#7 mythology 2.0
Hidden in Plain Sight: 15 evolution myths, artists & new mythology, gods & robots, the gender mosaic
mythology 2.0
One of the reasons we have all become so hungry for myths is that we find ourselves overwhelmed with constantly accelerating technology. Science future has supplied us with blueprints for solutions to problems, yet we still feel restless, soulless—empty. The return to the mythological and fantastical fuels humanity’s needs for meaning. Mythology vocalizes our human desires, aspirations and needs. To quote Joseph John Campbell “the myth is the public dream.”
evolution: 15 myths that explain our world
We no longer think, like the ancient Chinese did, that the world was hatched from an egg. Or believe the Greek tale of a tempestuous Hera and a cunning Zeus, because we now use genes and natural selection to explain fear and desire, and physics to demystify the workings of the universe. Science is an astounding achievement, but are we really any wiser than the ancients? Has science revealed the secrets of fate and immortality? There are those who believe that science has replaced faith, but must it also be a death knell for mythology?
In Evolutions (Head of Zeus, 2019, author Oren Harman brings to life the latest scientific thinking on the birth of the universe and the solar system, the journey from a single cell all the way to our human minds.
Harman reawakens our sense of wonder using modern science to create new and original mythologies, like the earth and the moon presenting a cosmological view of motherhood; a panicking mitochondrion introducing sex and death to the world; the loneliness of consciousness emerging from the memory of an octopus; and the birth of language in evolution summoning humankind’s struggle with truth.
Science may not solve our existential puzzles, but like the age-old legends, its magical discoveries can help us continue the never-ending search.
SOURCE: Oren Harman
photo: “Radiating My Sovereignty,” 2019, by Calida Rawles.
artists exploring mythology and race
The intersections of myth, cultural narratives and identity have long inspired artists. But according to writer and cultural critic Enuma Okoro, a new generation of artists are investigating classical myths, "seeking more nuanced ways of depicting the interior lives of Black women.”
In her New York Times article, Okoro explains that most of the world’s most recognizable stories come from Western culture that mainly illuminate the heroic efforts of men or the cultural experiences of white Western figures. While women and people of color do appear in folklore and myths, they are less often depicted as heroic protagonists in the prominent, globally renown tales. She reveals that in these traditional stories "black women, especially, are rarely portrayed as offering anything redemptive, or as spiritually or intellectually conscious enough to positively influence others."
Okoro covers three artists re-examining historical narratives and classical stories, creating images that speak to the experiences of being Black and female. LA based artist Calida Rawles uses water as a way to examine power, race and identity politics, and ideas for her recent work came after reading the ancient Hebrew story of Lilith.
Artist Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s latest solo show, “Battlecry,” featured a collection of seven large-scale paintings on wood panel, a cast of characters she calls “the Seven.” These women, who represent mythological archetypes in the form of seven alter egos, negotiate what it means to be both the hero and the villain of the same story.
Harmonia Rosales an LA based painter, creates rich visual stories (and reimagining deities) honoring her Afro-Cuban religious heritage and the larger African diaspora.
SOURCE: Enuma Okoro, The New York Times
mythology for the age of AI
In her book Gods and Robots (Princeton University Press, 2018), Adrienne Mayor tells a fascinating untold story of how the ancients imagined robots and other forms of artificial life—and even invented real automated machines.
Did you know that the first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos? This wondrous machine was not created by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention. Yes, more than 2,500 years ago, long before medieval automata, and centuries before technology made self-moving devices possible, Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about biotechne, “life through craft.”
A groundbreaking account of the earliest expressions of the timeless impulse to create artificial life, Gods and Robots reveals how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth—and how science has always been driven by imagination.
SOURCE:
Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology
the gender brain myth: men from mars, women from venus?
For decades, scientists would have us believe that women’s and men’s brains are hardwired differently. But neuroscientist Prof. Daphna Joel disagrees. She discovered our brains have a "Gender Mosaic." After meticulously analyzing the structure of hundreds of human brains, Joel's research revealed that the brain is a mosaic of both male-typical and female-typical features.
According to Joel, we each possess a unique mix of both feminine and masculine psychological traits – what she calls the “Gender Mosaic.” The brain and gender mosaic defies the mainstream binary understanding of gender and invites us to celebrate instead the variability and diversity of the human mind.
Joel constructed the Gender Mosaic Questionnaire, an interactive resource for understanding your own, and other people’s gender.
How does the Gender Mosaic work?
1 - Answer 42 easy questions about your work, life, sexuality & relationships
2 - Discover your gender mosaic in a game-like, interactive experience
3 - Find out how you compare to others around the world
Its intent is to help people self-educate on issues like gender diversity and inclusion.
SOURCE: Gender Mosaic
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