General Discussion

JohnnyRingo

(21,048 posts)

39. Thanks for spoiling it. I have it on DVR.

Mon May 19, 2014, 01:01 PM

May 2014

I'm kidding, it's not Game Of Thrones. I am a few episodes behind however, and can't wait to see this one. I appreciate the preview.

I never heard of the flood of Sumeria, but wish I'd had that fact last week when I was in a discussion with a friend who takes bible stories literally.

I'm going to have to catch up on the series, but I don't want to miss a minute. I read Sagan's book twice and saw the PBS series back in the day, and am thrilled that McFarland has presented it to a new generation.

Unfortunately, I've had little success in getting my grandchildren to watch it. I think they're afraid I'm trying to trick them into learning something in their free time out of school. *sigh*

I wish public schools would make it required viewing in the classroom.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

169 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Cosmos & Neil Degrasse Tyson state that Great Flood occurred in Sumeria & retold as Noah's Ark [View all] E-Z-B May 2014 OP

Thank You For Sharing cantbeserious May 2014 #1

My Catholic HS taught us that Noah's Ark and Creationism were BS AllTooEasy May 2014 #97

No, Noah's Ark totally happened nikto May 2014 #99

Same thing for my Catholic high school in 1962 eridani May 2014 #119

Pretty much the same in my Catholic H.S. TexasProgresive May 2014 #122

My Presbyterian minister taught the same thing. Allegory. riqster May 2014 #124

Hell, I went to a Catholic grammar school -- in the 1950's, yet -- and RVN VET May 2014 #138

Great show. He's building up to a big climax of telling all the repubs that they are idiots for FSogol May 2014 #2

I figured he would show that Reagan wasn't give a place in the stars despite Nancy's astrology. Spitfire of ATJ May 2014 #54

This show is my priority for the week. oldandhappy May 2014 #3

yes. northoftheborder May 2014 #102

God is only limited by, and only exists in, the imagination of humanity. JJChambers May 2014 #133

Noah, in the Sumerian story was named Utnapishtim lumberjack_jeff May 2014 #4

The ancient Hebrews just filed off the serial numbers and claimed the story as their own. hobbit709 May 2014 #5

Wasn't the boat cube-shaped? sakabatou May 2014 #157

This predates the rubic system, i.e. "Rubics cubits". n/t lumberjack_jeff May 2014 #163

But the boat was a cube sakabatou May 2014 #164

Translating from Sumerian is probably problematic. lumberjack_jeff May 2014 #165

*shrugs* sakabatou May 2014 #166

retold as Gilgamesh before the Noah myth arely staircase May 2014 #6

What makes you think the flood was "localized"? (See: Titicaca, Lake.) WinkyDink May 2014 #42

because a flood covering the who earth seems implausible. nt arely staircase May 2014 #45

In those days they didn't realize there was a "whole earth" jmowreader May 2014 #58

sure but their known earth would be localized by real global standards nt arely staircase May 2014 #59

There was an episode of ancient aliens... Blanks May 2014 #83

I am guessing the Tigris and Euphrates flooded a lot arely staircase May 2014 #92

Sure, but they ancient alien episode... Blanks May 2014 #93

you lose me at ancient aliens every time. nt arely staircase May 2014 #94

I'm kind of joking... Blanks May 2014 #111

Ancient Aliens FlaGranny May 2014 #127

I know. Blanks May 2014 #160

Extinction Calista241 May 2014 #153

Are you trying to say Lake Titicaca was formed by a world-wide flood? nt Codeine May 2014 #103

You are refereing to the Tihanaco ruins (and terracing) from, at most, 1500 years ago intaglio May 2014 #113

What is the significance of Lake Titicaca? morningfog May 2014 #126

Saw it - imagined fundie heads exploding The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #7

Why? jberryhill May 2014 #8

Because it suggests that the Genesis story The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #13

Have you ever spent time with actual Bible believers? jberryhill May 2014 #20

I have, in fact, spent time with Bible believers, and I didn't like it much. The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #24

I have met many Christians that are like awoke_in_2003 May 2014 #51

Another fun one is asking fundies where they think angels came from. Ikonoklast May 2014 #21

Huh? Sgent May 2014 #155

Ice age melt. Teacheral May 2014 #31

Many intriguing possibilities with ice dams. Alternatively, Mediterranean & Black Sea Bernardo de La Paz May 2014 #33

'Believers' already have hand-waved that away for the reason the poster above you mentioned. AtheistCrusader May 2014 #40

Which is infuriating. NuclearDem May 2014 #17

Large parts of the Old Testament were written after the Babylonian exile & return. Bernardo de La Paz May 2014 #27

The aim of all those fundie laws to get creationism into the classroom is two-fold. First... Moonwalk May 2014 #69

Yeah this was a shot across the bow ... jimlup May 2014 #9

One would think the entire series was taped ahead of the season jberryhill May 2014 #11

Writing, pre-production, taping all done. Often editing is finishing an episode or two ahead. nt Bernardo de La Paz May 2014 #34

I think Dr. Tyson anticipated the rightwing/fundamentalist response..... LongTomH May 2014 #74

That's the only thing Bible-believers WON'T object to jberryhill May 2014 #10

Flood Myths Around the World PADemD May 2014 #12

Civilizations always grew up in river basins. MohRokTah May 2014 #18

Recommend PADemD May 2014 #38

Yeah. Ironically, Noah's Ark might wind up being "true" after all, in the future. Arugula Latte May 2014 #23

+1! Louisiana1976 May 2014 #76

Read Ben Elton's "Stark" Prophet 451 May 2014 #128

Where will the extra water come from? FiveGoodMen May 2014 #156

To whom? merrily May 2014 #117

Yes PADemD May 2014 #123

Good Television Diremoon May 2014 #14

Fox TV is very separate from Fox News. Note the animated comedy shows. nt Bernardo de La Paz May 2014 #35

Every time I watch the latest in the Cosmos series justhanginon May 2014 #15

I have noticed that they credit women (finally!) for a lot of important things. The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #26

Tyson has credited several women exboyfil May 2014 #44

Yes. What I meant by "(finally!)" was The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #50

We are in agreement then exboyfil May 2014 #52

K & R Iliyah May 2014 #16

A very good episode this week LibertyLover May 2014 #19

We started watching Cosmos on Hulu last week. The_Commonist May 2014 #22

banning cosmos? mehrrh May 2014 #25

"Why didn't Carl Sagan see this kind of controversy?" jberryhill May 2014 #29

Carl Sagan most definitely saw this kind of controversy. arcane1 May 2014 #46

He did get some flack about exboyfil May 2014 #55

Very good points! arcane1 May 2014 #70

mehrrh Diclotican May 2014 #63

Cosmos and "demonic possession?????" LongTomH May 2014 #75

Cosmos ran in 1980. Reagan didn't take office until 1981. After that, the valerief May 2014 #86

It also reran in 1981-82 sybylla May 2014 #104

. libodem May 2014 #28

Neil deGrasse Tyson is my new hero. The Velveteen Ocelot May 2014 #30

He is one smart and articulate cookie libodem May 2014 #32

Yep, he is one smart, credible dude ... oldhippie May 2014 #37

.... Duppers May 2014 #89

But that is my point, I don't necessarily believe a consensus ... oldhippie May 2014 #100

but Dr. Tyson is a scientist, only a well-known one. Duppers May 2014 #107

You find my opinion offensive? oldhippie May 2014 #137

Wow! GeorgeGist May 2014 #125

Thank you .... oldhippie May 2014 #136

And, Wow! Iggo May 2014 #161

Missoula Flood is a well documented more recent glacier event.....where I now live..... zwyziec May 2014 #36

And boulders from Montana are found hundreds of feet above the central scrutinizer May 2014 #98

Thanks for spoiling it. I have it on DVR. JohnnyRingo May 2014 #39

He did not quite go far enough nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #64

Not only did I see it, but I wrote down the guy's name�(Gilgemesh) (spelling?) for research. nt silvershadow May 2014 #41

Gilgamesh jtuck004 May 2014 #48

Ok Thank you. :D nt silvershadow May 2014 #139

epic of Gilgamesh in cartoon :) eShirl May 2014 #57

It was just Utnapishtim doing his civic duty... FailureToCommunicate May 2014 #132

I don't have a tv, so I didn't get to see it, but there is a class called "Heaven and Hell" taught jtuck004 May 2014 #43

That sounds like a fascinating class!! arcane1 May 2014 #47

One of the few really good ones. n/t jtuck004 May 2014 #49

Apparently he also has a class, "A Cultural History of Beer". I suspect that one jtuck004 May 2014 #81

No one needs a tv these days Egnever May 2014 #71

Thank you very much for the link. I will take advantage of it. jtuck004 May 2014 #72

No problem Egnever May 2014 #73

It's just a learned skill. Put some things in the ground and learn about them, and don't jtuck004 May 2014 #78

Well I am sure I am not helped Egnever May 2014 #82

5 gal buckets, shade, and a hose. You will grow better tomatoes jtuck004 May 2014 #84

I was told by a Jewish friend that the books of the Old Testament are not meant to be VanillaRhapsody May 2014 #53

E-Z-B Diclotican May 2014 #56

Every ancient culture has a flood story smallcat88 May 2014 #60

I heard that the melting of the ice may account for the legends of Atlantis. The rising waters E-Z-B May 2014 #62

Atlantis was a myth Prophet 451 May 2014 #129

Of course the explanation nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #67

... napkinz May 2014 #61

+1 million Louisiana1976 May 2014 #79

+ another million valerief May 2014 #91

+ another Million Duppers May 2014 #168

The study of geology got its start SheilaT May 2014 #65

for those climate change deniers napkinz May 2014 #66

:) napkinz May 2014 #68

I thought it was the creation of the Black Sea when the mediterranean rose after the ice age melt vkkv May 2014 #77

Mount Sinai is in the Sinai penninsula, between the Red Sea and modern-day Israel muriel_volestrangler May 2014 #121

Didn't see it, but it sounds good. AverageJoe90 May 2014 #80

I saw it, too, and loved it. I wish the series wouldn't end. Tyson is so engaging. valerief May 2014 #85

Please tell me he said it was a legend, and not that it 'occurred' muriel_volestrangler May 2014 #87

Sorry but there maybe.... whistler162 May 2014 #105

That 'controversial theory' doesn't actually have decent evidence for it muriel_volestrangler May 2014 #120

I can't wait to see the season. obxhead May 2014 #88

So far, Hiding in the Light has been my favorite episode, although I've enjoyed them all. valerief May 2014 #90

He did it beautifully. I know those stories, and have taught them... Hekate May 2014 #95

Missed it last night klook May 2014 #96

... napkinz May 2014 #101

am so stealing that. Duppers May 2014 #108

But it's in the Bible!! It's the the word of God!! We must believe believe believe believe YOHABLO May 2014 #106

Clap louder, Christians! backscatter712 May 2014 #147

Ancient Crash, Epic Wave Strelnikov_ May 2014 #109

Did a Comet Cause the Great Flood? Strelnikov_ May 2014 #110

Not to be trouble nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #142

We love it, too! cilla4progress May 2014 #112

Archeologists and anthropologists believe that the entire Adam and Eve truedelphi May 2014 #114

Damn they did not enforce copy right back then nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #115

You might enjoy how empowered the feminine is in this "different" telling of truedelphi May 2014 #116

People, thousands of years ago, trying to make sense of what happens to them and their merrily May 2014 #118

Can't wait for it to be shown here Prophet 451 May 2014 #130

Cosmos is slowly turning the tables on the Creationists. JoePhilly May 2014 #131

That man has a kind of Cool-Hand Luke quality to him Bucky May 2014 #134

I think Neil is wrong about that one. dawg May 2014 #135

Alas there is agreement as to what Neil covered among experts. nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #141

That means very little. People tend to localize myths and legends ... dawg May 2014 #144

What do they have in common? RIVERS nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #145

I still think it's more likely that the flood stories were inspired by something much larger ... dawg May 2014 #146

But experts do not agree nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #148

I still disagree. dawg May 2014 #150

And we have no evidence that something like that happened in the Neolithic nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #151

I enjoy thinking and arguing about things like this. dawg May 2014 #152

Yeah, we are taking bronze age nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #154

Without a doubt, there was no global flood. dawg May 2014 #158

and we know that from Mycenae nadinbrzezinski May 2014 #159

The other thing I loved about last night's Cosmos judy May 2014 #140

I think I remember Fundamentalists rejoicing about the war in Iraq. The destruction of Babylon E-Z-B May 2014 #143

Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Miles O�Brien slam CNN as the �Wal-Mart of journalism� napkinz May 2014 #149

+100 Duppers May 2014 #167

and here's a deeper discussion on Mesopotamian ties to their neighbors, yea and nay MisterP May 2014 #162

I just watched it d_r May 2014 #169