Thinking it through

I seem to have acquired a reputation as some sort of worldbuilding maven, probably based on the Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions I came up with as a personal crutch during my middle career. I don't actually think the reputation is deserved - really, it should belong to someone who does a much better job of worldbuilding than I do - but it's really not worth trying to argue.

The thing I actually want to talk about is why I came up with the Worldbuilding Questions in the first place. I've said...