I am having a bit of a writer’s block right now, so instead of a full article here is a new segment called “Interesting Tidbits”, where I share small random pieces of information I picked up somewhere. I hope you like it.
One aspect of humanity that keeps fascinating me is how despite the enormous variety of human cultures and civilizations and the often insuperable differences that come with it, sometimes the simplest aspects of humanity are shared by everyone across the ages.
Did you know that the ancient romans had graffiti? More than 2000 years ago, they scribbled phrases on walls that might as well come from modern toilet stalls, such as boasting about sexual exploits, insulting superiors or simply signing their names.
But you can go further back than that. On stone age cave paintings, archaeologists have found drawings that are sloppy, with hunting scenes more brutal than usual and figures with exaggerated genitals – most likely drawn by adolescents. Somehow immaturity has not changed in 30.000 years.
Conversely, sometimes experiences we all share are being interpreted entirely different.
In an isolated tribe – I forgot where and unfortunately I could not find the original article – the symptoms experienced by heavy infatuation such as the warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach are seen as signs that the person is possessed by an evil spirit that must be cleansed.
The Metaphorical of Delphi 