Episode 6: Elephant Inside, Tail Outside
from Views from Cleve-Mandu Podcast Hosted by Stetson and Manjul
In today’s episode, Manjul quizzes Stetson on the meaning of Nepali proverbs. This fun exercise is one entry in the larger mission of the show, which includes exploring similarities and differences across our different backgrounds. We had a hunch we would find some surprising areas of cultural resonance. Human cultures, despite their diversity, often share universal elements. Plus, there is a shared population history for people of European and South Asian ancestry due to out-migration from the Pontic Steppe during the Bronze Age. This migration is already thought to have contributed to some amount of cultural overlap, including similarities in mythology, art, and language (i.e. Indo-European languages). Apart from these deeper ties, there has been ample time in recent history for cross-pollination and exchange between these two civilizations too. After the proverbs guessing game, we offer some broader reflections on popular conceptions about Eastern and Western cultural comparisons. We explore to what extent these ideas are consistent with our experiences and knowledge. This includes touching on a distinction from the field of cultural evolution: WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) societies versus non-WEIRD societies. Views from Cleve-Mandu is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Views from Cleve-Mandu at clevemandu.substack.com/subscribe
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