Sunday, October 3, 2010

knowledge

So, i read this on SMBC and it got me thinking about how information is accepted. I mean, we take fire as a natural thing now, but cavemen thought it was amazing. In our day and age, i can type this at my computer in Washington, and somebody can read it in Australia. Thats a miracle!

A book i read recently put it together perfectly with the concept of magic. We love magic shows, because they make us believe that the magician has broken the rules of nature. These rules that he seems to break have been ingrained into our memory. We know that humans dont float, but the magician can fly. We know that things don't dissapear, but my card is gone! Of course people cant survive being cut in half, but there he is with a saw! WE are amazed at every dove, card, coin, rope, wand, and fireball. but it is only because they defy what we already know.

Now imagine a baby going to a magic show. There is no way for it to understand that the magician is doing anything special. why is it so amazing that he put his head in the tiger's mouth? who cares if the dove came out of nowhere. Why are you so astonished when he floats?

knowledge becomes second nature to us, and it sort of amazes me.

12 comments:

  1. Lol I love that comic. And yeah, the concept of knowledge is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the way you're thinking even though I really don't like the word "miracle"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting view of things. I rather like to think that magicians (good ones) take us back to our childhood in a way by challenging our reality.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post!

    looking forward to reading the next one

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a great idea. I remember one of my professors going over it my freshman year.. i think.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah, I often find myself just dumbstruck when I remember that there really is A PERSON some where else in world reading things that I typed from home just moments after I type it. Also, SMBC is hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. lol funny stuff, check out my Movies blog Saturday Morning Movies

    ReplyDelete
  8. we have grown to accept certain things as true or natural, like staring at bright boxes all day long

    ReplyDelete
  9. We love new things until we realize they're not completely magical or they start to be completely logical in their use.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You should research the early 20th century's perception of electricity. It's what spawned characters like Frankenstein, and sensationalized people like Edison and Tesla. The movie "The Prestige" is a near flawless example of the sort of magic people saw electricity as.

    It's interesting to imagine what a man born 1900's would think if you dropped him in the middle of a busy intersection today. Or to take a picture of your computer desk and explain to him what each device does... in terms he can understand.

    The mind boggles. Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yeah.

    Just did my midterm in ENC1101 and was surprised how much I knew about the theory of evolution because I had done a report a few years ago and had learned these things in a class.

    Knowing is half the battle, G.I. Joe!

    ReplyDelete