Barge away, Anon! I'm sorry to have inserted myself into your conversation.
I agree with you that Anon probably didn't mean any of the things a statement like that can carry, but I do still feel we have to be careful about how we toss conclusions like that about. This is totally in keeping with the conversation that you were having above, reading a statement like that, you internalize it and if you don't look at it and think about it right away, or if you see it often and repeatedly, it will start to inform your opinions on things. It can be very seductive to rely on the things you 'know' when what you know has been informed by dozens of opinions not your own and throw-away comments that haven't been fully thought through.
I'm actually a little sorry to be missing out on what you are discussing. A large part of what you're talking about is what I tend to think of as the apple effect.
What I mean by that is that an author is never just talking about/mentioning an apple. The bible is, I believe, the most widely read document in the world and there are millions of people who know Eve's story and the Garden of Eden. Also, if we're going with a conservative estimate, there are roughly three generations of North Americans who have grown up with Disney's Snow White somewhere in their past. So if an author mentions an apple they're not just talking about a red fruit that's crisp and juicy, they are mentioning everything the reader has ever known or related to apples.
Re: i'm really sorry, everyone please scroll ;;
I agree with you that Anon probably didn't mean any of the things a statement like that can carry, but I do still feel we have to be careful about how we toss conclusions like that about. This is totally in keeping with the conversation that you were having above, reading a statement like that, you internalize it and if you don't look at it and think about it right away, or if you see it often and repeatedly, it will start to inform your opinions on things. It can be very seductive to rely on the things you 'know' when what you know has been informed by dozens of opinions not your own and throw-away comments that haven't been fully thought through.
I'm actually a little sorry to be missing out on what you are discussing. A large part of what you're talking about is what I tend to think of as the apple effect.
What I mean by that is that an author is never just talking about/mentioning an apple. The bible is, I believe, the most widely read document in the world and there are millions of people who know Eve's story and the Garden of Eden. Also, if we're going with a conservative estimate, there are roughly three generations of North Americans who have grown up with Disney's Snow White somewhere in their past. So if an author mentions an apple they're not just talking about a red fruit that's crisp and juicy, they are mentioning everything the reader has ever known or related to apples.
this response is all over the place, sorry!