Re: VMs: Pleiades

[ajb <ajb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In message <5.2.1.1.0.20040512172457.03de3298@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>Hi Jon,
>
>At 13:31 12/05/2004 +0100, Jon Grove wrote:
>>I take the point that maybe the artist might not have cared about the true 
>>configuration of the stars, or even the true number - perhaps preferring 
>>the mythological/mystical number 7 - but in that case it could represent 
>>any constellation with roughly seven stars. I guess I'm just trying to 
>>question the generally accepted supposition that the picture must be the 
>>Pleiades because it looks like them. To me it just looks like a picture 
>>with seven stars in it.
>
>To me, the lack of concordance with the night sky plus the [literally] 
>seven stars point to mythological ("seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione") 
>knowledge being encoded here, rather than observational ("this is what the 
>Pleaides look like") knowledge. So: I think the received wisdom is that 
>this graphic probably *denotes* the Pleiades, rather than *represents* them.
>
>

One sometimes sees only what one expects.

When I was first shown the Pleiades I inevitably saw (naked eye) the
Seven Stars I was told were there. Then one night I noticed that there
were in fact Nine Stars and ever after (at least whilst youthful visual
acuity lasted) saw nine or even ten, not seven.

Regards

Anthony


-- 

     I child-proofed my house.

          But they're still getting in....
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