THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON. BUT PERSPECTIVE SHAPES THE BELIEF.

TL;DR

names shape the perspective of the observer, be it positive, negative or neutral

language reflects the culture

changes in language can be a hint to changes in culture, important transformations, historical events, ...

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Some fifty feet away from the metro station grew a small specimen of a thornapple. I've visited the place for over 10 years and have never seen it growing there. There was a construction site over there in recent months so very likely some dormant seeds from the seed bank were brought back to the surface. For safety reasons it was removed prior to publishing of this piece.

Datura is a beautiful plant and I enjoy the little twisted, white trumpets with the characteristic shade of green of its leaves. For several hundreds of years it was used as a healing herb and a drug, sometimes a poison, especially the seeds. Even though artificial substitutes have been proposed scopolamine (extracted from the plant) remains to be used for medicinal purposes to this day.

The plant has other names, such as "devils trumpets", which is admittedly less descriptive (like thornapple, describing the shape of the fruit). Several parts of the plant were used by the native healers (by the church called witches, warlocks, ...) so by slapping a "devil" label people could be easily discouraged from using them in any form at all.

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

In a worldbuilding sense this means that while the dose makes the poison (rational point of view), the name given to it provides a first impression and a sense of perspective (emotional point of view). It gives the primary shade of colour, emotion, attraction or repulsion. The importance of the name comes up quite often in myths, legends and fables. In "Spirited away" it is literally used as means to Spirited Away spoilers

bind someone by taking away their real name and substitute it with a new one

. It plays an important part in Theon Greyjoys pov when he is A Song of Ice and Fire spoilers

trapped by Ramsey Bolton, who gives him the name of Reek. Reclaiming his name is what drives his character forward in the later parts of "A song of Ice and Fire" cycle.

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Language can be a great way to smuggle pieces of lore, which hint at beliefs, superstition, likes, dislikes and preferences. With regards to this year's Summer Camp I think it'd be fun to think how beliefs have changed over time. What might've happened that shifted people's perception on certain: professions, plants, animals, natural phenomena from negative to positive or vice versa? Maybe it was related to the old superstitions' decay? Maybe the inhabitants of the world sought refuge and found it in the place they least expected? Names can tell a great story even by themselves. Think of how many tens or hundreds of them you can pass by on your way to work or school? The inspiration is endless.

#SummerCamp #DailyInspirations