A Brilliant Paradox

[mr_reed]

Then, on that same arid wind, he heard a voice, a different voice than the stentorian one which moments before had praised him. It was a voice the likes of which he had never heard, nor could ever afterward fully describe. It was a voice of stars and of the sea, of volcanoes and spring rain. It was a voice of moments, a voice of eons, of old

Comments

[mesahomie]

I find extremely appealing men choosing with their actions, as a decision made with words could hardly be described as making a decision.

Here, Alexander is informed that he has chosen recognition and fruition, denying himself longevity and comfort, and he accepts this, true preference revealed and unavoidable.

Neat.

[mr_reed]

Indeed. The ancient world was a world for men of action. Such men were revered as gods wherever they went. It was also a world of fierce war and awe astriking art. It’s unlikely this was coincidence.

The thing I find particularly interesting about this passage is, as mentioned in its title, the paradox: in order for Olympians to exists there must be men like Alexander doing great and glorious things in their name and according to their words, but these very things cause the world that produces such men to change bit-by-bit until it is eventually incapable of producing them, thus ending the Olympians once and for all. They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. But this is the way of logos, the cosmos, and even they gods must obey: One must not follow what is common; but, even though the Logos is common, most people live as though they possessed their own understanding of it. (Heraclitian fragment 2) The common is what is open to all, what can be seen and heard by all. To see is to let in with open eyes what is open to

[insert_nanotech]

Quite impressive, mr_reed. Your post inspired me to write probably the most controversial thing I have so far: "Subjugation as a Strategy of Evolutionary Survival". I'm curious what you would think of this.

Also: the trade-off between fruitfulness and longevity (exemplified in this account by Alexandrian Greece vs. the gerontocratic Eastern cultures) is well-known in evolutionary biology. It is known as r-K Selection Theory. Basically, organisms which colonize new territories tend to be highly active and have many offspring, but also shorter lives; whereas sedentary lifeforms tend to have fewer offspring but also live longer.

Humans are such animals, aren't we? =)