7 ms·

Wow, the lake turning red and so many people dying sounds like a biblical style event. It's great to have a scientific explanation of what happened.

by MollyR 10y ago

CPLX 10y ago
Or perhaps the Bible is full of Biblical-style tellings of poorly understood at the time natural events.
- DanielBMarkham 10y ago
  Didn't James Cameron narrate a TV show a few years back which had the premise that the biblical Exodus was in fact the eruption of a nearby volcano?
  - ZanyProgrammer 10y ago
    Ah the famous archaeologist and scientist James Cameron?
    - ferentchak 10y ago
      He did an extensive study of that tribe of blue people
      - DanielBMarkham 10y ago
        Two hours, and I never liked that. I kept rooting for the technological overlords.
    - dzolvd 10y ago
      His name is James, James Cameron The bravest pioneer No budget too steep, no sea too deep Who's that? It's him, James Cameron James, James Cameron explorer of the sea With a dying thirst to be the first Could it be? Yeah that's him! James Cameron --credit: South Park
- trhway 10y ago
  The Tigris/Euphrates basin (Mesopotamia) was flooded regularly, and given that it was a cradle of our agricultural civilization 5-10K years ago i, being an atheist who sees Jesus story as an alien visit record, read the Noah story almost as just a real ship's log :)
  - donkeyd 10y ago
    > who sees Jesus story as an alien visit record Could you elaborate on this? I've never heard or read anybody say anything like this before.
    - trhway 10y ago
      >I've never heard or read anybody say anything like this before. that would be strange. A lot of science fiction contains a notion of an alien(s) perceived as a God(s) by native people of the planet being visited. In case of Jesus we have all the typical stuff - medical nanobots and food replicators, alien species in the "skies" who conquered space and time, and we have pretty clear message (well, we have millions of pages of philosophy written about it, so it is my brief short take on it) - take control over and minimize your violence and develop empathy, and that would speed up (or remove the main obstacles to) the development of your civilization to be able to join the others. Tightly managed, if not abolished, violence and high communication capabilities (direct mind to mind like) are what we think as among the characteristics of developed civilizations. May be it is not the result, may be it is the tool to get there? Anyway, such attempts to help the development of native civilizations is known to be futile (again, well explored in science fiction) and Jesus obviously was an inexperienced eager to help and frustrated by what he observed observer who went rogue. And thus we have the "Cup of Wrath", the communication with the Mission Command when the Command orders that to minimize consequences of the perpetrated Prime Directive violation the "god scenario" would proceed to completion (which probably didn't include real or full death, yet it was obviously something that one would be happy to avoid - may be something like real death with upload moments before, again going along science fiction lines one can interpret that way the communication with "God" during the crucifixion as well as obvious initial weakness/discomfort with the the new body ("don't touch") when Jesus met Mary after the resurrection (also the 2 angels [dressed] in white busy with some chores right there in the cave after Jesus was resurrected) while some time later he gets used to the body and lets Tomas to inspect it). There is a lot in the story that can be clearly interpreted in the science fiction style, and between God and aliens i bet on aliens :) Now, here is the really fun part - an idea that we probably do have sample of the Jesus' alien DNA somewhere around (despite the aliens' precautions taken like the hard ultra-violet cleaning of all the biological material in the cave tomb of Jesus) - the "Holy Grail" whatever it is, like say the Dan Brown's child/ancestors of Jesus. Would you like to sequence that DNA? And according to the legends the medical nanobots were still on/with the Holy Grail and still functioning.
- ansible 10y ago
  You mean like the re-flooding of the Black Sea being the source event of the Great Flood story in Genesis?
  - 205guy 10y ago
    There are many candidate theories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth#Claims_of_historicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth#Claims_of_historici... I like the Persian gulf one, after all the Sumerians who lived there later had a myth of which the Noah story seems like a retelling.
empath75 10y ago
Imagine how you'd attempt to describe it without knowing anything about chemistry or volcanism.
- snarkyturtle 10y ago
  Considering that only 8 people survived, I'd imagine they would've thought they were the chosen ones and God smited the rest.
  - centizen 10y ago
    The eight survivors in this case survived because they understood what was happening and fled to high ground though.
    - Ericson2314 10y ago
      If you knew stories about the lake, wouldn't you try to get away from it? And by the pictures away <==> up in most cases. Also, I feel like at least my flight instinct prefers higher ground. Not saying the 8 survivors didn't know what's up, but stuff like this is definitely how religious stories get formed in general.
      - mjevans 10y ago
        Natural instinct is to run away. It's like how the smart thing to do is run to the side of a tree that's starting to fall over (perpendicular to it's projected fall). A good way of describing it to the locals might be that 'bad gasses come from the lake and cling to the ground, like a leaden miasma from hell'.
        fanf2 10y ago
        You don't want to be very close to a tree that is falling over because of the way the roots tear up the ground. Or, if the tree has been cut down and its direction of fall is not clear of obstructions, the cut end of the trunk could fly around in unexpected ways. Best to be well clear on the far side of the direction of fall.
donretag 10y ago
Lake Tovel in Italy used to turn red in the summer. Here is both the reason why from both a legend and a scientific viewpoint: http://www.albergolagorosso.it/eng/perche_lago_rosso.php http://www.albergolagorosso.it/eng/perche_lago_rosso.php
bnjmn 10y ago
I wish I'd known about this image when I wrote the poem I posted above!

Wow, the lake turning red and so many people dying sounds like a biblical style event. It's great to have a scientific explanation of what happened.

by MollyR 10y ago

Wow, the lake turning red and so many people dying sounds like a biblical style event. It's great to have a scientific explanation of what happened.

CPLX 10y ago

Or perhaps the Bible is full of Biblical-style tellings of poorly understood at the time natural events.

DanielBMarkham 10y ago
Didn't James Cameron narrate a TV show a few years back which had the premise that the biblical Exodus was in fact the eruption of a nearby volcano?
- ZanyProgrammer 10y ago
  Ah the famous archaeologist and scientist James Cameron?
  - ferentchak 10y ago
    He did an extensive study of that tribe of blue people
    - DanielBMarkham 10y ago
      Two hours, and I never liked that. I kept rooting for the technological overlords.
  - dzolvd 10y ago
    His name is James, James Cameron The bravest pioneer No budget too steep, no sea too deep Who's that? It's him, James Cameron James, James Cameron explorer of the sea With a dying thirst to be the first Could it be? Yeah that's him! James Cameron --credit: South Park
trhway 10y ago
The Tigris/Euphrates basin (Mesopotamia) was flooded regularly, and given that it was a cradle of our agricultural civilization 5-10K years ago i, being an atheist who sees Jesus story as an alien visit record, read the Noah story almost as just a real ship's log :)
- donkeyd 10y ago
  > who sees Jesus story as an alien visit record Could you elaborate on this? I've never heard or read anybody say anything like this before.
  - trhway 10y ago
    >I've never heard or read anybody say anything like this before. that would be strange. A lot of science fiction contains a notion of an alien(s) perceived as a God(s) by native people of the planet being visited. In case of Jesus we have all the typical stuff - medical nanobots and food replicators, alien species in the "skies" who conquered space and time, and we have pretty clear message (well, we have millions of pages of philosophy written about it, so it is my brief short take on it) - take control over and minimize your violence and develop empathy, and that would speed up (or remove the main obstacles to) the development of your civilization to be able to join the others. Tightly managed, if not abolished, violence and high communication capabilities (direct mind to mind like) are what we think as among the characteristics of developed civilizations. May be it is not the result, may be it is the tool to get there? Anyway, such attempts to help the development of native civilizations is known to be futile (again, well explored in science fiction) and Jesus obviously was an inexperienced eager to help and frustrated by what he observed observer who went rogue. And thus we have the "Cup of Wrath", the communication with the Mission Command when the Command orders that to minimize consequences of the perpetrated Prime Directive violation the "god scenario" would proceed to completion (which probably didn't include real or full death, yet it was obviously something that one would be happy to avoid - may be something like real death with upload moments before, again going along science fiction lines one can interpret that way the communication with "God" during the crucifixion as well as obvious initial weakness/discomfort with the the new body ("don't touch") when Jesus met Mary after the resurrection (also the 2 angels [dressed] in white busy with some chores right there in the cave after Jesus was resurrected) while some time later he gets used to the body and lets Tomas to inspect it). There is a lot in the story that can be clearly interpreted in the science fiction style, and between God and aliens i bet on aliens :) Now, here is the really fun part - an idea that we probably do have sample of the Jesus' alien DNA somewhere around (despite the aliens' precautions taken like the hard ultra-violet cleaning of all the biological material in the cave tomb of Jesus) - the "Holy Grail" whatever it is, like say the Dan Brown's child/ancestors of Jesus. Would you like to sequence that DNA? And according to the legends the medical nanobots were still on/with the Holy Grail and still functioning.
ansible 10y ago
You mean like the re-flooding of the Black Sea being the source event of the Great Flood story in Genesis?
- 205guy 10y ago
  There are many candidate theories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth#Claims_of_historicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth#Claims_of_historici... I like the Persian gulf one, after all the Sumerians who lived there later had a myth of which the Noah story seems like a retelling.

empath75 10y ago

Imagine how you'd attempt to describe it without knowing anything about chemistry or volcanism.

snarkyturtle 10y ago
Considering that only 8 people survived, I'd imagine they would've thought they were the chosen ones and God smited the rest.
- centizen 10y ago
  The eight survivors in this case survived because they understood what was happening and fled to high ground though.
  - Ericson2314 10y ago
    If you knew stories about the lake, wouldn't you try to get away from it? And by the pictures away <==> up in most cases. Also, I feel like at least my flight instinct prefers higher ground. Not saying the 8 survivors didn't know what's up, but stuff like this is definitely how religious stories get formed in general.
    - mjevans 10y ago
      Natural instinct is to run away. It's like how the smart thing to do is run to the side of a tree that's starting to fall over (perpendicular to it's projected fall). A good way of describing it to the locals might be that 'bad gasses come from the lake and cling to the ground, like a leaden miasma from hell'.
      - fanf2 10y ago
        You don't want to be very close to a tree that is falling over because of the way the roots tear up the ground. Or, if the tree has been cut down and its direction of fall is not clear of obstructions, the cut end of the trunk could fly around in unexpected ways. Best to be well clear on the far side of the direction of fall.

donretag 10y ago

Lake Tovel in Italy used to turn red in the summer. Here is both the reason why from both a legend and a scientific viewpoint: http://www.albergolagorosso.it/eng/perche_lago_rosso.php http://www.albergolagorosso.it/eng/perche_lago_rosso.php

bnjmn 10y ago

I wish I'd known about this image when I wrote the poem I posted above!