Category: Art

Where Can We Find Modern Mythology?

Building a mythology is a way that we can make sense of the world around us. What does a modern mythology look like?

The ancient Greeks used mythology to explain everyday life. The sun, for example, was actually the fiery wheel of a great chariot that Apollo rode across the sky each day.

Any number of gods, demi-gods, and heroes made up this mythology, much of which can still be found today. The labors of Hercules, the infighting of the Greek pantheon of gods, or the story of the Trojan horse live on in today’s society. There are translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey from Homer that are still in print, for instance, or the hugely popular Percy Jackson stories from author Rick Riordon, recently adapted to a Disney TV series.

And it is not just the Greeks, of course. The Romans, which borrowed heavily from the Greeks for their own mythology, were also influential. The names of the planets and satellites in our solar system largely come from these mythological sources. Jupiter, the leader of the Roman gods, is the name given to the largest planet. The red planet is named Mars, after the fiery Roman god of war.

Each culture has their own mythology. Other notable ones from history include the Norse, Egyptians, Japanese, and so on.

So then what makes up our modern mythology? What are the stories that we tell ourselves that allow us to make sense of our current world and the challenges and victories we experience? What in our society will future historians point to as the equivalent to the mythologies of yesteryear?

Related questions: What are the benefits of fiction? What role do sports play in our society? History or current events? What is art? How do you adopt new ideas?

What Makes A Meaningful Conversation?

A thoughtful, meaningful conversation is remarkably fulfilling. What are the traits that contribute to a great verbal exchange?

In some ways, we evolved in order to communicate. Our voice is capable of an incredible range of sounds that we have turned into speech. Our brains then became larger so that we could store our spoken, and then eventually written, languages.

In addition, living in groups no doubt made our ancestors safer and more effective in tasks. Coordinating members of the group would have been necessary for success in hunting and gathering. A spoken language also meant knowledge could be passed not only between individuals, but from generation to generation as well.

So speech is central to the very nature of who we are as a species. It is no wonder, then, why conversation is so enjoyable. A good conversation between individuals or within a group is unlike anything else in our experience. It can be funny, thought-provoking, and even challenging, and can make time seem to fly by in an instant.

In fact, it is so important that you sometimes hear it discussed in ways you don’t expect. An artist, for instance, might describe the art they produce as a conversation with the viewer. Theater actors or comedians have been known to talk about carrying on a conversation with their audience.

What makes a conversation good? And what separates a good one from a great one? What are the things that the very best conversationalists do to be successful? How does it seem to flow, seemingly effortlessly, from one speaker to the next? What do you do to try and engage with someone else?

Related questions: How can we encourage meaningful conversation? Is there a conversation you’ll never forget? How can we become better listeners? What makes a good question?

Have You Ever Studied How To Use A Camera?

If you have a smartphone, you have a camera you carry with you everywhere you go. Do you know how to use it?

Share why if you wish.

What Is Efficiency?

The word “efficiency” has seen an increase in use lately. But what exactly is it, and is it always a good thing?

While the term efficiency has been in the news recently, it is hardly a new phenomenon. When you were a student, you may have been encouraged to study more efficiently. At work, you may have been praised for being efficient as an employee.

The general idea is that you should get from point A to point B in as few steps as possible. If you can do it in, say, three steps, then doing in five steps is less desirable. Steps 4 and 5, then, are wasteful and unnecessary. Three steps is optimal, the most efficient route.

Of course, this is an overly simplified example, and real life tends to be more more complicated.

For example, let’s pretend that the project can be done in three steps, but you are more likely to make mistakes than if you were to do it in five. If you need to do the entire project over again regularly, then is three steps really more efficient than five?

Some endeavors are independent from the normal rules of efficiency. Let’s consider creative or artistic expressions. Is it possible or even desirable to write a poem more efficiently? Can creativity be regulated in some way? When brainstorming, might it not be more helpful to think in unconventional ways, even if they happen to be conventionally inefficient?

In other cases, a certain amount of inefficiency is fundamental to the process. In science, it is regularly impossible to predict how an experiment will unfold. A scientist might have to try dozens or even hundreds of approaches to problem solving before finding the right one. Each invalid attempt is not a waste, as it may very well illuminate a rule or behavior that was previously unknown, which obviously has value.

Doing things quickly is the right thing to do in some cases. But not all. Can you think of examples from your life where being inefficient was better? And if so, isn’t that approach more efficient after all?

Related questions: What is the value of inefficiency? How can we be more productive? What is waste?

What Is Your Favorite Piece Of Entertainment From 2024?

As 2024 comes to a close, what was your favorite entertainment: the best movie seen, concert attended, TV show binged, book read, etc?

Share why if you wish.