Supernatural / Unexplained phenomenas

[Yoshine]

well how do you explain
dragons, ghosts, sea serpents, magic/witch craft, and close to the same weapon designs in just about every culter...

 

[mawk]

First off, you're going on a completely different tangent than we were two posts back.

Secondly, the fact they were all translated to "dragon" in English doesn't prove that they're all basically the same creature. The British dragon (a diplodocus with wings) and the Chinese dragon (basically a lion-snake hybrid) are fundamentally different beasties. In addition, many weapons are ludicrously simple, and would eventually occur to most societies even if they didn't deal with each other enough to observe what they carried on their hips (countries are by no means closed systems!) Sharpen stick. Keep sharpened metal on the end of stick. Et cetera. Meanwhile, the Chinese were the only ones to invent gunpowder.

And before you ask me to give a reason for something you've provided, let me ask you: where are you going with this? I'm assuming this no longer has anything to do with Qigong (does that mean I won the argument?) so you'll have to humour me and explain what we're talking about now.

 

[___]

Just about every culture has a history of belief in some sort of supernatural trickster or generally unpleasant or malicious critter.  It's easy enough for a person from a western, Judeo-Christian background to call them "demons" but it's not necessarily as clear cut as that in other cultures. 

Trickster spirits are not always embodiments of evil, the progeny of some supernatural evil deity, or otherwise naturally opposed to all that is good and right in the world.  They are often complex creatures with their own motivations and needs that, while alien to ours and certainly obnoxious and dangerous, aren't "evil" in the strict sense most of us are used to.  Examples would be the little people of northern Europe, what you would call elves, faeries, leprechauns and whatnot today although that's not entirely accurate, the coyote and similar spirits in native north American cultures, or many of the Loa of Vodoun tradition.

I don't know if it's fair to just say "they're demons" though because it gives a shallow impression.  Er, sorry if that's a tangent.

Anyway I think I'm going to let Miek finish off Yoshine, he obviously has more interest and energy for it.  /bow.

 

[Yoshine]

First off, you're going on a completely different tangent than we were two posts back.

Secondly, the fact they were all translated to "dragon" in English doesn't prove that they're all basically the same creature. The British dragon (a diplodocus with wings) and the Chinese dragon (basically a lion-snake hybrid) are fundamentally different beasties. In addition, many weapons are ludicrously simple, and would eventually occur to most societies even if they didn't deal with each other enough to observe what they carried on their hips (countries are by no means closed systems!) Sharpen stick. Keep sharpened metal on the end of stick. Et cetera. Meanwhile, the Chinese were the only ones to invent gunpowder.

And before you ask me to give a reason for something you've provided, let me ask you: where are you going with this? I'm assuming this no longer has anything to do with Qigong (does that mean I won the argument?) so you'll have to humour me and explain what we're talking about now.

Just about every culture has a history of belief in some sort of supernatural trickster or generally unpleasant or malicious critter.  It's easy enough for a person from a western, Judeo-Christian background to call them "demons" but it's not necessarily as clear cut as that in other cultures. 

Trickster spirits are not always embodiments of evil, the progeny of some supernatural evil deity, or otherwise naturally opposed to all that is good and right in the world.  They are often complex creatures with their own motivations and needs that, while alien to ours and certainly obnoxious and dangerous, aren't "evil" in the strict sense most of us are used to.  Examples would be the little people of northern Europe, what you would call elves, faeries, leprechauns and whatnot today although that's not entirely accurate, the coyote and similar spirits in native north American cultures, or many of the Loa of Vodoun tradition.

I don't know if it's fair to just say "they're demons" though because it gives a shallow impression.  Er, sorry if that's a tangent.

Anyway I think I'm going to let Miek finish off Yoshine, he obviously has more interest and energy for it.  /bow.

Dude I spend a fuck of alot of time reading beastairies
I was only going into evil spirits in cultures and making a connections,
I'm gonna stop with this arguement before it gets really fucking annoying...
I'm gonna start a mythology thread latter to talk about simmalaritys in different cultures folklore
So we don't screw this thread...  :dead:

 

[mawk]

Potato, potato.

Wait, that doesn't seem right when it's typed out.

Anyway, the Symposium is for discussion, not exhibition. If we're not going to discuss what you say (and vice versa,) what point is there in saying it?

 

[___]

Er we're not in the Symposium Miek :D

 

[Dissonance]

You are all fucked up.

Enjoy your imaginations running wild and making connections where none exist.

 

[mawk]

Er we're not in the Symposium Miek :D

D'oh!

Still, discussion's right there in the title, and...

Oh, it's moot now.

Yoshine, since I see you've edited your post a little, I'd like to say for the record that the majority of bestiaries are "jazzed up" for the reader. Unless you're reading genuine period-correct texts that focus on historical accuracy over a whipping good read, chances are that you're still reading fiction. While it's possible to draw parallels using a book that build and alters mythology so that things can mesh, I can imagine that it won't be as efficient.

 

[Anonymous]

it might as well be in the symposium but it'S NOT MOVING because this forum needs the activity

my room is haunted by the ghost of a white picket fence. by HAUNTED i largely just mean a certain amount of space is occupied by him - he's completely harmless otherwise and mostly just chills by my door. i don't know why he's here or why i call it a him, but he is really cool. i don't think he's a GHOST since fences can't really be ghosts but that's the best way i can explain it because it seems like a ghost.

other than that i don't believe in anything (life is meaningless...........................)

 

[$t3v0]

Why is Will Farrell considered remotely funny?

 

[Anonymous]

ghost's.