01-26-2017, 05:22 AM
Entire primitive cultures were based on lunar cycles
...
world where all our practices would be ritualized around the solar and lunar cycles
That was understandable, even appropriate when our only light source was the sun and the moon.
Then came fire, and for better and worse, light bulbs.
Primitive cultures also believed myths were real, not a narrative explanation that attempted to make sense of a sometimes strange and uncertain world. They had virtually no medical care, and what they did have wasn't the few natural herbs as people prefer to remember, but bloodletting and the like. As Montaigne pointed out about doctors before science improved their practices, they “are lucky: the sun shines on their successes and the earth hides their failures.”
There were some good aspects to life in the past, but while sentimentally imagining those days of yore, it's best to also keep in mind that life expectancy was under 30 years of age.
"Hope I die before I get old" would not have been a howl of rebellion from The Who, in those days no one had to wish for what was already a simple fact of life. A life that had little hope of ever surviving to old age.
I prefer a 21st century Puna with LED light bulbs that light up the evening hours for a few pennies, and doctors who minimize blood loss while treating their patients.
"Only fear real things, such as minds full of delusions." -Last Aphorisms
...
world where all our practices would be ritualized around the solar and lunar cycles
That was understandable, even appropriate when our only light source was the sun and the moon.
Then came fire, and for better and worse, light bulbs.
Primitive cultures also believed myths were real, not a narrative explanation that attempted to make sense of a sometimes strange and uncertain world. They had virtually no medical care, and what they did have wasn't the few natural herbs as people prefer to remember, but bloodletting and the like. As Montaigne pointed out about doctors before science improved their practices, they “are lucky: the sun shines on their successes and the earth hides their failures.”
There were some good aspects to life in the past, but while sentimentally imagining those days of yore, it's best to also keep in mind that life expectancy was under 30 years of age.
"Hope I die before I get old" would not have been a howl of rebellion from The Who, in those days no one had to wish for what was already a simple fact of life. A life that had little hope of ever surviving to old age.
I prefer a 21st century Puna with LED light bulbs that light up the evening hours for a few pennies, and doctors who minimize blood loss while treating their patients.
"Only fear real things, such as minds full of delusions." -Last Aphorisms
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves