[meteorite-list] Dr. Hibben and Oral Traditions

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:43:35 -0400
Message-ID: <fh5uc3h9pmrgh61h4jecidskrseljo022s_at_4ax.com>

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:56:04 -0600, you wrote:

>Some have even passed into literacy, like the "begats" in the Bible. As
>for oral traditions, I can't think of something that would leave a more
>long lasting impression than surviving getting whacked by a comet
>(remember, you should be able to see one of these coming for a while!)
>that caused massive forest fires and floods from vaporized glaciers!

I donno, I realize it comes from the perspective of someone who does have access
to literature and other media for education/entertainment, but I'd think the
impression would last only as long as the people that experienced it directly
lived. How many kids are very long impressed by grampa telling how when he was
a kid he had to walk to school barefoot 10 miles in the snow, uphill both ways?
Or when your uncle keeps telling over and over about the fish that got away--
which gets bigger with each retelling? If it happened to you, it is
impressive-- if it happened to people who died long before you were born, it is
a story. Impressive to small kids probably, but I'm gessing teenagers across
time and space get as jaded as they do here and now-- "Oh, great, here comes old
Running Mouth again-- wonder how big the giant killer snake'll be this time?".
Received on Fri 24 Aug 2007 01:43:35 PM PDT