h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Pity, I wanted to ask him, don't the Godsacks equally resemble wombs?

And what would be the value of representing brain sections? Did Michelangelo have a means of dissecting brains in neat slices? It seems he would only have had a hope of communicating with us, several centuries after his time, when such images have become available and recognisable. If this really is the thesis -- that Michelangelo feared the Inquisition and therefore left a message that could only be decoded by later generations, whose technical advances he foresaw -- then we really are in Da Vinci Code territory.

Too much to worry about beyond such interesting things.

The picture interpretations are apparently very difficult to perceive to those without familiarity with neuroanatomy. So, I tried to get some decent pictures to make the comparisons more obvious to the uninitiated. I searched the web, finally finding several appropriate pictures, but no really good ones. In the mean time, I was having difficulty deciding which brains Michelangelo had likely used for his models. I thought the dog fish was good, as was the frog and cat. But the higher brain may be more similar to a dog than a baboon.

So, this development will just take more time, which I may not get until summer (obviously December 27 was a long time ago, but that was Christmas vacation, then my father died December 26, so things really do take time).

I did appreciate all of the comments. As some noted, this may just not be the right forum for me to further test my ideas, so anything that the guides wish to do with this space is alright with me. That some object to the discussion of evolution with respect to the Sistine Chapel also doesn't bother me. The facts always end up speaking for themselves.

For recumbent man (and I think we need to change the organization of our society so there are safe roads for recumbent bikes to go everywhere),

Yes, womb-sacks is an interesting view. But when a brain is dissected (perhaps after being allowed to soak in red wine for a few weeks to harden), the coverings of the brain (the dura mater), would take on a reddish-purple color and look just like they are depicted by Michelangelo. Further, Michelangelo, who saw himself primarily as a sculptor, good with carefully fashioning marble, would have had no problem getting through a thick skull to see a brain. The only real views that he portrays are either outer views or mid-sagital sections, which are the easiest to make.

Well, thanks for the reply. How hard does the sozzled (is that the technical term?) brain get? Would he have sawed through it?

My main bone of contention is that the illustration of the Christ in Triumph (or is it judgement?) has had a little bit of blue sky ignored, in order to make it resemble the brain section better.

marking this

By the way: thanking Dr A for his concern - my experience is that cycling is now safer than it was when I began urban cycling, 45 years ago, in Dublin. Stats suggest that it is now safer to be on a bike than in a car, but that's another discussion . . . A901036

I haven't studied sozzling, but I imagine that occurs when the living brain is exposed to alcohol. When the cadaver brain is exposed to formalin for a few weeks, its consistency becomes that of firm cheese. I dont' know what effect wine would have, but possibly similar (that was Dr. Harry Jerison's suggestion).

The blue sky in the Last Judgement probably represented the cerebral ventricles and sulci - where the water in the brain resides.

Well, it sure is a fascinating possibility!

Makes you think again about the word 'godhead' . . .