world in a sort of stasis, perhaps as a way of resisting the Jenoine? So that when the Cycle was broken and the Orb lost, that necessary stasis was disrupted?
>
> Ooh, I like.    If so, we may discover that in a future book.

It does seem like each House in the Cycle seems to arise as a direct 
reaction to one of the key traits of the House immediately preceding it.

Phoenix - Empire, at the expense of personal Power
Dragons - Military victory and honor, at the expense of Empire, if necessary
Lyorn - Tradition, at the expense of Military victory
Tiassa - Innovation and action, at the expense of Tradition
Hawk - Curiousity and observation (academic intellectualism), at the 
expense of action
Dzur - Heroism, at the expense of intellectualism
Issola - Diplomacy, at the expense of heroism
Tsalmouth - Survival, at the expense of diplomacy
Vallista - Creativity and artistic expression at the expense of survival
Jhereg - Influence, at the expense of creativity
Iorich - Justice, at the expense of influence

&c

It's like a constant self-cleansing system where each turn of the cycle 
helps to wash away whatever significant social innovations might have 
been implemented by the previous house.

Now, some aspects of progressivism in one area of society or other might 
start to develop (for example, whatever Military innovations the Lyorn 
rulers successfully ban may be gradually re-introduced or worked around 
by the next time the Dragons come to power) but then the next Lyorn rule 
hits and sets things back closer to what they were before. Progress is 
still present in such a system, but it is slowed to an almost geological 
timescale.

Majikjon


see also:

http://dragaera.wikia.com/wiki/Speculation%3ACycle_Turnings