Reflections on Palaeolithic Cave Art, Girls at Puberty and the Origin of Religion

It is not a stretch of imagination to link seclusion of girls at puberty with the Palaeolithic cave art. The widely accepted view about cave art suggests that the cave artists had been shamans. This shamanic origin can imply that the religion emerged in the times when the cave artists were active. It has already been posited in the relevant literature that the Venus figurines representing mobile art of the period suggests their connection to the rites of girls at puberty. This paper explores the possibility that there could have been a link between the cave artists and the girls at puberty. This connection means that the religion might have started with an association to the girls’ puberty rites

Is Self-Representation Hypothesis about Venus Figurines tenable?

This post discusses the hypothesis that the Venus figurines from prehistory represents the bodies of women who created them. It looks at some considerations that make this hypothesis more complex than it seems

Prehistoric Venuses and Puberty Rites

The following article describes a new opinion on explaining the Prehistoric Venus figurines. Main idea behind the document was to stir some discussion on looking at those figurines from a very different point of view. The author genuinely believes that this view represents a very strong contender for a highly plausible explanation. Since their discovery, the pre-historic Venus figurines had been subjected to much scrutiny and the theories to explain their existence abound. Present article is an attempt to provide another viewpoint that cannot be easily ignored. The idea reintroduced here is that these figurines are the representations of personage or personages related to the girls at puberty. The supporting arguments are provided from various angles including ethnographic studies

A short note on Remembered Present and failures of our reasoning

This post is a philosophical musing. My main point in this article is about our routine decision making processes are largely governed by ‘rule-of-thumb logic’. This logical process may be far more pervasive than meets eye and may even be embedded in our biology

Visual Intelligence; How We Create What We See by Donald D. Hoffman, W. W. Norton, New York, 2000

This is a review of the book on visual intelligence written by Prof. Donald D. Hoffman. This review questions the view that we create what we see. It is argued that we rather create a representation of reality. This view is peddled using a discussion around frames of reference

Antiquity of Secluding Girls at Puberty

In this article, it is pointed out that the seclusion of girls at puberty could have existed for more than 40,000 years. The more likely mechanism of diffusion of the ideas around seclusion was the migration of our ancestors not the cultural transmission itself. The customs of Australian Aboriginal people provide a window into the past and some basis for fathoming the antiquity of the girls’ puberty rites

A guided tour through a labyrinth of biological and behavioural information- A Review of Behave by Robert Sapolsky (Vintage, London, 2017)

Behave by Robert Sapolsky (Vintage, London, 2017) is a book full of information about human aggression. Even though Prof. Sapolsky does not provide new solutions to deal with human aggression, he tells us about its biological roots and makes us look at the aggressors with a broader understanding. Our behaviours are more complex than what a single factor explanation can provide. The reviewer feels that the author does not discuss the democracy as a possible solution to the aggression as a societal problem. The reviewer also finds that the book could have appreciated the role of Lamarckian inheritance in some behavioural traits rather than being somewhat dismissive. In summary, this is a valuable addition to any collection of books

Some Thoughts on the Nature of Reality

This essay contains few thoughts on reality in general, Kantian view of it, whether mathematics captures it and why reality is an interconnected phenomenon. This is not a comprehensive essay on reality but some personal views that may be useful in understanding our grasp of reality

Free Will, Libet Experiments, Priming, Breakdown of Bicameral Mind and “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, Penguin (Australia), 2012

“Thinking Fast and Slow” by Prof. Daniel Kahneman is an excellent book on behavioural economics that also makes a reader wonder about other ideas such as free will, priming and the role of language in his or her daily existence. This review is not meant as an easy read. It switches topics often to convey several ideas within a short essay

A Short Note on Paradoxes Associated with Venus Figurines

In this note few common paradoxes about the Paleolithic figurines and Cave paintings will be discussed and the reconciliation of these seeming paradoxes within the seclusion-of-girls-at-puberty framework will also be explored