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Cultural Universals may confuse Aliens

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posted on Aug, 17 2010 @ 02:36 AM
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I've been pondering on this, and want to discuss this simple thought, please provide a link if my topic has already posted.

From wiki:



A cultural universal (as discussed by George Murdock, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Donald Brown and others) is an element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all human cultures worldwide. Some anthropological and sociological theorists that take a cultural relativist perspective may deny the existence of cultural universals: the extent to which these universals are "cultural" in the narrow sense, or in fact biologically inherited behavior is an issue in the "nature versus nurture" controversy.


Source: en.wikipedia.org...

This is a long list from the above source:

List of cultural universals
Among the cultural universals listed by Brown (1991) are:

Language and cognition

Main article: Linguistic universal
Language employed to manipulate others
Language employed to misinform or mislead
Language is translatable
Abstraction in speech and thought
Antonyms, synonyms
Logical notions of "and," "not," "opposite," "equivalent," "part/whole," "general/particular"
Binary cognitive distinctions
Color terms: black, white
Classification of: age, behavioral propensities, body parts, colors, fauna, flora, inner states, kin, sex, space, tools, weather conditions
Continua (ordering as cognitive pattern)
Discrepancies between speech, thought, and action
Figurative speech, metaphors
Symbolism, symbolic speech
Synesthetic metaphors
Tabooed utterances
Special speech for special occasions
Prestige from proficient use of language (e.g. poetry)
Planning
Units of time

Society

Personal names
Family or household
Kin groups
Peer groups not based on family
Actions under self-control distinguished from those not under control
Affection expressed and felt
Age grades
Age stati
Age terms
Law: rights and obligations, rules of membership
Moral sentiments
Distinguishing right and wrong, good and bad
Promise/oath
Prestige inequalities
Statuses and roles
Leaders
De facto oligarchy
Property
Coalitions
Collective identities
Conflict
Cooperative labor
Gender roles
Males dominate public/political realm
Males more aggressive, more prone to lethal violence, more prone to theft
Males engage in more coalitionist violence by raping people
Males on average travel greater distances over lifetime
Marriage
Husband older than wife on average
Copulation normally conducted in privacy
Incest prevention or avoidance, incest between mother and son unthinkable or tabooed
Rape, but rape proscribed
Collective decision making
Etiquette
Inheritance rules
Generosity admired, gift giving
Redress of wrongs, sanctions
Sexual jealousy
Shame
Territoriality
Triangular awareness (assessing relationships among the self and two other people)
Some forms of proscribed violence
Visiting
Trade

Myth, ritual and aesthetics

Magical thinking
Use of magic to increase life, win love,
Beliefs about death
Beliefs about disease
Beliefs about fortune and misfortune
Divination
Attempts to control weather
Dream interpretation
Beliefs and narratives
Proverbs, sayings
Poetry/rhetorics
Healing practices, medicine
Childbirth customs
Rites of passage
Music, rhythm, dance
Play
Toys, playthings
Death rituals, mourning
Feasting
Body adornment
Hairstyles
Dragon myths
creation, end times myths

Technology

Shelter
Control of fire
Tools, tool making
Weapons, spear
Containers
Cooking
Lever
Tying material (i.e., something like string), twining (i.e. weaving or similar)



posted on Aug, 17 2010 @ 02:57 AM
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What do you think?

Cultural Universals may confuse Aliens?

Discuss



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