Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

BSMStar · 11th May 2006, 09:03 PM

Hi Fearn,

Let me try to explain where I am coming from, my comments are not directed toward any one person (just the rambling of an old man).

I do not mean to imply there are not forgeries, or “relics” that were recently made to deceive. Any posted examples that I made were for the sake of stimulating conversation on the idea that … dragon lore is universal, it is found everywhere on the planet.

The modern explanations of dragon origins seem to come from the bias that dragon type animals can not exist, therefore let’s come up with a very ordinary explanation with something we do know about today. We can use the explanation that these people are not too bright, superstitious, misidentify everyday things, you know… place them in the category of those crazy people that see flying saucers and Bigfoot. On close examination, some of these crazy, not too bright, superstitious, misidentifying people happen to be Airline/Air Force Pilots and Biologist with PhDs (in other words, trained experts). Maybe, just maybe we should approach this with a scientific and open mind rather than a precluding bias. New species are commonly discovered and species thought to be extinct for millions of years have been found as well (the Coelacanth for example, thought to be extinct for the last 80 million years - “rediscovered” alive and well in 1938).

Back to the subject of dragons, unless we are willing to accept the idea that all people in all cultures that came before us are not too bright, just superstitious, and are misidentify everyday things… maybe… just maybe, it is worth asking the question how did this universal dragon lore come into being. Keep in mind, we are including cultures like the ancient Egyptians who build the structures on the Giza plateau, a feat with all of our knowledge and wisdom, can not duplicate today. These forgotten people were smart, very smart and their survival depended on their ability to identify what was in the world around them. Just to assume that they were not too bright, just superstitious, or they were misidentifying everyday things is to show either our ignorance or our arrogance. If this was a localized phenomenon, dragon myths would be easier to dismiss… a world wide phenomenon is a bit more difficult to ignore. Something happened that started it all. I hope no one misunderstands and thinks that I am saying the world is crawling with dragons and that they exist beyond a shadow of a doubt. I believe that dragons are worthy of further study, if for no other reason than we all seem to have dragons as a common link… sometime in our ancestral past, real or imagined… and they are still very powerful symbols today.

Personally, I would like to learn as much as I can about dragon myths. I believe they should be shared and not lost to time (and forgotten).

Now that you are hypnotized by this rambling... send all those dragon swords to me.

11th May 2006, 09:03 PM	#44
BSMStar Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kansas City, MO USA Posts: 312	Hi Fearn, Let me try to explain where I am coming from, my comments are not directed toward any one person (just the rambling of an old man). I do not mean to imply there are not forgeries, or “relics” that were recently made to deceive. Any posted examples that I made were for the sake of stimulating conversation on the idea that … dragon lore is universal, it is found everywhere on the planet. The modern explanations of dragon origins seem to come from the bias that dragon type animals can not exist, therefore let’s come up with a very ordinary explanation with something we do know about today. We can use the explanation that these people are not too bright, superstitious, misidentify everyday things, you know… place them in the category of those crazy people that see flying saucers and Bigfoot. On close examination, some of these crazy, not too bright, superstitious, misidentifying people happen to be Airline/Air Force Pilots and Biologist with PhDs (in other words, trained experts). Maybe, just maybe we should approach this with a scientific and open mind rather than a precluding bias. New species are commonly discovered and species thought to be extinct for millions of years have been found as well (the Coelacanth for example, thought to be extinct for the last 80 million years - “rediscovered” alive and well in 1938). Back to the subject of dragons, unless we are willing to accept the idea that all people in all cultures that came before us are not too bright, just superstitious, and are misidentify everyday things… maybe… just maybe, it is worth asking the question how did this universal dragon lore come into being. Keep in mind, we are including cultures like the ancient Egyptians who build the structures on the Giza plateau, a feat with all of our knowledge and wisdom, can not duplicate today. These forgotten people were smart, very smart and their survival depended on their ability to identify what was in the world around them. Just to assume that they were not too bright, just superstitious, or they were misidentifying everyday things is to show either our ignorance or our arrogance. If this was a localized phenomenon, dragon myths would be easier to dismiss… a world wide phenomenon is a bit more difficult to ignore. Something happened that started it all. I hope no one misunderstands and thinks that I am saying the world is crawling with dragons and that they exist beyond a shadow of a doubt. I believe that dragons are worthy of further study, if for no other reason than we all seem to have dragons as a common link… sometime in our ancestral past, real or imagined… and they are still very powerful symbols today. Personally, I would like to learn as much as I can about dragon myths. I believe they should be shared and not lost to time (and forgotten). Now that you are hypnotized by this rambling... send all those dragon swords to me.