Quote:
|
Originally Posted by guthmund
Was this recently?
I remember a couple of years ago a special on the Discovery channel (I believe...I could be blowing smoke) that fell along similiar lines. It had to do with the evolution of the brain. It kept harping on the different systems of the brain, when they showed up and what effect it had on evolution. I seem to recall one of the fellows from the show said something similar. He said that humans are instinctually afraid of the dark, the creepy-crawlies and heights because...well, back then the dark was a dangerous place, filled with dangerous animals. The safest place to be was in the trees...with the spiders, the snakes, and the ever present threat of falling to your death in your sleep.
I don't have any substantial evidence to thrust forward....just a fractured memory. I don't know why I remember that...I'm not really afraid of any of those things. /shrug
|
Indeed. The show I watched said that there were basically three main portions of the brain, each "layer" of the brain basically goes backward in evolution, with the most recent and human layer on the surface, and the deeper you go, the more ancient it gets.
Quote:
That's an interesting idea.... Isn't this strictly a western phenomena?
I don't know a lot about eastern philosophy/religion/whathaveyou, but I was under the impression that dragons and sea serpents were...good? (for lack of a better phrase)
|
I don't believe it is just western culture that makes the reptillian monsters bad - from my understanding, eastern cultures believe that you may be able to win the favor of dragons by honoring them in a variety of different ways - sacrifices, dances, ect.
Although many people seem to believe otherwise, looking at the evidence scattered around the world, I would say that a reptile being an instinctual fear is the most validated by the evidence out of the three fears.
In nearly every major culture there were mythical reptillian creatures that could destroy you - even entire civilizations. Beyond that, not only in modern times, but throughout history unscrupulous people were often referred to as cold blooded, snakes, etc.