Metaphors’ power to save the earth
In a recently published academic paper that I cannot now find nor fully remember, the author focused on the metaphor change from “Global Warming” to “Climate Change”. They asserted that that simple metaphor change was introduced initially as a compromise to “deniers”; that metaphor change, either intentionally or not, reduced angst, urgency and sadly, human…
When an answer is unfindable, ask another question
A recent post from a very unlikely source – ArtNet – cracked me up. The subject, the slaying of a 7-headed snake-like figure, is critically important for us mythology followers in the west – especially those who see truth in the Bible that has nothing to do w/ Christianity. This was a great example of…
Heroes, cults, & flawed humans
Heroes are double-edged swords. There is something in our cultural (biological?) makeup that pushes us to identify with heroes – especially in western cultures. The word “hero” has an interesting etymology: The word hero comes from the Greek ἥρως (hērōs), “hero” (literally “protector” or “defender”), particularly one such as Heracles with divine ancestry or later given divine honors. Before the decipherment of Linear B the original…
Earth’s reality and the limits of human sensors
Philosophically, one can dive as deep as one wants on human perception vs reality. In a world filled with human engineered and binary coded sensors, the physical world (reality) seems scientifically ‘known’. I am not confident with that knowledge. I propose a distinction between ‘earth’s reality’ and ‘human’s knowledge of earth’s reality’ (regardless of scientific…