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happyslug

(14,779 posts)
54. The best farmers have the most "Farmer's Sayings"/anecdotes or "Old Wives takes"
Thu Mar 29, 2012, 09:09 AM
Mar 2012

When a Study was done on Farmers and Farmer's sayings (anecdotes) , the accuracy of the sayings was found NOT to be a factor, just the number of anecdotes they knew. These sayings are used as memory guides, disregarded when they clearly did not apply, followed when they did. The old stories started out as such memory guides, but given the lack of the ability to read and write, better remembered as a story then data. Another characteristic noted by Psychologists and other Social Scientists based on studies of how people act and how they remember things and hand down information from one generation to the next.

Most of the stories of the old gods started out as such memory guides (Orcus and Ceres were among the last two Roman gods worshiped, outlasting all the other gods of Ancient Rome and Greece for their stories reflected the crop planting and harvesting cycles thus were part of the collective memory when it came to when to plant and harvest).

We have to remember a lot of information, even today, if given out informally i.e. in the form of people talking and watching what others do and say. Prior to the widespread adoption of the idea that people should be able to read and write, people remember things in the form of stories. The reason for that is while the actual wording can change form one person to another, the underlying story stays the same (Thus it is better to read Jesus's parables to understand what he was preaching then any one line sentence attributed to him, the one line sentences are easier to misquote but the parables, being stories are harder to misquote as to point of the story and the reason Jesus used parables).

In non-writing societies (or that part of society that did not read or write, 90% of the population prior to about 1800 even in "Western Countries" such as Europe and the US) stories is how they remember "equinox, solistices and calendars" and other observations as to dates, thus their importance in most societies till long after 1800.

I certainly wasn't. Arugula Latte Mar 2012 #1
Yeah. I am real sure that five year old was never ever exposed to any christianity CBGLuthier Mar 2012 #2
Keep reading. While *membership* is high, less than 10% actually attend church. cbayer Mar 2012 #4
But you don't have to attend church to be exposed to the concept of God LeftishBrit Mar 2012 #11
My experience with Scandanavians, while anecdotal, is fairly extensive at this point. cbayer Mar 2012 #14
As regards Australians... LeftishBrit Mar 2012 #22
Due to your proximity to Scandanavia and your being a member of the Commonwealth, cbayer Mar 2012 #25
So from your experience Goblinmonger Mar 2012 #53
Really interesting read. cbayer Mar 2012 #3
I wasn't. I found Sunday School with God, the Bible Stories, etc. hard to believe. no_hypocrisy Mar 2012 #5
Sounds like an interesting book. Jim__ Mar 2012 #6
Kids of atheists - no matter how hard their parents might try to insulate them from religion TlalocW Mar 2012 #7
I've had two Chinese foreign exchange students... PassingFair Mar 2012 #43
I was born Buddhist, just like in my previous lives. :) nt Speck Tater Mar 2012 #8
The same group holds more reverence for the fetus than the unborn liberal N proud Mar 2012 #9
What group are you referring to? cbayer Mar 2012 #17
I think he's talking about the dumbass creationists. n/t Goblinmonger Mar 2012 #55
nonsense. nt bowens43 Mar 2012 #10
Astounding bongbong Mar 2012 #12
By your measurement then, there is no evidence infants are born atheist. rug Mar 2012 #13
Uhhh.... bongbong Mar 2012 #19
No. rug Mar 2012 #23
Strawman alert! bongbong Mar 2012 #26
I see. rug Mar 2012 #27
Strawman #2 bongbong Mar 2012 #29
And I'm sure your four year old self put up quite the argument. rug Mar 2012 #44
Yes! bongbong Mar 2012 #47
And it appears your skills at argument have progressed little since. rug Mar 2012 #65
Yes x 2 bongbong Mar 2012 #66
Infants aren't born with any belief systems, as far as I'm aware of... Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #51
Great points, a little anatomy and physiology of SamG Mar 2012 #59
Reminds me of a joke I heard years ago ... eppur_se_muova Mar 2012 #32
The variation I heard involved German Emperor Barborssa happyslug Mar 2012 #36
Riiiiiiight. I got kicked out of Sunday School when I was 8 catbyte Mar 2012 #15
It depends what you mean by being 'born with religious belief' LeftishBrit Mar 2012 #16
It's an interesting question. rug Mar 2012 #18
+1 n/t Silent3 Mar 2012 #20
Your post inspires me bongbong Mar 2012 #21
So far, there's no evidence indicating that God has to be a sky daddy. THAT may NOT be wired in. saras Mar 2012 #24
The author is clueless right from the start skepticscott Mar 2012 #28
Not only that... laconicsax Mar 2012 #34
There have been several experiments with children raised in isolation FarCenter Mar 2012 #30
Ah, but see my post above ! :D eppur_se_muova Mar 2012 #33
Another avenue of inquiry would be to study the religious beliefs of primitive people. FarCenter Mar 2012 #35
The course of human development from birth to adulthood involves SamG Mar 2012 #31
First it is clear baby do HAVE mental needs, mostly to do with interaction with other humans happyslug Mar 2012 #37
I'm not sure what your point is. But the nature of human and SamG Mar 2012 #38
There are also studies about Children given a choice between a beating and being rejected happyslug Mar 2012 #45
The heliocentric model mainly explains the seasons, rather than the times of sunrise and sunset FarCenter Mar 2012 #39
Sorry, despite Beatles lyrics, I might admire you SamG Mar 2012 #40
To be fair... LeftishBrit Mar 2012 #56
The riff on the Beatles was in reply to Happyslug and his riff on Sherlock Holmes FarCenter Mar 2012 #41
And the author of the book under discussion does NOT say children embrace theology happyslug Mar 2012 #46
Farmers used direct observations of equinox, solistices and calendars since the megalithic FarCenter Mar 2012 #49
The best farmers have the most "Farmer's Sayings"/anecdotes or "Old Wives takes" happyslug Mar 2012 #54
Based on that reasoning, kids' imaginary friends are real. Odin2005 Mar 2012 #42
In many ways there are. happyslug Mar 2012 #48
But that doesn't make them REAL. Odin2005 Mar 2012 #50
That depends on your definition of "Real" happyslug Mar 2012 #57
Your post intrigues me and I am grateful for your input here. cbayer Mar 2012 #60
You you think the voices in a schizophrenic's head are real? Odin2005 Mar 2012 #61
Real to them, that's for sure. cbayer Mar 2012 #63
Seems like a book riddled with anecdotes and confirmation bias. Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #52
Like the Nazi did in regards to cold water temperature survival? happyslug Mar 2012 #58
I mention the problem of ethics in a post above, no need to go off the wall about it. Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #62
To interrupt the conversation here... LeftishBrit Mar 2012 #64
Your are right, of course, I wasn't thinking of that, they do do studies on children... Humanist_Activist Mar 2012 #67
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