Jarvis on 15/3/2010 at 22:56
All symbols are inherently meaningless. We imbue them with any value they might hold. There's nothing inherently more meaningful in getting a tattoo in an actual ancient language or a fictional one. The only question you should be asking is which has meaning to you enough to warrant a life-long branding.
It's like the bow in I do in all the martial arts classes. Most do the fist in the open palm. The fist represents the warrior, and the palm represents knowledge, or wisdom. But what about the bow I do for Keysi? Keysi was created very recently in Spain, and has its own bow in. Does that mean it as less value, just because it was made up recently as opposed to a long time ago? Or does it have less value because fewer people use it in the world compared to other bow ins? In my opinion, it means exactly as much as the students imbue it with.
But I'm sure you felt this way already.
Namdrol on 15/3/2010 at 23:36
Quote Posted by Jarvis
All symbols are inherently meaningless. We imbue them with any value they might hold.
All is inherently meaningless, but taking this as a constant, I'm not sure if the above is true and I would even say it's almost a contradiction in terms.
Zephriel on 16/3/2010 at 02:01
Given that the branch of archaeology I'm working towards (epigraphy/iconography/linguistic archaeology) deals with symbols, it's important to me to look into something before I put it anywhere permanent.
Digital Nightfall:
Quote:
I commonly have people ask what the glyph on the TDS t-shirt (74) I sometimes (often) wear means. My answer? "Nothing. It's just from a video game." And they always find that a perfectly satisfying answer. Of course if I ever run into a Thief fan (very rare in real life) they know exactly what it means and don't need to ask.
Precisely. I've got no problem offering that explanation to people. If they ask for more of an explanation, I'll offer one. I'll even explain why I chose those particular glyphs. Most people, upon seeing the glyphs, probably won't realize they're from a game unless they're Thief fans, in which case they'll be like a flag to a fellow enthusiast. It's like any number of buttons, ribbons, hankies, bumper stickers, jerseys, hats, etc.
Jarvis:
Quote:
All symbols are inherently meaningless. We imbue them with any value they might hold. There's nothing inherently more meaningful in getting a tattoo in an actual ancient language or a fictional one. The only question you should be asking is which has meaning to you enough to warrant a life-long branding.
That's why it's important to me to get the most commonly accepted meaning for the one I'm looking at. Symbols have only the meanings we give them, as you mentioned, so if there's a consensus on the meaning, I want to make sure I get the right ones. I've already got some symmetry going with the tattoos I have now and I'd like to keep it that way.
The Lock/Unlock idea is an important concept to me. An archaeologist digs up the past, unlocking/uncovering that which was hidden, and then sets about preserving that thing-- locking it, if you will (often in glass cases in museums). For me, the discovery and preservation of the past is very, very important. So yes, if I can find glyphs that fit that, I'll get them done. I happen to like the look of the Thief glyphs, and it's the one game series of which I have been a die-hard fan. I'm geeky/nerdy on several fronts and I fly that flag proudly. Combining the two flavours makes me happy.
Incidentally, two of the tattoos I'm thinking of getting are "I am not a number-- I am a free man!" in Babylonian (my prof sent that to the class in an email to see if we could translate it from Babylonian to English on the fly) and possibly "It belongs in a museum!" in ancient Greek. The Greek one I'll wait on until I can speak the language. Give me about four years; next year is Biblical Hebrew and Latin.
R Soul:
Quote:
As long as you know it's geeky, you'll be under no illusions. There have been a few people who thought it would be cool.
Cool is in the eye of the beholder. Sure, it's incredibly geeky. To other geeks, however, it may well be a cool thing. Mostly, though, I'm considering getting it because
I like it and it means something
to me, not because it has any importance to or impact on anyone else.
Jarvis on 16/3/2010 at 03:46
Quote Posted by Namdrol
All is inherently meaningless, but taking this as a constant, I'm not sure if the above is true and I would even say it's almost a contradiction in terms.
I said all symbols are inherently meaningless. Maybe another way to say it is "symbols have no inherent meaning". To imbue something with meaning is not "inherent". he statement isn't a contradiction so much as a clarification as to the source of value behind symbols.
The whole point of saying such is to counterpoint Zylonbane's statements.
JonesCrusher on 19/3/2010 at 02:42
what a cool idea...I think the glyphs are very easily translated into tattoos....I really like the 074 lock glyph too,its well balanced,interesting enough,and I may just get one myself..:p
now.. where it will go however I will have to think long and hard about:D
Nephthys on 19/3/2010 at 05:26
very interesting indeed. A shame a lot of these glyphs were only seen for a few seconds, with no explaination for them.
Hope you get some answers!
