And now for something completely different ..

[Peter Korsten]

2012/8/3 Jay Vaughan <jayv at synth.net>

> A specious argument.  Mall of America's artists most definitely would have
> had some influence from the art-schools interest in Mayan/Ancient cultures,
> so its not a big surprise you could find this similarity.
>

Huh? "Most definitely"? You really think that Mayan and Balinese
architecture is standard material for architecture students?

It's a DOOR. It's a hole in a wall to walk from one space to another. It
doesn't take much fantasy to look at it as if it were a mouth.

Are the languages of the Mayans and Balinese, of the time period of the
> carvings/temples being discussed, fully accessible to us?
>
> No.  We only have the physical artworks these peoples left behind.
>

First of all, that's a pretty strong assumption. Because you don't have
access to those languages, or at least you think you don't, you take a
bunch of photos, without any other context, and start drawing conclusions
on those.


> Its based on actual comparisons with real evidence you can see and touch
> for yourself - not some treatise on what 'languages of the period' may have
> sounded like.
>

What evidence? It's circumstantial at best. Again, you can't just take a
couple of photographs in isolation, and draw conclusions from that. You
need to look at the whole picture, and that includes so much more than just
imagery.

But since you're so keen on the visuals, where in Latin America do you find
something like Borobudur?

Also, a not-so-insignificant difference would be that the pyramids in Latin
America were primarily places for human sacrifice.

I'm thinking you're seeing rationalization that wasn't, factually,
> presented, Peter.
>

No, I'm comparing the arguments that come from a very unscientific page
somewhere on the internets to the arguments of someone who's studies
include the same area.

Look outside the box.  There may be more to learn.
>

Your problem is that you're always looking for a box to look outside of. If
there isn't such a box, you'll invent one.

>From a psychological point of view, it would be interesting to try to
figure out why you always think that things are being kept hidden from the
world at large and, in particular, you.

- Peter
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