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risingstanding t1_izfauqo wrote

I'm interested in a related question: how did people's perception of what the moon even is, change across time? I'm aware of the idea in cartoons and such that people used to think it was cheese or whatever. But anyway, what kind of info is there on all this? Now, when I look up at the moon, I think of it as a place, I think of it as rock...what did people think before they knew about planets, and then being round? When did people think of the moon as a place you could go?

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Maddog_95 t1_izh95rm wrote

One time I looked up at the moon and I swear it looked like I was in a dark container and there was a tiny hole to a bright light. Made me wonder what other things people perceived or stories they came up with!

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yaminokaabii t1_izhga17 wrote

I once saw an image depicting different cultures' perspectives on the heavenly bodies that would've answered you wonderfully. One was that the sun, moon, and stars were big balls moving around a planar Earth... another that the sky was a dome and they were little holes cut out to reveal the infinite fire beyond.

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Snowy_Eagle t1_izgrcjl wrote

This is exactly where my mind went too. The visual data your eye is receiving might be more or less the same (especially if you are out in a place minus the light pollution). But the way you are perceiving it could still be completely different...

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