The Peristaltic Testator

The same sort of issue — the persistence of misperceptions in the face of evidence — has also been intriguing Brendan Nyhan, of Duke University, North Carolina, and Jason Reifler, of Georgia State University. And they have published two fascinating papers providing the results of experiments that they conducted into whether it is possible to correct such errors of fact.

Their conclusions are not a cause for optimism.

First, correcting a misperception doesn’t really work when the original misperception fits snugly with the subject’s ideology. Second, and worse still, attempting to correct errors often produces a backlash, with the error becoming more firmly believed. (Emphasis mine.)

Dennis began his career working in Constantinople for Pope Gelasius, translating works in the papal archives from Greek into Latin. Later, under Pope John I, he was still translating - this time working on Easter tables drawn up by Saint Theophilus. The problem was that under the dating system of the time, Easter was difficult to calculate because the calendars weren't correct. Dennis decided to correct the dating system which was then using Anno Diocletani - years since the Roman emperor Diocletian. Diocletian was infamous for persecuting Christians. Dennis wanted to glorify Christ, so he worked on a dating system based on the life of Jesus. . . .

The actual date of Jesus' birth had long been lost or forgotten by the time he started his quest, so Dennis, in his efforts to simplify the convoluted 19-year and 84-year Easter cycles, turned to the only sources he could find - Roman ones. He used them to try and backtrack. Good idea, but his sources were not accurate. Nor was his grasp of mathematics.

Dennis also decided the eighth day after Jesus' birth (traditionally the date of his circumcision, based on Jewish custom) should be the official New Year - the start of year 1 - as his marker. (Emphasis mine.)

The kabbalistic writings teach us that seven days represent the physical world of creation. Thus, when a child has lived for eight days, he has transcended the physical to the metaphysical. The covenant joining body and soul, physical and spiritual, can now take place. A bris has no meaning when performed before the eighth day.

X-Posted to antitheism.

vox_diabolica

Hola a todos!

As some of you may already know Catalonia has some rather unique Christmas traditions - here is a little background, which I thought might interest you, on two of the most peculiar...

The Caganer - a wholesome and fun Catalan addition to the typical Christmas creche figurine family of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the three kings and shepherds etc. The traditional Caganer is an old Catalan man with a red hat or "barretina" and canvas shoes squatting and "taking a dump" in the manger. This traditional figure is generally viewed as the "immemorial fecundator, whom nature calls even as the Messiah is born. Robert Hughes writes:

"Nothing can distract him from the archetypal task of giving back to the soil the nourishment that supplied it to him".

If you look closely at Joan Miró´s 1921-22 painting "La Granja, Montroig" you will see a child squatting a la Caganer.

Over time, the theme has expanded to include sumo wrestlers, Santa, the Devil, the Pope, Dalí, and recently Barcelona football players such as Eto and Ronaldinho, just to name a few.

There's a good site describing them, and selling about 60 different varieties.

The second tradition unique to Catalonia is that of the Caga tio.

The Caga tio is a cross between a Christmas log and a Mexican Piñata and comes in many sizes painted with a smiley face and typically standing up on two or four little stick legs. Customs surrounding Caga tio differ, but all agree, Caga tio means "shit log." Here is more or less the Caga tio ritual.

Fifteen days before Christmas, Caga tio makes his appearance in the dining room, where he must be fed at least once every day. He likes oranges, crackers and sweet wine. In some families, Caga tio starts small, but grows as the days progress toward Christmas.

At some point, Caga tio is moved out of the dining room, into the living room, and covered with a blanket to keep him warm. On Christmas Eve, before the traditional Christmas dinner, the kids are sent to their rooms to say three Our Fathers, which gives the elders enough time to stash presents under Caga tio's blanket. After their prayers are done, the kids return to the living room and start beating the poor Caga tio with big sticks. And they sing a song. One version goes "Shit, log, shit! If you don't shit well, we will whack you !" Another goes "Log, log, shit candy! If you don't shit for Christmas, we will whack you once more!"



Shitty Shitting Xmas gifts abound online!

The Catalian version:

"Caga tió,
sinó et donaré un cop de bastó!

Tió de Nadal,
caga torrons
i pixa vi blanc!

Tió de Nadal
caga neules i torrons
i pixa xampany!"

The Spanish version:

"Caga tio
sino te daré un golpe de bastón!

Tío de navidad,
caga turrones,
y mea vino blanco!

Tío de navidad
caga nueces y turrones
y mea champagne!"

Shit, log
If you won't I'll beat you with a stick!

Christmas log,
shit torrons (a traditional Spanish Christmas candy)
and piss white wine.

Christmas log,
shit neules (a traditional Christmas wafer) and torrons
and piss champagne (Catalan sparkling wine cava is often referred to as champange in colloquial use).

After the children have gotten their fill of flogging the log, the blanket is removed to determine Caga tio's state of digestion. Typically, a miracle has occurred, and the log has pooped wrapped gifts, which are called "the shits." Often one of the shits will be something weird, like an egg, to let everyone know that it was the last one deposited by Caga tio. . . .

Have fun!

The emperor's-new-clothes flimsiness of these widely accepted exaggerated numbers says much about the cold calculation of far-right religious leaders. Moral Majority and Focus on the Family have happily staked their clout on coreligionists who never knew they were being counted—often twice or three times—among the faithful for political ends. "The idea that evangelicals are taking over America is one of the greatest publicity scams in history," Wicker concludes, "a perfect coup accomplished by savvy politicos and religious leaders, who understand media weaknesses and exploit them brilliantly."

. . . Part of the problem is that the national-level journalists who control the discourse tend not to be, nor have they ever been, committed religionists as adults. Newsrooms are determinedly secular, and self-consciously so. Afraid of being tagged as godless liberals, most journalists would never dream of calling BS on believers. (Emphasis mine)

Thanks to richie73