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| Cultural Speculation | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 1 2008, 01:36 PM (643 Views) | |
| Ànraich | Aug 1 2008, 01:36 PM Post #1 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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We speculate on living things a lot, but what about culture? We talk about exobiology, but what about sophontology (study of sapient beings and their cultures)? Let's try speculating on alien cultures for once. Most of us have made aliens before and we have at least one sapient being, so why not give it more than just a life and brain? I will do one later, I have an idea for an Arid World sapient, but I need to finish the sapient first. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| lamna | Aug 1 2008, 03:50 PM Post #2 |
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Well if they are anything like man, then they will have, or have had monarchs. They would have had to have had leaders for there socity to work when it was primative. |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Saxophlutist | Aug 1 2008, 04:25 PM Post #3 |
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I actually did some stuff for my Europan sapients. I wasn't able to to much culture, but there's quite a bunch that you could do culturally explaining things like the hydrothermal vents. There would be some interesting mythological things to look at. |
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| Ànraich | Aug 1 2008, 04:57 PM Post #4 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Think of the possible governments that could never exist in the human world! Working communism! Casteocracy! Psyocracy! But think less on the governments and more on the culture. What kinds of art would something with infrared vision create? What would the foods be like? What kind of religions exist? Think of the histories you could make! |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| Carlos | Aug 1 2008, 06:39 PM Post #5 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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I've once planned a project named "Fulgya", although it hasn't started yet. It is more or less about the speculative culture of a race of sentient lemurs |
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Lemuria: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/ Terra Alternativa: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/ My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Carliro ![]() | |
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| lamna | Aug 1 2008, 07:50 PM Post #6 |
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Communism can't work. Even if it did one day will reach out to the stars and crush it. But Bolshies can't win because it does not work. Mind you I expect when a civilization gets advanced enough that nobody works. When you have machines that can make anything and masses of power, the only jobs left are the Arts and Science, anyone that does not want to do those just enjoys themselves. I wonder what would happen if we meet a civilization that wiped out one of its own races? Would we cut of relations or what? Edited by lamna, Aug 1 2008, 07:51 PM.
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Cynovolans | Aug 1 2008, 09:52 PM Post #7 |
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Servant to Empress Min
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For culture, it will be certain that kings or leaders will tell everyone that they are Gods, or reincarnations of a God. Arts? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this, art evolves in different ways. Though I would expect for there to be carvings in stone, that would be an easy way for a God-King to make sure everyone remembers them. |
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I wish I could give the public a true picture of the queen as she appeared at her best, but this would be impossible, even had she permitted a photograph to be taken, for her charming play of expression while in conversation, the character and intellect which were then revealed, were only half seen when the face was in repose. -Lilias Underwood when speaking of Empress Myeongseong "I was born in the dark. I went out into the light, and your Majesty, it is my displeasure to inform you that I have returned to the dark. I envision a Seoul of towering buildings filled with Western establishments that will place herself back above the Japanese barbarians. Great things lie ahead for the Kingdom, great things. We must take action, your Majesty, without hesitation, to further modernize this still ancient kingdom."-Min Young-ik to Empress Myeongseong | |
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| lamna | Aug 2 2008, 06:34 AM Post #8 |
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I wonder if a culture could evolve without religions? I expect there would not be many. Tool makers tend to think everything is made, because that is where pots and tools come from, it must be where the world comes from right? |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Saxophlutist | Aug 2 2008, 11:38 AM Post #9 |
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It would be fairly hard to do. The only instance I can imagine is if it was a culture that evolved from a post-singularity civilization. |
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| Livyatan | Aug 2 2008, 01:26 PM Post #10 |
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For art to develop in an alien culture, the aliens would first have to have the same attraction to, or even obsession with, beauty that we humans have. |
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The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link | |
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| Saxophlutist | Aug 2 2008, 01:53 PM Post #11 |
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Art would seem easy enough to develop for most sophonts with a good visual or auditory sense. Art through chemosensation would be interesting to think about. Although, it would seem to be difficult for a primarily chemosensitive sophont to progress very far without external help. Aliens with electromagnetic vision seem to have the best chances for a more developed culture. |
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| Canis Lupis | Nov 12 2008, 05:43 PM Post #12 |
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Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.
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Before I joined this forum, I was working on a series of stories where some of my friends and I find life in the universe, and are forced to leave Earth and go on research expeditions for the UGA (Universal Government Association). We try to develop alliances with primitive races, keep alliances with advanced ones, and fight off evil aliens. Before I stopped, I was developing the culture of Chupacabras, a primitive, blood-thirsty race living on a hothouse world. They worship animal deities and believe that their king is a god that descended from heaven to solve all their problems. They are not very artistic and not very intelligent, but they are very athletic and are good at farming. Before they eat, they present their meals to a statue of the animal they are about to eat (the animals on their planet are gods, as mentioned above), thanking them for giving some of their flesh to preserve their race. Thoughts on this? Edited by Canis Lupis, Nov 12 2008, 07:02 PM.
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| Cynovolans | Nov 12 2008, 06:32 PM Post #13 |
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Servant to Empress Min
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The Chupacabras are not so quite different from Earth cultures. Many kings were worshipped as Gods, and many religions were focused around animals and how they gave thanks to them for offering themselves. |
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I wish I could give the public a true picture of the queen as she appeared at her best, but this would be impossible, even had she permitted a photograph to be taken, for her charming play of expression while in conversation, the character and intellect which were then revealed, were only half seen when the face was in repose. -Lilias Underwood when speaking of Empress Myeongseong "I was born in the dark. I went out into the light, and your Majesty, it is my displeasure to inform you that I have returned to the dark. I envision a Seoul of towering buildings filled with Western establishments that will place herself back above the Japanese barbarians. Great things lie ahead for the Kingdom, great things. We must take action, your Majesty, without hesitation, to further modernize this still ancient kingdom."-Min Young-ik to Empress Myeongseong | |
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| Ànraich | Nov 12 2008, 09:19 PM Post #14 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Imagine a space faring race that had no computers; they did all the math by hand. Or perhaps creatures that worship planets. Perhaps they named their planets after gods (like we did), and then entered a dark age. Then, upon discovering their past and entering the stars, mistook the names to be literal, rather than just names. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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