River

Interesting.. I guess the translation " missile" was not the best choice in words. Perhaps " projectile" would have been a closer fit ...or maybe " thrown rocks". If it is indeed " thrown rocks" perhaps the verse is describing some sort of a meteor shower that took place. Jinns ( Supernatural Beings) were created 2,000 years before humans, and so , they witnessed quite a few number of cosmic events. And not all Jinns resided on Earth. According to the Book of Enoch , Azazel ( Iblis) expelled his party of Jinns from "heaven" to Earth ( where they were banished).

tribalbeeyatch

How would one communicate via synaesthesia? Synaesthesia is a blurring of the distinctions between sensory modalities. This is a subjective experience, and, as such, the blurring is not experienced outside of the synaesthetic mind. How would this serve as a means of communication?

Kat_Somm_Faen

I will support you at missile - the word is older than a rocket and includes projectile weapons. Meaning Missile as in ICBM is a very narrow definition of misile. Etimology - Latin missilis, from mittere to throw, send.

So a arrow is a missile or any projectile weapon for that matter.

But as far as lihgt being anything that reflects light - that is very broad indeed. A lamp is a light source. If we use your definition of "lamp" we arrive at erroneuous conclusion that a mirror is a lamp, a rock is a lamp, a flower is a lamp, a man is a lamp, a dog is a lamp - they all reflect light.

River

Synaesthesia is indeed the blurring of sensory modalities. However, so is every event perceived in one's brain as an element of subjective experience. Synaesthesia is the means by which perception is enhanced allowing for feats that are usually not perceived as normal. It is also believed that Synaesthesia can also be induced by LSD, and various hallucinogens. Prophet Soloman, based on Mystic Jewish and Islamic literature has always been seen as a Prophet with an altered state of mind ( however, not through drugs).

Demigawd

You have got to be kidding me!

I offer a historical explanation of projectile weaponry, and you talk about mythical bogey men witnessing meteor showers.

And supposedly Jinn (Djinni, Efreet, Jann, Marid, whatever) predate modern humanity by 2k years? That would make them around 102k years old? Give me a freakin' break! Parrotting a particular culture's mythology will get you nowhere around here, River.

River

You are entitled to your opinions as well as your definition of what constitutes " bogeymans". However, this does not imply that what you are saying is necessarily true.


(perhaps the Jinns are 102k years old , as you stated)

echidna

River, I find it confusing that some events you choose to interpret literally while others you choose to interpret metaphorically.

You readily accept that Solomon can communicate with an ant, and yet quickly defend calling the moon “a lamp” as only figurative.

How on earth do you decide when to use a figurative interpretation and when to use a literal one ? Your interpretations follow a confusing zig-zag of literal and metaphorical which only a Believer could surely follow. But hardly a path which could convince anyone rationally.

To an outsider the answer seems clear, that when someone has made the premise that the Quran is the Word of G_d, then of course, the interpretation which fits the facts, must be the True one. When you assert that some criticism here is logically flawed, surely you can see how logically flawed your line of reasoning is.

tribalbeeyatch

So far, so good, but a property that is necessary to a means of communication is intersubjectivity. So, while speech and hearing are both subjective to some degree, for example, the addition of the intersubjective property of a shared language is necessary for this type of communication to occur. I'm wondering where intersubjectivity might be applied in the case of synaesthesia and thus render it a potential means of communication. No, synaesthesia is not "enhanced" perception, and hence I'm reluctant to credit it with any "feats". LSD's effects (which are thought to also disinhibit sensory input by modulating Raphe nucleus function, if memory serves) are a good example, I think, of why synaesthesia is more likely a hindrance to rather than a means of communication. Have you ever had a conversation with a person who was tripping on LSD? If so, then you know why I would suggest that.

I can think of examples in which synaesthesia might be advantageous in conveying ideas. A musician, for example, might be moved by an aural synaesthesia to alter her interpretation of a particular musical piece in a way that is more evokative, for example. Note, that in this case there is already an intersubjectivity at work between performer and audience, a shared language if you will, in the form of music. Also, the performer's synaesthesia might be just as likely to lead her to change her interpretation in ways that are confusing or otherwise unpalatable to her audience. Note also, that synaesthetics of the same type (e.g. aural->visual, visual->aural, etc.) don't report a consistent 'language'. By that I mean that a middle C might evoke the color purple in one subject but the color orange in another. So, by this, I hope you can see that synaesthesia can serve as an impediment to communication even between synaesthetics of the same type -- not to mention the same species.

Demigawd

You are absolutely correct, River. Nothing I have written is "necessarily true." Therefore, nothing you've stated is true either. How then do we decide what is true or false? Hmmm... Lemme think. A good criteria that springs to mind is decision based upon observation and experimentation, rather than cheering for the home team (Christianity for me; Islam for you).

Ok. In the spirit of that "reasoning", perhaps Zeus and his siblings imprisoned the titans in Tartarus. Perhaps Odin and his brothers created humanity. Perhaps the pharaoh of Egypt and/or the emperor of Rome were really Gods.

See what I am presenting? To give credence to one particular mythology requires one to look at all other mythologies with equal credulousness. Have you done so? Why not?

Magus55

And by what basis do you determine that your observations and experimentations are both valid and accurate? Answers based on observation after all, are only educated guesses, and in no way necessarily tell the truth that you claim to be using observation to find.