History vs. Sex
Uwe Müller
I just found out, that Google has more hits for 'history' than for 'sex'.
Since I had imagined the ratio to be other way round, questions concerning
the state of our culture pop up.
Are we moving towards extinction, with people beein interested more in
history than in procreation? Or is it a victory of the mind over the glands,
since only a few people do sex for procreation anyhow?
Can we apply medievalistic methods to the present culture and expect valid
answers?
Have Fun
Uwe Mueller
Dick Wisan
>
> ...It could, of course, mean that people who use 'history' as a search
>term do so frequently whereas people who use 'sex' as a search term
>quickly find that they need to be a little more specific? To put it
>another way, I bet that all the people who search using 'history' are
>interested in sex but that not all those who search using 'sex' are
>interested in history.
On the other hand, some of us are ashamed to ask explicitly (Papa Uberich,
of course). But, if you keep looking... _somewhere_ in history there must
have been sex.
--
R. N. (Dick) Wisan Email: wis...@hartwick.edu
Snail: 37 Clinton St., Oneonta, NY 13820, USA
Just your opinion, please, Ma'am. No fax.
John G Harrison
--
John G Harrison
"Dick Wisan" <wis...@catskill.net> wrote in message
news:9s3vo...@enews1.newsguy.com...
> On the other hand, some of us are ashamed to ask explicitly (Papa Uberich,
of course). But, if you keep looking... _somewhere_ in history there must
> have been sex.
Should we re-phrase the Subject as Sex v History. Is anyone willing to take
bets on the winner?
Cheers
John
Frank Martin
there are some juicy bits about Louis XIII being a
flagellant!
Is this what you had in mind?
"Uwe Müller" <uwemu...@snafu.de> wrote in message
news:9s2ss8$nuk$1...@unlisys.unlisys.net...
Paul J Gans
You raise an interesting point. In my opinion folks
*are* interested in history. But we teach little of
it because we, the teachers, don't understand this
interest.
---- Paul J. Gans
Frank Martin
Yeah, Man!
"John G Harrison" <jo...@abercromby14.freeserve.co.uk> wrote
in message news:9s48vs$ep3$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
Chris Dickinson
>But, if you keep looking... _somewhere_ in
>history there must have been sex.
Well, there is Reay Tannahill's book - "Sex in History" - so she
evidently thought so.
Paul J Gans
>Dick Wisan writes:
>>But, if you keep looking... _somewhere_ in
>>history there must have been sex.
>Well, there is Reay Tannahill's book - "Sex in History" - so she
>evidently thought so.
It is, I think, a chicken and egg sort of thing. Without
historians we'd not know about sex in the past, and without
sex in the past we'd not have historians.
---- Paul J. Gans
Mark
Nice illusion, but I'll put you back on your feet. The word "history" is
a word that is very often used in IT. E.g., it refers to site
statistics, earlier versions of software, log files of search engines,
and background thoughts considering all kinds of technical stuff. Not to
mention the expression "but that's all history!" (trying several
variants, I found more than 8000 hits).
Table: a few searches for "history"
==================================================
search terms hits
--------------------------------------------------
that's **** h 8000
history 33.5 mln
h+sex 7.6 mln
h+software 3.2 mln
h+computer 3.2 mln
h+statistics 1.3 mln
h+(comp/softw) 5.3 mln
h+comp+softw 1.5 mln
h+(comp/softw)-sex 4.6 mln
"h of sex" 2,515
"h of computer science" 650
"h of computing" 13,000
=================================================
Note: history-(medieval OR mediaeval) gave
more than 35.3 mln hits. Table shows results
of AltaVista's search engine.
Clearly, of 33.5mln sites about history, at least 12 mln (7.6+4.6) don't
have anything to do with medieval or modern history (unless you want to
argue that everything is connected to history somehow).
The groups of sites listed above are not all exclusive. I don't know how
many sites deal with the history of sex, but I "guess" that a vast
majority offers sexy histories rather than a history of sex. The phrase
"history of sex" gives only 2,515 results. There are only 650 sites that
are likely to discuss the history of computers, software and related
subjects. There are 13,000 sites related to "history of computing", but
this result is biased, because there is a journal with that title, which
is very often linked to by a limited community of authors and
publishers.
Unfortunately, the AltaVista engine, which I used, is not very accurate.
This is shown by the fact that there are more sites dealing with history
other than medieval history than sites that simply contain the word
history. So, my results offer no more than a very rough indication of
the existence of sites related to (medieval) history.
Renea Mccauley
I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
Angel
"John G Harrison" <jo...@abercromby14.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9s48vs$ep3$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
>
Martin Reboul
Renea Mccauley wrote...
> "I think sex is better then Logic.. but I cant prove it"
>
> I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
Personally speaking, I have usually found it not only better, but more
agreeable, satisfying and easier to understand too. And I'm not talking
about Nykosian Locic either. I also don't know who said it, but I'm
intrigued as to WHY they may have said it? The mind boggles......
Cheers
Martin
Bryn Fraser
Reboul <martin...@virgin.net> carefully and thoughtfully licked
their quill and wrote the following:
Any chance of a sworn affidavit...
>
>
--
Bryn Fraser
--
Close alliances with despots are never safe for free states.
Demosthenes...
Martin Reboul
Bryn Fraser wrote
> >Renea Mccauley wrote...
> >
> >> "I think sex is better then Logic.. but I cant prove it"
> >>
> >> I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
> >
> >Personally speaking, I have usually found it not only better, but more
> >agreeable, satisfying and easier to understand too. And I'm not talking
> >about Nykosian Locic either. I also don't know who said it, but I'm
> >intrigued as to WHY they may have said it? The mind boggles......
> > Cheers
> > Martin
>
> Any chance of a sworn affidavit...
Only from me.....
Chris Dickinson
>Renea Mccauley wrote...
>
>> "I think sex is better then Logic.. but I cant prove it"
>>
>> I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
>
>Personally speaking, I have usually found it not only better, but
more
>agreeable, satisfying and easier to understand too. And I'm not
talking
>about Nykosian Locic either. I also don't know who said it, but
I'm
>intrigued as to WHY they may have said it? The mind boggles......
> Cheers
> Martin
The principle would seem to be - "Cogito ergo cum".
Chris
David C. Pugh
Chris Dickinson <ch...@dickinson.uk.net> wrote in message
news:9t6c79$4ld$1...@neptunium.btinternet.com...
> >> "I think sex is better then Logic.. but I cant prove it"
> >>
> >> I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
> >
(...)
> The principle would seem to be - "Cogito ergo cum".
or, as a slightly more in-period logician used to say: "Frustra fit
per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora" -- translated, "You get
frustrated trying to do to lots of people what you could do to a
smaller number". Clearly the first Viagra advert. ;-)
David
Martin Reboul
Chris Dickinson wrote
But not prematurely if possible........
Michael Kuettner
David C. Pugh <davi...@online.no> wrote in message
news:0NyJ7.2721$B87....@news1.oke.nextra.no...
>
> Chris Dickinson <ch...@dickinson.uk.net> wrote in message
> news:9t6c79$4ld$1...@neptunium.btinternet.com...
>
> > >> "I think sex is better then Logic.. but I cant prove it"
> > >>
> > >> I cant remember who said this but I agree *g*
> > >
>
> (...)
>
> > The principle would seem to be - "Cogito ergo cum".
>
Shouldn't that be "Coito ergo cum" ? ;-)
> or, as a slightly more in-period logician used to say: "Frustra fit
> per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora" -- translated, "You get
> frustrated trying to do to lots of people what you could do to a
> smaller number". Clearly the first Viagra advert. ;-)
>
Ah - that's a quote from Cicero; it's from his famous book
"About the planning of group-sex parties".
It's the first sentence of chapter I - "How many guests should
one invite ?"
;-)
Michael Kuettner
PS : Shouldn't that be "trying to do lots of people" if I
remember my slang correctly :-P
Bryn Fraser
<mik...@eunet.at> carefully and thoughtfully licked their quill and
wrote the following:
>
Did Cicero not also write:
aliquid magno cum gemitu civitatis sufferre
>
>
>
--
Bryn Fraser
A proud sponsor of ADOPT A TROLL
--
When I was a boy I was told anybody could become President; I am beginning to
believe it.
-Clarence Darrow
Frank Martin
early so allowing the REAL party to start.
"Michael Kuettner" <mik...@eunet.at> wrote in message
news:YbBJ7.17$GE6....@nreader1.kpnqwest.net...
Michael Kuettner
Bryn Fraser <br...@finhall.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ahGBcBAp...@finhall.demon.co.uk...
<snip non Latin parts ;->
> Did Cicero not also write:
>
> aliquid magno cum gemitu civitatis sufferre
Yep; "The citizens will suffer anything from
anybody with a big dick"
but you've castrated the quote.
He went on
"sed non in Monica Levinskia !"
Please note the Ablativus Accusativus
Americanensis in the construction
And didn't Priapos write :
Timeo penises et dona ferentes !
Wait a minute; where is my point ?
;-) [1]
Michael Kuettner
[1] and also :-P
Michael Kuettner
Frank Martin <fr...@general.com.au> wrote in message
news:9t6u5i$2o68$2...@otis.netspace.net.au...
> I think you invite a vast throng; the dreary ones leave
> early so allowing the REAL party to start.
>
Take it up with the "magister orgiae" !
And please don't use Neo-Anglicisms like
"REAL party". It should be "SPQR[1] party".
(See also "De re nonnaturalis" or your local
sex-shop ;-))
Classically yours,
Michael Kuettner
[1]"Sodomiti PenetratiQue Romanorum"
Martin Reboul
Frank Martin wrote ...
> I think you invite a vast throng; the dreary ones leave
> early so allowing the REAL party to start.
Sadly, the exact opposite is usually the case...............
Paul J Gans
Yes. The good folks depart early and have their own
parties. All you are left with at the end is Hines
and Nyikos, draining the bottles.
----- Paul J. Gans
Afropea
>news:ahGBcBAp...@finhall.demon.co.uk...
><snip non Latin parts ;->
>
>> Did Cicero not also write:
>>
>> aliquid magno cum gemitu civitatis sufferre
>Yep; "The citizens will suffer anything from
>anybody with a big dick"
OK. Sorry I've got to dispute this to but I had this quote lying around.
Thought I might as well go for it.
<<Roman art and literature corroborate and continues the Greek aesthetic
distaste for men with large penises; as late as ca A.D. 400 the author of the
Historia Augusta vilifies the emperor Heliogabalus by elaborating on this taste
for men with large penises.>>
from John Clarke- "Looking at Lovemaking"
There's also a lovely quote from Aristophanes about Greek taste, but I'll save
that one for another time.
There were additional quotes that indicate that there were some Romans who were
more inclined towards large genitalia but I can't say if this was due to native
Roman or foreign influence.
Now judging from the fabliaux I would think the Western European Medieval
standard of male attractiveness leaned towards the larger sized man. Wonder
what changed things? Germanic influence? A fading of Greek influences? Not
sure how things stood in Byzantium or anywhere else.
Eve
David C. Pugh
Afropea <afr...@aol.com> wrote in message
(...)
> Now judging from the fabliaux I would think the Western European
Medieval standard of male attractiveness leaned towards the larger
sized man. Wonder what changed things? Germanic influence? A fading
of Greek influences? Not sure how things stood in Byzantium or
anywhere else.
Good question. Not my period but the Germanic influence looks
promising to me -- though then you'd have to get into social
anthropology for a discussion of whether all non-urban, non-Classical
societies valued big ones and if so, what made the Greeks buck the
trend.
If there's any Byzantine material directly on the subject I don't know
about it, but I would cite in evidence Manuel Comnenus, who unlike his
dad and granddad was a ladies' man (although totally outclassed by
Cousin Andronicus), and who tried to introduce the Western-style
tournament -- carrying a whopping great lance around that other men
couldn't wield etc. etc., nudge nudge. He took a lot of criticism for
this from more traditional Byzantines. Oh dear, I'm also remembering
that Cuz Andronicus had himself painted in a peasant smock and
wielding a sickle. Scissors cuts paper wraps rock? And then there was
the Leonine oracle: "For he who bears a dagger will not escape the
sword." I don't suppose we could discern an undertext of Big Crude
Latin Dick contra Small Civilised Greek Penis in the Greek v. Latin
struggle that culminated in the Fourth Crusade?
No, surely, not -- there's no market for the application of outré
speculations about gender and genitalia to serious medieval history.
Is there now? I think I'll go and lie down instead, scattering smileys
behind me......
:-)
:-)
:-)
David