[kj] BTATS symbol - again

[ade]

Pete, look at your computers 'desktop' - what do you see?

  -----Original Message-----
  From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net]On
Behalf Of Dave Axford
  Sent: 12 April 2005 00:37
  To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
  Subject: Re: [kj] BTATS symbol - again





  > Symbols are just meaningless symbols.I feel that they are used to
mystify
  > uninteresting things.If its not written in a language then its
meaningless.

  Ouch! That's quite a statement Peter. Iconography has been used for many
centuries to relay both simple and complex information to the masses.

  >   The only things that should be of interest is trying to decipher what
  > ancient symbols mean,before they had alphabets.

  Cultures may have languages, but only until recently, the majority of a
given population could read or write. Even today in our modern western world
we have many, many examples of iconography that are seen virtually
everywhere. It's just a very expedient way of explaining things.

  >     Symbols are open to misinterpretation,Which makes them redundant in
the
  > field of knowledge.

  Yes and no. If I'm driving down the street in a country where I don't
speak the language and I see a red octagon with something 'scribbled' on it,
I have a pretty good idea that it means, "STOP". On the other hand, if
cultural differences or biases make interpretation selective as opposed to
universal, then we have a problem.

  >     If it isnt widely understood then it is useless
  > information.........

  But for many (ancient) cultures it may very well have been a 'universal
symbol' or message. If that culture should die out, then we as outsiders may
have a difficult time interpreting it. That shouldn't diminish the
importance or relevance of those ideas to those who once understood it.


  Dave
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