Tenacity of Life pt 2
On the equalization of existence...
In the physical world there are several things which are well known and directly related to this particular topic. Any system tends toward greatest entropy, ideally (though not really) a zero state where all forces balance all others, and mass is evenly distributed throughout all space.
What's most interesting about this to me is its relation to life. Life tends to counter this action. Life exists in cycles where it is broken down to be useful, and used to build up systems in defiance of this tendency. Life creates order as the universe tends toward chaos. This is precisely the central idea within every religion. God, gods or creative force by any name all share the role of essential life. They are oft defined that way. They create life, actually creating the means to maintain order.
In most religions the universe, the world is created by or made from the body of the 'other'. The evil, destructive or malignant force opposed to the 'good'. In our own scientific system we see the universe tending toward chaos, and life holding it back, leading it towards order.
In religion god always wins.
In our universe chaos will ultimately triumph.
This also brings up an interesting question. Once the god figures are associated with life and order and the devil figures with chaos and death, it suggests the ancients knew far more of our universe than historians and archaeologists give them credit for. It suggests that wise men from the past codified their understanding of the universe, the physical world, into a complex abstract form that could more successfully survive through the ages then facts and theories.
How better to save such knowledge then in abstract stories like the common ones told and passed down through generations.
Using stories and other associations to remember facts is a well known teaching and memorization tool, which has become quite common due to its efficacy. The key to memory is building associations. Stories present an excellent medium where the facts are associated as key elements to other parts of the story. As the story is repeated and retold, the events are easily remembered, and the associated facts can be recalled easily by thinking of the story. Using symbols and anagrams are two of the most common techniques used these days, with such well known ones as "my very eager mother just served us nine pickles" or its variations, each word of which represents one of the nine planets of our solar system, starting with the same letter.
So think about your favorite story or movie that you've seen, read or heard many times over. How much of it can you recall? I have several favorites which I can recall in complete detail, and a few which I know word for word. When I was younger my siblings and I had a game where we'd try to memorize, and try to mimic, entire movies. It actually becomes quite easy when you do it regularly.
Consider that story telling was among the most common forms of entertainment in ancient times, that you'd hear (and ask for) your favorite tales over and over. Anyone (like many people today) who really loved the stories would be most inclined to memorize them so that they could enjoy them when they wanted and pass them on to their own children when the time came.
Anyway, back to the original thought...
The parallels of reality to the stories show that at some point people knew what was going on, though the stories degraded as they forgot the original intent, and people became more concerned with the characters of the story then the lessons it was meant to teach.
Lets face it, TV exec's make millions for their companies because they know people like to get involved (intellectually and emotionally) with their characters far more then they like to just learn things. This has been the key to the success of such educational channels as Discover, History and others, they take historical facts and weave them around characters times and places to which people can relate. It draws you in and is easier to remember because the information is based around associations.
(Never fear tangents. They may take you to places you never knew you wanted to go to.)
In the physical world there are several things which are well known and directly related to this particular topic. Any system tends toward greatest entropy, ideally (though not really) a zero state where all forces balance all others, and mass is evenly distributed throughout all space.
What's most interesting about this to me is its relation to life. Life tends to counter this action. Life exists in cycles where it is broken down to be useful, and used to build up systems in defiance of this tendency. Life creates order as the universe tends toward chaos. This is precisely the central idea within every religion. God, gods or creative force by any name all share the role of essential life. They are oft defined that way. They create life, actually creating the means to maintain order.
In most religions the universe, the world is created by or made from the body of the 'other'. The evil, destructive or malignant force opposed to the 'good'. In our own scientific system we see the universe tending toward chaos, and life holding it back, leading it towards order.
In religion god always wins.
In our universe chaos will ultimately triumph.
This also brings up an interesting question. Once the god figures are associated with life and order and the devil figures with chaos and death, it suggests the ancients knew far more of our universe than historians and archaeologists give them credit for. It suggests that wise men from the past codified their understanding of the universe, the physical world, into a complex abstract form that could more successfully survive through the ages then facts and theories.
How better to save such knowledge then in abstract stories like the common ones told and passed down through generations.
Using stories and other associations to remember facts is a well known teaching and memorization tool, which has become quite common due to its efficacy. The key to memory is building associations. Stories present an excellent medium where the facts are associated as key elements to other parts of the story. As the story is repeated and retold, the events are easily remembered, and the associated facts can be recalled easily by thinking of the story. Using symbols and anagrams are two of the most common techniques used these days, with such well known ones as "my very eager mother just served us nine pickles" or its variations, each word of which represents one of the nine planets of our solar system, starting with the same letter.
So think about your favorite story or movie that you've seen, read or heard many times over. How much of it can you recall? I have several favorites which I can recall in complete detail, and a few which I know word for word. When I was younger my siblings and I had a game where we'd try to memorize, and try to mimic, entire movies. It actually becomes quite easy when you do it regularly.
Consider that story telling was among the most common forms of entertainment in ancient times, that you'd hear (and ask for) your favorite tales over and over. Anyone (like many people today) who really loved the stories would be most inclined to memorize them so that they could enjoy them when they wanted and pass them on to their own children when the time came.
Anyway, back to the original thought...
The parallels of reality to the stories show that at some point people knew what was going on, though the stories degraded as they forgot the original intent, and people became more concerned with the characters of the story then the lessons it was meant to teach.
Lets face it, TV exec's make millions for their companies because they know people like to get involved (intellectually and emotionally) with their characters far more then they like to just learn things. This has been the key to the success of such educational channels as Discover, History and others, they take historical facts and weave them around characters times and places to which people can relate. It draws you in and is easier to remember because the information is based around associations.
(Never fear tangents. They may take you to places you never knew you wanted to go to.)
posted by cyber-mountain guru at 10:46 AM
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