3 ms·

I legitimately do not understand this line of thought. The stuff is old, going through many translations, and editing passes, and printings. So the divine name

I legitimately do not understand this line of thought. The stuff is old, going through many translations, and editing passes, and printings. So the divine name must have been destroyed in printings multiple times. Has god smote anyone yet for this?

bradleyjg 6y ago
Do you not understand any disgust / taboo reactions or is it just the more abstract ones you have trouble with? Like would you get it if someone told you he’d hesitate to reach into a toilet even if it has just been cleaned?
- NikolaeVarius 6y ago
  Many taboos are explainable: toilet = feces = disease. I would be fine reaching into a toilet. Many are also just dumb: No blood transfusion, no birth controls, etc
  - bradleyjg 6y ago
    So you do understand taboos, you just wanted to signal how rational and strong minded you are, unlike me for example, by claiming it’s so bizarre you don’t even get it. You sound like a really great person.
    - NikolaeVarius 6y ago
      I understand taboos that make sense. I have no idea why some of these taboos are a thing. I also don't have idea idea why im supposed to care about an attack on my person.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - wahern 6y ago
        Because the power to name something implies dominion over that thing. In Christianity you're supposed to "never use the Lord's name in vein" because even uttering an established name has implications--e.g. calling upon the power of that name. That basic cultural logic (which may even be partly innate) is as true today as it was 5000 years ago, though obviously the practical implications are different. More interestingly, the power in naming isn't something modern culture seems explicitly aware of even though modern identity politics is predicated on these cultural powers. Thus few people seem to make the connection between ancient taboo words and modern identity politics. This also helps explain the power of religious texts. If spoken words have power, then what happens when you commit words to a physical representation? And pass them down through time? Religious texts can be easily conceived of as the divine made incarnate. This all may seem superficially nuts, especially if you're atheist, until you really dig into all the debates we continually have over language, including in tech communities (e.g. why is naming a project or even just a variable so difficult?), and try to understand why people invest themselves in these debates. Names and labels have power because that's how we create categories; categories separate things with the implication of intrinsic differences; they're how we attach ideas to things, and create meaning out of thin air. That really is a form of dominion and control.
        jkhdigital 6y ago
        Indeed. Naming something is like the moment a proton and anti-proton are created—truly an act of divinity.

bradleyjg 6y ago

Do you not understand any disgust / taboo reactions or is it just the more abstract ones you have trouble with? Like would you get it if someone told you he’d hesitate to reach into a toilet even if it has just been cleaned?

NikolaeVarius 6y ago
Many taboos are explainable: toilet = feces = disease. I would be fine reaching into a toilet. Many are also just dumb: No blood transfusion, no birth controls, etc
- bradleyjg 6y ago
  So you do understand taboos, you just wanted to signal how rational and strong minded you are, unlike me for example, by claiming it’s so bizarre you don’t even get it. You sound like a really great person.
  - NikolaeVarius 6y ago
    I understand taboos that make sense. I have no idea why some of these taboos are a thing. I also don't have idea idea why im supposed to care about an attack on my person.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - wahern 6y ago
      Because the power to name something implies dominion over that thing. In Christianity you're supposed to "never use the Lord's name in vein" because even uttering an established name has implications--e.g. calling upon the power of that name. That basic cultural logic (which may even be partly innate) is as true today as it was 5000 years ago, though obviously the practical implications are different. More interestingly, the power in naming isn't something modern culture seems explicitly aware of even though modern identity politics is predicated on these cultural powers. Thus few people seem to make the connection between ancient taboo words and modern identity politics. This also helps explain the power of religious texts. If spoken words have power, then what happens when you commit words to a physical representation? And pass them down through time? Religious texts can be easily conceived of as the divine made incarnate. This all may seem superficially nuts, especially if you're atheist, until you really dig into all the debates we continually have over language, including in tech communities (e.g. why is naming a project or even just a variable so difficult?), and try to understand why people invest themselves in these debates. Names and labels have power because that's how we create categories; categories separate things with the implication of intrinsic differences; they're how we attach ideas to things, and create meaning out of thin air. That really is a form of dominion and control.
      - jkhdigital 6y ago
        Indeed. Naming something is like the moment a proton and anti-proton are created—truly an act of divinity.