A cognitive anthropologist is one who studies the cultural categories of a society. In other words what kinds of things are thought to be similar and as a result make up a category. Color is a favorite subject of study for these folk (what hues can be defined as green, red, etc). A cognitive archaeologist is a bit more esoteric and to a degree all archaeologists do this. What you are trying to do in achaeology is reconstruct a past culture (which is abstract rules which govern behavior) from material remains. A large part of this involves the study of patterns of association and these patterns can range from the distribution of trash of the floor of a living space to the distribution of sites over a landscape. Some of the most interesting work in this area is done by the French who have put a great deal of effort in to understanding the mental capabilities of pre sapien hominids (errectus, habilis etc) through their patterns of tool manufacture. To make some of these tools it turns out requires quite sophisticated thinking.
There was a wonderful documentary on one of the Brit companies--maybe ITV, i'm not sure--in which they interviewed two gentlemen who claimed to have made the crop circles there. They demonstrated how they had used a collapsible painter's scaffolding to enter the fields without leaving tracks from the fence line to the center. They then demonstrated the use of their home-made devices with which they flattened wide swathes of the standing corn (as they call wheat and other grassy grain crops). I don't recall all of the details, but the narrator stated that they claimed they were able to demonstrate that they had made all of the crop circles, with the exception of those known to have been created by university students bent on demonstrating that it could be done by human agency.
Then the producers interviewed a group of people gathered at Stonehenge to dance and sing at sunrise on the day of the Summer Solstice. It was hilarious the amount of resentment and denial they met with, and how many of these folks would say that the tape they were shown accounted for some of the crop circles, but not all of them. They would assert that there were "blast patterns" from the alien vehicles taking off, but when challenged to offer proof, grew hostile and refused to speak to the interviewers any longer.
heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee . . .
I love this kind of stuff . . .
okbye
Acquiunk, that is truly fascinating. I never knew, but it makes a lot of sense to me, in terms of the approach.
As for the musical....hmm...we need a signature song....
LOVE IS GREY, AND LOVE IS GAY
You came down in a saucer,
with quite peculiar offers,
the probe did not appeal,
but the love I felt was real....
Chorus:
Oh grey,
the passion that we share has made me
oh so gay...
only in a truly happy way.
Okay, I'm out of verses...please add some.
Hey, yawl. Great stuff here, from the music to the amusing.
Cav, you just jerked my celestial chain.....back later to add stuff.
In the interim, Everyone hold that domain.
And added to this mix,
A bit of chocolate twix,
Jenning's person of the week
Tommy Duffy.
By helping out the blues.
Surely we can use
A sweet and gentle muse,
His type of stand up.
While people speak
Of dying,
This man talks
Of living
Only for the giving
Of a hand up.
What a beautiful man. He spoke of life as what we have to leave to subsequent generations.
and now that I have gotten this thread totally off track,
I'll do something mundane, like eat.
You can bet your arse, it won't be wheat.
Goodnight,
From Florida
