How many researchers are there on the forum when it comes to Indian wapons

Bob A · 26th September 2018, 06:35 PM

Absent the availability of living links to former cultures and artifacts, there is little on which to base a conclusion.

Some research of this nature has been conducted by perusal of old images; photographs, paintings, statuary and so forth. Those who experienced it are silent, leaving only artifacts from which to extrapolate.

The notion of a vast, empty puzzle table is exact. Collectors, accumulators and scholars all work to populate the table, and all contribute what they can. What is written is sometimes correct, often not. Traders in antique cultural artifacts have long influenced the language - and therefore the conceptualisation - of this research. We've seen this here. Even museum curators have not infrequently gotten it wrong.

We live in fortunate times for research, as a planet-wide information system is being implemented. Availability of information (and disinformation, alas) has never been greater. Communications between isolated individuals with common interests has laid the groundwork for a far more extensive study of obscure areas of interest and endeavor.

The effort now seems to consist in populating the puzzle table with pieces, and establishing frameworks within which the pieces can be organised. In time, it is to be hoped that documentation from the source cultures can be found, processed and translated to aid in the creation of filters through which artifacts may be viewed, and perhaps understood, in a fashion that approximates their long-lost original reality.

So far we have the beginning of he creation of tools for the study; expanding and refining the available information continues. The more varied viewpoints that can be brought to bear on the topics of interest, the better. Sorting through the resulting glut of information and misinformation will continue to be the ongoing challenge.

Jens Nordlunde · 26th September 2018, 07:24 PM

Bob,
Thank you very much for commenting - and for claryfiyng that the key words are - information and disinformation.
Jens

Bob A · 26th September 2018, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Bob,
Thank you very much for commenting - and for claryfiyng that the key words are - information and disinformation.
Jens

Jens, you're welcome.

Certainly disinformation is rife on the internet, but misinformation is also prevalent, and bears a more innocent connotation. All three apply, as I understand the situation.

Jens Nordlunde · 26th September 2018, 10:24 PM

Bob,
You brought it up, disinformation and misinformation.

I did not want to start with it, as it would have been too negative. But since you started it, and thank you for it, I will say that the net gives you a lot of informations, but far from all of them are correct, and to this comes that the written word (sharper than a sword) is not always correct either.

26th September 2018, 06:35 PM	#1
Bob A Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 447	Absent the availability of living links to former cultures and artifacts, there is little on which to base a conclusion. Some research of this nature has been conducted by perusal of old images; photographs, paintings, statuary and so forth. Those who experienced it are silent, leaving only artifacts from which to extrapolate. The notion of a vast, empty puzzle table is exact. Collectors, accumulators and scholars all work to populate the table, and all contribute what they can. What is written is sometimes correct, often not. Traders in antique cultural artifacts have long influenced the language - and therefore the conceptualisation - of this research. We've seen this here. Even museum curators have not infrequently gotten it wrong. We live in fortunate times for research, as a planet-wide information system is being implemented. Availability of information (and disinformation, alas) has never been greater. Communications between isolated individuals with common interests has laid the groundwork for a far more extensive study of obscure areas of interest and endeavor. The effort now seems to consist in populating the puzzle table with pieces, and establishing frameworks within which the pieces can be organised. In time, it is to be hoped that documentation from the source cultures can be found, processed and translated to aid in the creation of filters through which artifacts may be viewed, and perhaps understood, in a fashion that approximates their long-lost original reality. So far we have the beginning of he creation of tools for the study; expanding and refining the available information continues. The more varied viewpoints that can be brought to bear on the topics of interest, the better. Sorting through the resulting glut of information and misinformation will continue to be the ongoing challenge.

26th September 2018, 07:24 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Bob, Thank you very much for commenting - and for claryfiyng that the key words are - information and disinformation. Jens

26th September 2018, 10:24 PM	#4
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Bob, You brought it up, disinformation and misinformation. I did not want to start with it, as it would have been too negative. But since you started it, and thank you for it, I will say that the net gives you a lot of informations, but far from all of them are correct, and to this comes that the written word (sharper than a sword) is not always correct either.