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From: Carsten Dominik <dominik@science.uva.nl>
To: "Ross A. Laird" <ross@rosslaird.info>
Cc: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org
Subject: OT  Re: unicorn
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:17:17 +0100	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <E9BEEF71-56A6-409E-B457-297AB5974295@uva.nl> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <87ljrru3vc.fsf@rosslaird.info>

Hi Ross,

great post, thank you very much!

You have made me curious:  What argumentation is used to estimate
the age of Myth at 70000 years.  I can't be the fossile record,
I guess :-)  So I am wondering how something like this is figured out.

If you feel like putting background stuff about unicorns into the
FAQ, be my guest.

- Carsten

On Feb 27, 2009, at 7:33 PM, Ross A. Laird wrote:

> Carsten Dominik <dominik@science.uva.nl> writes:
>
>> On Feb 27, 2009, at 12:12 PM, Bastien wrote:
>>
>>> Carsten Dominik <dominik@science.uva.nl> writes:
>>>
>>>> I guess it is something like an official logo, yes (even though
>>>> some people don't like it, I have seen it being called
>>>> "demasculinating"
>>>> ...)
>>>
>>> Hehe...  Since I picked up this "animal", I entirely assume any  
>>> queer
>>> connotation it may have.  The IT world is already "masculine"  
>>> enough!
>
>>> Bastien
>>
>> I like it, and I really do like the list of reasons
>> we have (in hindsight) for choosing it...
>>
>
> I teach several courses in mythology at my university (it's my area of
> concentration), and I feel inclined to say that the unicorn, as a
> mythological animal, does not have any type of queer of emasculating
> connotation in myth. In fact, it is sometimes quite a masculine animal
> that is related to the stag in the grail quest (the stag stabs, with  
> his
> antler, the inner thigh of the grail knight, thus showing the stag's
> greater masculinity). These animals are symbols of divinity,
> essentially, of the fusion of purity and power. They don't really  
> have a
> sexual connotation other than the idea of generative power (like the
> bull). Queer is a new idea in myth; it's about fifty years old. Myth
> itself, on the other hand, is about 70,000 years old. So, the
> application of queer terminology to mythological items such as  
> unicorns
> is a modern practice which has no real impact on ancient myths and  
> myth
> items such as the unicorn. In a thousand years we will still have  
> myths
> of the unicorn, but the idea of queer will probably have evolved into
> something else (it already is evolving into something else...).
>
> As to the question of whether or not unicorns still exist (see org  
> FAQ),
> this falls within the same domain as the question of whether Atlantis
> exists. The answer (as much as there can be one) is that they do  
> exist,
> as mythological items that Carl Jung called "archetypal;" they are
> essential to, and foundational of, human nature. They will always be a
> part of human culture, and exist timelessly in that sense whether or  
> not
> they exist in fact.
>
> I can hardly ever contribute anything useful to this list. Today is an
> exception.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Ross
>
> -- 
> Ross A. Laird, PhD
> www.rosslaird.info
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Emacs-orgmode mailing list
> Remember: use `Reply All' to send replies to the list.
> Emacs-orgmode@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-orgmode

  parent reply	other threads:[~2009-02-28 16:17 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 20+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2009-02-25 21:58 unicorn Raimund Kohl-Füchsle
2009-02-26 20:19 ` unicorn Carsten Dominik
2009-02-27 11:12   ` unicorn Bastien
2009-02-27 11:21     ` unicorn Carsten Dominik
2009-02-27 18:33       ` unicorn Ross A. Laird
2009-02-28 12:18         ` [OT] unicorn Detlef Steuer
2009-02-28 19:17           ` Carsten Dominik
2009-02-28 16:17         ` Carsten Dominik [this message]
2009-02-28 18:37           ` OT " Ross A. Laird
2009-02-28 19:35             ` Carsten Dominik
2009-02-28 20:56               ` Ross A. Laird
2009-03-01 13:26                 ` Jason F. McBrayer
2009-02-27 18:47       ` unicorn Russell Adams
2009-02-27 19:34         ` unicorn Christopher Suckling
2009-03-01 23:22           ` unicorn Tim Burt
2011-04-07 20:38           ` unicorn Nick Dokos
2011-04-08 16:13             ` unicorn Bastien
2009-02-27 19:56       ` unicorn J Aaron Farr
2009-02-27 18:35     ` unicorn Jason F. McBrayer
     [not found]   ` <874oyfh01a.fsf@gmx.ch>
2009-03-18 12:53     ` unicorn Carsten Dominik

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