Page 1 of 1

Chapter 5 reminds me of...

Posted: Sun May 09, 2004 1:51 pm
by tarav
Chapter 5 reminds me of an article from the American Anthropologist, written by Horace Miner. The title is, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema". Has anyone ever read that article? Unfortunately, I was denied permission to post anything from it. Sagan's description of Earth from the perspective of an alien explorer, is comparable to the observations by an anthropologist of the cultural rituals of the Nacirema. If you don't figure out who the article is about from the name of it, it dawns on you as you read on. I read the article many years ago, and reading chapter 5 of Pale Blue Dot reminded me of the funny, yet poignant article by Miner. If you have read it, or can get a copy of it(you can pay $30 for it to the American Anthropological Association), let me know what you think.Edited to include this quote from Karen, "The article can be found by going to Alta Vista search engine. Type the name of the article in quotes, and you should find it with very little trouble." Edited by: tarav at: 5/11/04 3:59 pm

Re: Chapter 5 reminds me of...

Posted: Sun May 09, 2004 8:38 pm
by SunSprite86
Tarav,That was pretty funny - and so true. I can vouch for that, having just spent an exorbitant amount of money to visit the holy-mouth-man several consecutive times.The article can be found by going to Alta Vista search engine. Type the name of the article in quotes, and you should find it with very little trouble.Karen

Re: Chapter 5 reminds me of...

Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 4:22 pm
by tarav
Karen, Thank you for posting where the article can be found. It is much better to read it for free, than have to pay $30! I'm glad that you enjoyed it. The ethnocentrism revealed in the article echoes Sagan's discussion of geocentrism. Both Sagan's chapter 5 and Miner's article show how important it is to remember that we are really small parts of something much bigger.