move with me

Making Peace With Our Chimeras
from
(Cassandra's Legacy) -- The story of the Chimera is very ancient; it is one of the most ancient myths of our civilization. ... The curious thing is that such an old story is still with us, not very much changed.

In modern terms, we could say that a myth is a form of viral communication. It is a fashionable concept, nowadays, but it is a correct interpretation of a common phenomenon, also very ancient. It is simply that, when you transmit a message, it has to be de-codified by the receiver. So, you can send a very compact message that the receiver will "unpack" or "unzip."

Being so compact, a real communication virus, the myth is easy transmitted; it does not require a support other than the mind of a peasant grandmother. And when it has taken root in a mind, it stays there because it is memorized as a whole. Just because of this, it is very difficult - almost impossible - to destroy it. It is transmitted generation after generation, always the same, because it is so simple and compact.


continued
http://cassandralegacy.blogspot.com/2012/06/making-peace-with-our-chimeras.html