Mother fears for son missing on expedition to find Noah’s Ark

[d000hg]

I think what happened is someone exaggerated a story and it went down through generations until it got written into the Bible, by then an epic exaggeration.

They were better at passing stories orally back then, but it's crazy to suggest people could pass a story for generations with no changes - but even if they could, context and the understanding of the people at the time play a big part.
If I lived in a village with no contact with other peoples, I can say "everyone has blue eyes" and in my frame of reference, it's not an exaggeration. 5000 years back, "the whole world" was a much smaller place... so the people writing or even experiencing a flood wouldn't be able to tell if it literally covered the planet.

[Support Monkey]

Noah's Ark Overview

They say its Located in the northeast corner of Turkey near Mount Ararat

Its a story that obviously keeps a lot of beardy types employed

[TimberWolf]

Chinese whispers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An apocryphal example from World War I of a message being sent down the trench line is Send reinforcements, we're going to advance which became Send three and fourpence, we're going to a dance

Presumably if events were diminished or downplayed over time the story would get crappier and crappier and in the end everyone would groan and say flip, and that story would die, or a least transform into one about a story teller getting lynched. The good 'uns ones would survive. Story tellers that is.

[d000hg]

As I said, these people have a strong traditional of passing their history orally. Not to say the same things don't occur, but there's a difference between people chatting and having official storytellers/historians.

If I teach you complex numbers orally and you teach someone and they pass it on, it's much less likely to get messed up. Similarly even a nursery rhyme or similar holds together when passed as a story and a group of people seed the original.

There are whole areas of study on this stuff, can't remember the terms. But I think in some cultures it's still preserved as a means of passing history.

[BoredBloke]

wtf

Mother fears for son missing on expedition to find Noah

What a shame - next year he was planning on finding Santa

[TimberWolf]

As I said, these people have a strong traditional of passing their history orally. Not to say the same things don't occur, but there's a difference between people chatting and having official storytellers/historians.

If I teach you complex numbers orally and you teach someone and they pass it on, it's much less likely to get messed up. Similarly even a nursery rhyme or similar holds together when passed as a story and a group of people seed the original.

There are whole areas of study on this stuff, can't remember the terms. But I think in some cultures it's still preserved as a means of passing history.

We already know what happens with stories that are passed down by civilisations. The main characters end up supernatural entities. Whole branches of science get lost even when they're written down, let alone complex numbers.

[doodab]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Gilgamesh.

[xoggoth]

I can never figure out what the Jehovah of the old testament has to do with the Christ of the new testament, seems to be a totally different message and a totally different god.

Perhaps some believer can explain it to me. I promise not to laugh. (Much)

[Mich the Tester]

I can never figure out what the Jehovah of the old testament has to do with the Christ of the new testament, seems to be a totally different message and a totally different god.

Perhaps some believer can explain it to me. I promise not to laugh. (Much)

I'll tell you what; next time the Jehovas Witnesses approach you in the street, invite them round to your place to explain it all to you.

Best of luck!

[xoggoth]

They always have some fit females those Jehovah's witnesses. I never pass up a chance for a chat about evolution.