> It's also easy to underestimate the difficulty in mundane technologies. Take bread for instance; this is how you make bread: Grow a grass (cereal crop). Separ

> It's also easy to underestimate the difficulty in mundane technologies. Take bread for instance; this is how you make bread: Grow a grass (cereal crop). Separate the seeds, dry them, and then shell them to get your grains. Now grind it into flour, and then mix it with water, fat, and salt. Let it sit out to grow a yeast infection. Stick it in a fire, and then you get bread. Compare this to typical metalworking: Find the appropriate ore. Stick it in a fire. Depending on the metal, let it melt completely and pour it into a sand cast, or get it red-hot and then bang on it with a hammer. Your example doesn't support your point. You're simply going into more detail on the baking process than the smithing process. In particular, none of these things are trivial: * finding the right ore (generally depends on trade and specialization) * making a fire hot enough to melt metal * making a sand cast * alloying the metal * rooting out impurities such that the finished artifact is useful * the technical processes of casting and forging