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Ghosts, Fairies, Magic, UFOs, Vampirism, Werewolves, Myths, Legends - the last 50 years has seen our society destroy these with modern science. If you cannot prove they exist with science then they don't exist, or so the scientists say. There are a few authors trying so hard to keep belief alive, but they are a few. Still not got a clue what I'm ranting about ? Let me try this.
I finished reading a bok last night "Troublesome Stories - A history of fairies and fairy stories" by Diana Purkiss. Her book details how fairies are actually just a manifestation of basic fears and a way of accounting for occurences that people could not explain at the time. If, in the 13th century, your baby died within days then he/she had been taken by the fairies because they hadn't been christened.
Vampirism ? "oh thats that disease where people feel the need to drink blood". UFOs ? "The planets, bright stars, experimental planes mate". Magic "A load of rubbish, its all faked".And so on...
I am not trying to say that all these things do exist, or even that they could, but isn't life so much more interesting if there are things that we cannot explain, that hover on the edges of understanding ? Do we want to know and explain everything ? It would seem so, and the media and the majority must ruthlessly squash/ruin anything which says otherwise. What if there really was a fairy realm outside of our reality ? Would it be so far fetched with the current theories on alternate realities, an idea started in fiction before science finally decided to make something up regarding it.
Neil Gaiman, a UK born but now US residing, a respected author of fantasy comics series the Sandman, and other titles like Neverwhere and American Gods constantly jokes in his work that "the fairies have left us behind, they don't like what we've become". Maybe he has a point......
I finished reading a bok last night "Troublesome Stories - A history of fairies and fairy stories" by Diana Purkiss. Her book details how fairies are actually just a manifestation of basic fears and a way of accounting for occurences that people could not explain at the time. If, in the 13th century, your baby died within days then he/she had been taken by the fairies because they hadn't been christened.
Vampirism ? "oh thats that disease where people feel the need to drink blood". UFOs ? "The planets, bright stars, experimental planes mate". Magic "A load of rubbish, its all faked".And so on...
I am not trying to say that all these things do exist, or even that they could, but isn't life so much more interesting if there are things that we cannot explain, that hover on the edges of understanding ? Do we want to know and explain everything ? It would seem so, and the media and the majority must ruthlessly squash/ruin anything which says otherwise. What if there really was a fairy realm outside of our reality ? Would it be so far fetched with the current theories on alternate realities, an idea started in fiction before science finally decided to make something up regarding it.
Neil Gaiman, a UK born but now US residing, a respected author of fantasy comics series the Sandman, and other titles like Neverwhere and American Gods constantly jokes in his work that "the fairies have left us behind, they don't like what we've become". Maybe he has a point......
all myths and legends come from some truth how do these people no that they dont exist eg magic (not the card trick kind) is ment to be real just taken away from us by the gods(underline) or weve just forgotten that craft it doesent mean it dont exist, theres so much in this world we dont no it may not make scence in the law of phisics but theres so much we dont no it mite be a diffrent part of phisics thats lost to us and people who say pagism is a load of bull can go away cause they probly belive in "God" and god is more bull than any other gods eg the other gods have been know for centrys longer than "God" and people still worship the old gods and why do people seem to think all people who worship other gods are evil satin worshiping people but there not how can they be satin is not even in the same reigon and most the old gods were kind giving etc but holywood made them look bad.
Cats rule
Cats rule
Yeah, I think unreality is very important: thinking the unthinkable is what's needed even for science. Darwin and Einstein never would have got anywhere if they'd been constrained by the scientific paradigms of the day. But there's also a whole lot that science can't explain: what's outside the universe; how the universe began (before the first millionth, billionth of a millisecond: what kicked it all off?); how do our brains work; what the hell is consciousness? And in art you'd have nothing without imagination. And in politics if people are stuck with 'realistic' choices then nothing radically better will come along. It's only by looking at things we don't understand, and that seem impossible to reach, that we'll make any progress.
By nature, I am a fabulist.
In other words: I prefer fantasy to reality.
I always try to embrace strange and unusual beliefs, whether they be peculiar, fascinating or just plain daft.
Science and the progress of scientific knowledge obviously plays a huge and important role in our lives, but I also believe that the human imagination should be encouraged to fly wherever it so desires.
Reducing the bounty of life and experience to a set of cold scientific facts is my idea of hell.
How dull would life be without wondrous and sometimes crazy flights of fancy?
In other words: I prefer fantasy to reality.
I always try to embrace strange and unusual beliefs, whether they be peculiar, fascinating or just plain daft.
Science and the progress of scientific knowledge obviously plays a huge and important role in our lives, but I also believe that the human imagination should be encouraged to fly wherever it so desires.
Reducing the bounty of life and experience to a set of cold scientific facts is my idea of hell.
How dull would life be without wondrous and sometimes crazy flights of fancy?
Sounds an interesting book.
People have always had ways of making sense of the world, and before science and medicine, the supernatural was the most convincing. Life was terribly hard when magic was at its most popular: people were exposed to the vagaries of nature. They had no 'rational' way to explain a drought, or flood, an epidemic or the sudden death of a child. Even everyday things like a cough could be blamed on malignant spirits. Equally a natural recovery was often attributed to an unearthly power: often believed to be in the control of a witch.
This was the popular view of the world: but it clashed with the equally irrational beliefs of the church. When organised religion began to expand its power - sending missionaries into rural areas and collecting tithes over a wider area - the popular and organised religions clashed. The victim was often the 'witch', a single, normally elderly woman who, because she was perceived to control spirits, was a powerful village figure. Priests whipped up hysteria against these women for two reasons: one, they challenged the hold on power and respect that the church desired; and two, their independence and activities clashed with new ideas of what women should be like. The result was witchhunts all over Europe, and thousands of deaths.
Even today there are acceptable and unacceptable forms of irrationality: creationism is taught as fact in some American (and at least one British) schools; the churches and their leaders are accorded a great deal of respect by our politicians, and Bishops are members of the House of Lords. On the other hand, aliens, feng shui etc. are considered ridiculous, despite being believed in by millions of people. Organised and popular beliefs share the same logical backing (none) but one is pampered and other ridiculed. Why?
People have always had ways of making sense of the world, and before science and medicine, the supernatural was the most convincing. Life was terribly hard when magic was at its most popular: people were exposed to the vagaries of nature. They had no 'rational' way to explain a drought, or flood, an epidemic or the sudden death of a child. Even everyday things like a cough could be blamed on malignant spirits. Equally a natural recovery was often attributed to an unearthly power: often believed to be in the control of a witch.
This was the popular view of the world: but it clashed with the equally irrational beliefs of the church. When organised religion began to expand its power - sending missionaries into rural areas and collecting tithes over a wider area - the popular and organised religions clashed. The victim was often the 'witch', a single, normally elderly woman who, because she was perceived to control spirits, was a powerful village figure. Priests whipped up hysteria against these women for two reasons: one, they challenged the hold on power and respect that the church desired; and two, their independence and activities clashed with new ideas of what women should be like. The result was witchhunts all over Europe, and thousands of deaths.
Even today there are acceptable and unacceptable forms of irrationality: creationism is taught as fact in some American (and at least one British) schools; the churches and their leaders are accorded a great deal of respect by our politicians, and Bishops are members of the House of Lords. On the other hand, aliens, feng shui etc. are considered ridiculous, despite being believed in by millions of people. Organised and popular beliefs share the same logical backing (none) but one is pampered and other ridiculed. Why?
always amuses me all these scientists saying UFO's don't exist when there's loads of people who have reported seeing one. Sure most are just stars but all the ones they can't say what they are using scientific methods they stick in the *let's shove it in a dark corner and hope people forget about it* file
i'd like them to explain all the government reports that have been leaked over the years about investigations on UFO's and things like Royal Air Force personnel reporting weird objects they've seen on missions.
i'd like them to explain all the government reports that have been leaked over the years about investigations on UFO's and things like Royal Air Force personnel reporting weird objects they've seen on missions.
Ghosts, Fairies, Magic, UFOs, Vampirism, Werewolves, Myths, Legends - the last 50 years has seen our society destroy these with modern science. If you cannot prove they exist with science then they don't exist, or so the scientists say. There are a few authors trying so hard to keep belief alive, but they are a few. Still not got a clue what I'm ranting about ? Let me try this.
I finished reading a bok last night "Troublesome Stories - A history of fairies and fairy stories" by Diana Purkiss. Her book details how fairies are actually just a manifestation of basic fears and a way of accounting for occurences that people could not explain at the time. If, in the 13th century, your baby died within days then he/she had been taken by the fairies because they hadn't been christened.
Vampirism ? "oh thats that disease where people feel the need to drink blood". UFOs ? "The planets, bright stars, experimental planes mate". Magic "A load of rubbish, its all faked".And so on...
I am not trying to say that all these things do exist, or even that they could, but isn't life so much more interesting if there are things that we cannot explain, that hover on the edges of understanding ? Do we want to know and explain everything ? It would seem so, and the media and the majority must ruthlessly squash/ruin anything which says otherwise. What if there really was a fairy realm outside of our reality ? Would it be so far fetched with the current theories on alternate realities, an idea started in fiction before science finally decided to make something up regarding it.
Neil Gaiman, a UK born but now US residing, a respected author of fantasy comics series the Sandman, and other titles like Neverwhere and American Gods constantly jokes in his work that "the fairies have left us behind, they don't like what we've become". Maybe he has a point......
I finished reading a bok last night "Troublesome Stories - A history of fairies and fairy stories" by Diana Purkiss. Her book details how fairies are actually just a manifestation of basic fears and a way of accounting for occurences that people could not explain at the time. If, in the 13th century, your baby died within days then he/she had been taken by the fairies because they hadn't been christened.
Vampirism ? "oh thats that disease where people feel the need to drink blood". UFOs ? "The planets, bright stars, experimental planes mate". Magic "A load of rubbish, its all faked".And so on...
I am not trying to say that all these things do exist, or even that they could, but isn't life so much more interesting if there are things that we cannot explain, that hover on the edges of understanding ? Do we want to know and explain everything ? It would seem so, and the media and the majority must ruthlessly squash/ruin anything which says otherwise. What if there really was a fairy realm outside of our reality ? Would it be so far fetched with the current theories on alternate realities, an idea started in fiction before science finally decided to make something up regarding it.
Neil Gaiman, a UK born but now US residing, a respected author of fantasy comics series the Sandman, and other titles like Neverwhere and American Gods constantly jokes in his work that "the fairies have left us behind, they don't like what we've become". Maybe he has a point......