tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post3015186731917842410..comments2023-10-17T06:26:31.005-07:00Comments on Evolutionary Middleman: Fables from factsJohn Evohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-14113641815116368992008-08-13T15:55:00.000-07:002008-08-13T15:55:00.000-07:00I guess this means Lynet has a book essay up!I guess this means Lynet has a book essay up!John Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-13078244540412206462008-08-13T02:00:00.000-07:002008-08-13T02:00:00.000-07:00I have to say, I did find the mixing of science an...I have to say, I did find the mixing of science and story a little dangerous, purely because there were places where the story aligned with pervasive but false ideas about what certain scientific facts mean. There are also places where the science is just wrong. Science and myth are both important, and sometimes science can <I>be</I> myth without diminishing the worth of either ("we are Lynethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357023675142716573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-25544416793914885492008-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:002008-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:00It's all in what you're prepared to believe, I thi...It's all in what you're prepared to believe, I think.<BR/><BR/>When my sons were small they presented themselves to me and petitioned me to tell them where babies come from.<BR/><BR/>Well, I asked if they'd heard of screwing, seen the drawings in the boy's rooms in their schools. <BR/><BR/>They said the had, indeed.<BR/><BR/>I told them that activity was how babies were made.<BR/><BR/>The oldest Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-50385799101496089292008-08-07T14:03:00.000-07:002008-08-07T14:03:00.000-07:00Question:Well, obviously you're interpreting "myth...Question:<BR/>Well, obviously you're interpreting "mythology" in a very narrow way. Do the stories of "Cinderella," "Little Red Riding-Hood," or "Rumpelstiltskin" create dangerous belief systems in our kids? Does the Star Wars saga, or the legend of Robin Hood?<BR/><BR/>Myths are delightful things for a culture to have -- provided that no one tries to pass them off as facts to be believed in. I The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-63852117727026423422008-08-07T13:45:00.000-07:002008-08-07T13:45:00.000-07:00QE - It's "missing" for good reason. It isn't alw...QE - It's "missing" for good reason. It isn't always true that it's fictional, as in the examples I gave about American mythology. <BR/><BR/>As for "the children"... we teach them about all kinds of things. We even teach them Greek Mythology. But no one (even Christians) expects them to believe them, while there are many valuable lessons (not to mention great stories). <BR/><BR/>I hear yourJohn Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-56777109607268570752008-08-07T12:38:00.000-07:002008-08-07T12:38:00.000-07:00I always thought that Mythology acted as place mar...I always thought that Mythology acted as place markers for science. They were stories (yes we know them as fiction now, but at the time they were seen as fact)that were devised to explain aspects of experience and reality, that could not be understood at the time until Science came along and explained them. Once that happened, our newly found understanding transformed them from fact to fiction. <Spanish Inquisitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05261181794832002207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-26512199035217103112008-08-07T12:33:00.000-07:002008-08-07T12:33:00.000-07:00Evo-I have to back Chappy and lifeguard on this on...Evo-<BR/><BR/>I have to back Chappy and lifeguard on this one. The definition you gave of mythology is lacking one very important word, <I>Fictional</I>.<BR/><BR/>And Ex, when you say atheists are taking things way <I>too seriously</I>, understand that little, innocent "mythologies" fed to children, without a proper explanation of their wholy fictional nature, are what lay the psychological Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-23053827080164703492008-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:002008-08-07T10:14:00.000-07:00Notice that I said nothing about making science in...Notice that I said nothing about making science into a religion (which it is not, never could be).<BR/><BR/>You mythology haters need to get a grip! LOL!<BR/><BR/>"mythology is a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or the history of an event, arising naturally or deliberately fostered"<BR/><BR/>While Christianity is an example of mythology, so is the story John Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-5663185172308543222008-08-07T10:11:00.000-07:002008-08-07T10:11:00.000-07:00I thought that was our point exactly, Ex. Recogni...I thought that was our point exactly, Ex. Recognize and appreciate the myths we have as myth-- with all their lyricism and poetry-- rather than the need to replace them, although I see the value in updating them too (eg, Star Wars).Alejandrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08578877429793660591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-58716050288884679112008-08-07T10:05:00.000-07:002008-08-07T10:05:00.000-07:00These comments just go to prove that atheists are ...These comments just go to prove that atheists are too fucking serious AND lack poetry. <BR/><BR/>There's absolutely nothing wrong with myths that explain things in poetic terms -- as long as one is not expected to believe them literally.The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-20877154825223405682008-08-07T09:56:00.000-07:002008-08-07T09:56:00.000-07:00I'm with the anti-mythology crowd. Trading one set...I'm with the anti-mythology crowd. Trading one set of myths for another is bullshit. Creating entertaining fiction and never losing sight of the fact that it's fiction is one thing. Creating mythology is another thing entirely. <BR/><BR/>Washington and his cherry tree is an American myth created for the purpose of teaching children not to lie. Of course, the people telling this false story tell Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-86470821379528582762008-08-07T06:40:00.000-07:002008-08-07T06:40:00.000-07:00I don't think we need a new mythology or a mytholo...I don't think we need a new mythology or a mythology based on science or anything else to replace the Judeo-Christian tradition. <BR/><BR/>What we need is for people to recognize the Judeo-Christian tradition as mythology and not science or historical fact.Alejandrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08578877429793660591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-41925679034290670092008-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:002008-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:00Evo, mythologies can't be updated. What was and i...Evo, mythologies can't be updated. What was and is has always been. ...Unless the pope changes his mind.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429263099197981481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-25621161604850757162008-08-07T06:21:00.000-07:002008-08-07T06:21:00.000-07:00I don't know....I think it's dangerous to attempt ...I don't know....<BR/><BR/>I think it's dangerous to attempt to create a <I>mythology</I> out of science. It is the mythological thinking process that atheists constantly fight against when we argue against religious people.<BR/><BR/>Following this idea may only lead to a new religion-type-statment. I am opposed to religion because I support reason.<BR/><BR/>-QAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-51272339919719363702008-08-06T18:50:00.000-07:002008-08-06T18:50:00.000-07:00By the way (this comment should have been worked i...By the way (this comment should have been worked into my post),Calvino died back in '85, but someone should do an updated version - staying true to the story but simply updating the science where our knowledge has been expanded over where it was 40 years ago. I was actually shocked (on the science I was familiar with) how much of it would stand up to scrutiny in '08. That said, there are thingsJohn Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-88062087360463947112008-08-06T18:45:00.000-07:002008-08-06T18:45:00.000-07:00Is this a way to get people interested in the beau...Is this a way to get people interested in the beauty of science? I suspect that had a lot to do with Calvino's work here. This just seems like the work of a guy who loves the science and wants to share it in a funny way. Kind of like this guy I know who writes a blog... eh. Never mind.John Evohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10868904051881865159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15599022.post-65087822418628056412008-08-06T14:42:00.000-07:002008-08-06T14:42:00.000-07:00Yeah, I agree with what you said here. As I wrote ...Yeah, I agree with what you said here. As I wrote in my essay, one of the things I love about Calvino's little folktales is that "no supernatural beings cause things to happen; they just do." <BR/><BR/>So in a way, jumping off from your point, these stories are both (1) examples of how one could create a mythology based on science and (2) heathen parodies of the world's existing mythologies. <BR/The Exterminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14452054124550486048noreply@blogger.com