3 ms·

Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun

Michaelangelo's "creation of Adam" depicts God as a human brain. Apparently nobody noticed untill the 90s. It's hard not to see it when you see it. A lot of fun interesting possibilities for deep metaphor. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA4SF_GUkAAiJ5S.jpg?format=jpg&n... PS: reason for the downvotes? just curious.

jacquesm 7y ago
Never noticed that, thank you for pointing it out. There is a lot of evidence for Michaelangelo dissecting corpses with the tacit approval of the church, it made his art stand out substantially because of his knowledge of the muscles and bones underlying the skin and the fabric.
interfixus 7y ago
I share your curiosity: Who on earth would downvote this? Quirky, interesting new titbit for our collection of trivia and learned matter, thank you.
- HNLurker2 7y ago
  HN is a strange place
- colanderman 7y ago
  Probably because of the source (Cracked.com, a humor site, albeit one which does often share interesting knowledge in a quirky way). Downvoters could be reading the post as a joke rather than in earnest. Apparently it is a legitimate published theory, as noted in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam#Portrayal_of_the_human_brain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam#Portrayal... So is the theory that the shape represents the postpartum uterus, which seems thematically more fitting.
  - dalbasal 7y ago
    That would be my fault. I just googled for an image.
seren 7y ago
I believe this is a case of pareidolia. While I believe it is credible, Michaelangelo would have seen dissected corpse, I don't think a brain cross section would have been that detailed at that time. Looking at Da Vinci sketch below, it does not look that similar anymore : https://neurosciencenews.com/da-vinci-brain-knowledge-11070/ https://neurosciencenews.com/da-vinci-brain-knowledge-11070/

jacquesm 7y ago

Never noticed that, thank you for pointing it out. There is a lot of evidence for Michaelangelo dissecting corpses with the tacit approval of the church, it made his art stand out substantially because of his knowledge of the muscles and bones underlying the skin and the fabric.

interfixus 7y ago

I share your curiosity: Who on earth would downvote this? Quirky, interesting new titbit for our collection of trivia and learned matter, thank you.

HNLurker2 7y ago
HN is a strange place
colanderman 7y ago
Probably because of the source (Cracked.com, a humor site, albeit one which does often share interesting knowledge in a quirky way). Downvoters could be reading the post as a joke rather than in earnest. Apparently it is a legitimate published theory, as noted in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam#Portrayal_of_the_human_brain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam#Portrayal... So is the theory that the shape represents the postpartum uterus, which seems thematically more fitting.
- dalbasal 7y ago
  That would be my fault. I just googled for an image.

seren 7y ago

I believe this is a case of pareidolia. While I believe it is credible, Michaelangelo would have seen dissected corpse, I don't think a brain cross section would have been that detailed at that time. Looking at Da Vinci sketch below, it does not look that similar anymore : https://neurosciencenews.com/da-vinci-brain-knowledge-11070/ https://neurosciencenews.com/da-vinci-brain-knowledge-11070/