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NL888 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
As vividly as a mandrill's bottom?
Does " as vividly as a mandrill's bottom" mean " as vividly as a monkey's red buttocks"?
Context:
The roots of religion
To an evolutionary psychologist, the universal extravagance
of religious rituals, with their costs in time, resources, pain and
privation, should suggest as vividly as a mandrill's bottom that
religion may be adaptive.
MAREK KOHN
Context:
The roots of religion
To an evolutionary psychologist, the universal extravagance
of religious rituals, with their costs in time, resources, pain and
privation, should suggest as vividly as a mandrill's bottom that
religion may be adaptive.
MAREK KOHN
Top answer
Yes
- Yes
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5 Answers
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So the author says "religion may be adaptive as a monkey's buttocks which can sit everywhere" or "religion may be adaptive as a barber's chair that fits all buttocks"?
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I don't think the thought is clearly expressed by the writer. But I think the idea is this.
A mandrill's red buttocks suggest that nature is adaptive.
The universal extravagances of religion similarly suggest that religion may be adaptive.
I don't know where you get the idea of a barber's chair from!
A mandrill's red buttocks suggest that nature is adaptive.
The universal extravagances of religion similarly suggest that religion may be adaptive.
I don't know where you get the idea of a barber's chair from!
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Cool.
But it's hard for me to think that a mandrill's red buttocks is an expression of extravagance of Mother Nature.
But it's hard for me to think that a mandrill's red buttocks is an expression of extravagance of Mother Nature.
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The writer who quotes this continues to say:
Nature is a miserly accountant, grudging the pennies, watching the clock, punishing the smallest extravagance.
Nature is a miserly accountant, grudging the pennies, watching the clock, punishing the smallest extravagance.
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