2013/06/16 [Matilda #17] A picture begins to form

[killpurakat]

Sounds like, even though we readers were thinking that Matilda's homelife was taking a turn for the worse, this is just an average day for any female there.

Which may be even sadder.

BTW, why doesn't Matlida make jewelry for a living? Seems like she can, and it might be easier than trying to write stuff with no thumbs.

[Yarott]

Ha! So Matilda is the second sister of her brother? I should've seen that coming. Or maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions? In any case, I am kinda seeing where this story is heading to.

BTW, why doesn't Matlida make jewelry for a living? Seems like she can, and it might be easier than trying to write stuff with no thumbs.

I'm guessing she already does. And they must be her best selling item in her store for storing things! But seriously, how does she do it? You know, turning anything into a Hammerspace Device?

[Infranscia]

Okay, so if it's the tradition for a family to have two boys and one girl, and the males like to have more than one wife, I'm guessing the males kill each-other off enough so that there are more adult females than males in the end?

[joshofspam]

Well we know Matilda was one of two daughters and she also had a brother.

The weird thing about that is we haven't seen much of other family members yet. We've heard about the dad, haven't seen any wives yet and we also know that at least for a time her father skipped the tradition and allowed his second daughter to live.

Considering from things we've seen already, I wonder if something more ominous is building from what was just said from what we can already guess is the norm for their kind of life?

[ChaosMageX]

Ha! So Matilda is the second sister of her brother? I should've seen that coming. Or maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions? In any case, I am kinda seeing where this story is heading to.

I'm not surprised, considering what Matilda herself said on this page.

BTW, why doesn't Matlida make jewelry for a living? Seems like she can, and it might be easier than trying to write stuff with no thumbs.

I'm guessing she already does. And they must be her best selling item in her store for storing things! But seriously, how does she do it? You know, turning anything into a Hammerspace Device?

The answer is probably a trade secret.

[Talonr]

Wait, does that "one family, three children" mean that one male can only father three children, or that each female a male has can raise three different children?

I admit, the math is not adding up for me...

Not even taking into consideration the amount of males that survive/breed, but if one family *read: one male* has only three children, and only one child is female, then we have to assume that any male with two or three wives is cutting down the female population of the next generation by taking 2-3 but only giving 1 in return. Which would mean that with every generation, their numbers as a race grows smaller due to fewer breeding. But, if every female is allowed to mother three children of her own, then that would make more sense as it would keep a consistent 1:1 female ratio, and require the males to constantly prove themselves the best in order to marry and have children *as it would seem their current tradition is*.

[ChaosMageX]

Wait, does that "one family, three children" mean that one male can only father three children, or that each female a male has can raise three different children?

I admit, the math is not adding up for me...

Not even taking into consideration the amount of males that survive/breed, but if one family *read: one male* has only three children, and only one child is female, then we have to assume that any male with two or three wives is cutting down the female population of the next generation by taking 2-3 but only giving 1 in return. Which would mean that with every generation, their numbers as a race grows smaller due to fewer breeding. But, if every female is allowed to mother three children of her own, then that would make more sense as it would keep a consistent 1:1 female ratio, and require the males to constantly prove themselves the best in order to marry and have children *as it would seem their current tradition is*.

I think you're probably forgetting to take into account the mortality rate of male members of the tribe, which is probably high considering how often they fight (to the death).

[joshofspam]

Wait, does that "one family, three children" mean that one male can only father three children, or that each female a male has can raise three different children?

I admit, the math is not adding up for me...

Not even taking into consideration the amount of males that survive/breed, but if one family *read: one male* has only three children, and only one child is female, then we have to assume that any male with two or three wives is cutting down the female population of the next generation by taking 2-3 but only giving 1 in return. Which would mean that with every generation, their numbers as a race grows smaller due to fewer breeding. But, if every female is allowed to mother three children of her own, then that would make more sense as it would keep a consistent 1:1 female ratio, and require the males to constantly prove themselves the best in order to marry and have children *as it would seem their current tradition is*.

I think you're probably forgetting to take into account the mortality rate of male members of the tribe, which is probably high considering how often they fight (to the death).

It's a fair couple of point added with how limited the crystals powers are.

In short, the males life style keeps both female and male population numbers low enough to be supported by the crystal. But dependencies on those crystals has undoubtedly effect how their culture has developed.

[Lying Foo]

Look at this panel in light of the idea that twice as many male children are allowed to grow up as female...

I expect that "three children per family" is three per female, not three per male, since that would keep the population rock steady if all the girls survived, and since they seem to be their own primary cause of death, I imagine the death of a female of childbearing age is a rarity.  It would also shed some light on what a taboo Matilda's parents must have broken...

[Talonr]

Actually, I was just doing general math. If we make a rough estimate, say one generation is born with 50 males and 25 females *two males per every female*, then assume that all 25 females are claimed by a male.  It doesn't matter if 25 males survived, or if only 10 did, they can still claim all 25 based solely on their 1~3 wives limit.  But now we run numbers: If 25 males take 25 different females, and each male can have three children in his family, then the next generation is another 50 males, 25 females.  But if 20 males take the 25 females amongst themselves, and the 3-children limit is based on the male, then the next generation has only 20 females and 40 males.  This decrease continues drastically the more males who take more wives. Say that 12 males score 2 wives each, and one more has one wife. The next generation will only produce 13 females and 26 males.

By that logic, I have to assume that each "family" unit consists of a single wife, and thus the amount of wives a male has increases the amount of "families" he has, and thus the amount of offspring he can father. That would then mean that regardless of the amount of males who actually survive to claim wives and father children, the population will always be based on the amount of females per generation, and will remain a constant overall.

[ANTIcarrot]

But if 20 males take the 25 females amongst themselves, and the 3-children limit is based on the male, then the next generation has only 20 females and 40 males.

The rule is about replacement, not absolute limits.  For a single male and female, ideal replacement is one daughter, one son, and one walking corpse. For a male and two females, ideal replacement is two daughters, one son, and one walking corpse.

Problems presumably start if you have one male and three females - which means five children, and only two get to have a second child. That could get awkward, and possibly catty.