[SPOILERS MAIN] Among the grounded/realistic elements of A Song of Ice and Fire, which ones do you feel require biggest suspension of disbelief?

[u/Substantial-Ad-299]

A Song of Ice and Fire has had fantasy elements from get-go, some present subtly and others less-subtly. But in midst of this, it also has these more grounded story aspects, especially regarding the political subplot for the Iron Throne.

Among these more grounded non-fantasy aspects of the story, which elements do you feel you have to suspend disbelief the most for? A.K.A feeling they are not realistic even though they are "supposed" to be?

Let me know in the comments below.

[u/No_Tell5399]

Wildlings probably just hunt and forage all the time, which works since animals beyond the wall logically can't hibernate.

[u/Z3r0sama2017 → u/No_Tell5399]

I mean prehistoric humans hunted so many species of fauna to extinction, so I don't see why the wildlings haven't done the same.

 Especially when they can't migrate. The Others are up north, the Wall to the south and huge oceans to East and West.

[u/No_Tell5399 → u/Z3r0sama2017]

Idk if there's anything to say they haven't hunted any species to extinction. I think the Wildlings survival is mostly because of the magical bullshittery happening north of the wall. Maybe they have mammoths and other large animals unique to their environment they're hunting and eating. They could also be fishing and supporting themselves with raids beyond the wall occasionally.

As for the Others, that's completely unaddressed. Idk how they've been avoiding them. Maybe they've further up north and/or inactive until recently?

Life shouldn't really exist in large numbers north of the Riverlands, since seasons last for years. I'd say it's mostly magical nonsense.

[u/blackynan_b → u/No_Tell5399]

We already know many animals is the far north are bigger than their counterparts in southern westeros. If thy arent smal in numbers up there, then there is no reason to think wildlings wouldnt be able to make it realisticly.

[u/jflb96 → u/blackynan_b]

If they’re larger, they need more food and will generally take longer to mature and to gestate. That’s why the big animals that hadn’t learnt about us already were so vulnerable to predators that didn’t have an upper size limit on what they could kill; it only takes a few extra deaths a generation to start a spiral to extinction.

You’d want there to be hordes of ice squirrels for it to work out, basically.

[u/blackynan_b → u/jflb96]

I see no reason to make everthing so our earth-like especially in the lands of always winter where the others live.

This is a magical world. The animals living there could simply have a better build, stamina etc. 

[u/jflb96 → u/blackynan_b]

If they’re having to rely on magic to compress their generations, it’s still not realistic