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The Reluctant Dragon represents the inner turmoil Grahame felt between his creative,
artistic self -- the dragon -- and his dutiful, banker self embodied by the fabled dragon
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  • 00:18

    Vsauce!

  • 00:20

    Kevin here.

  • 00:21

    Fighting an inflatable dragon with a plastic sword.

  • 00:25

    Which is all you can do with a dragon.

  • 00:27

    They’re fairy tale foes in the west.

  • 00:29

    But for some reason, the dragon image has existed all over the world since the dawn

  • 00:34

    of civilization.

  • 00:36

    So is the dragon just a fantasy cliché, or does it help explain our evolution, embody

  • 00:43

    our oldest fears, and unite all of humanity?

  • 00:47

    And when old maps marked unexplored territories with, “Here be dragons.”

  • 00:52

    Well...where be dragons?

  • 00:55

    Everywhere.

  • 00:57

    South America, Central America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia - the dragon

  • 01:05

    is a universal ancient concept.

  • 01:08

    Long before legends of English knights besting maiden-devouring, fire-breathing dragons,

  • 01:13

    the Aztec worshipped Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent sky dragon god of wisdom and life.

  • 01:19

    And the ancient Greek serpent dragon Ladon was trusted with guarding immortality-granting

  • 01:24

    golden apples until he was defeated by the demigod Heracles.

  • 01:28

    Ladon, like many dragons, was very snake-y.

  • 01:31

    Wait, why are dragons and snakes so closely related?

  • 01:36

    To get to our imagination’s ultimate predator, we have to start with the first persistent

  • 01:41

    predator of our evolution.

  • 01:44

    Molecular Phylogeneticists who study DNA to date organisms, date like time not date like...y'know...

  • 01:53

    believe that our earliest placental mammal ancestors began flourishing within 400,000

  • 01:58

    years of dinosaur extinction about 65.5 million years ago.

  • 02:03

    But snakes basically as we know them today were around 100 million years ago.

  • 02:07

    They had about 20 million years of alone time eating placental mammals before predatory

  • 02:13

    birds joined the party, and had another 2 million before the first carnivorous mammals

  • 02:18

    evolved.

  • 02:19

    Snakes had been eating every iteration of our evolving ancestors for millions of years

  • 02:25

    - so by the time homo sapiens evolved and developed language, we were talking about

  • 02:31

    our oldest arch-enemy -- snakes.

  • 02:35

    In what’s considered the oldest known great piece of literature, Mesopotamia’s Epic

  • 02:39

    Of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s immortality is stolen by a snake.

  • 02:44

    A snake makes him mortal.

  • 02:47

    The Abrahamic origin story says that a serpent convinced Eve to eat forbidden fruit from

  • 02:52

    the tree of knowledge of good and evil by promising that, “her eyes would be opened.”

  • 02:58

    She and Adam were subsequently banished from an immortal paradise, but the mortal threat

  • 03:03

    of snakes might have literally helped our eyes.

  • 03:07

    The Snake Detection Hypothesis suggests that visual systems of primates evolved to detect

  • 03:13

    dangerous animals - primarily venomous snakes.

  • 03:17

    In The Fruit, The Tree, And The Serpent, anthropologist Lynne Isbell explains the hypothesis like

  • 03:22

    this: Snakes evolved to be difficult to see and mortally dangerous.

  • 03:26

    They coil their camouflaged bodies and remain motionless until they attack.

  • 03:31

    Surviving the peril of snakes for millions of years required selective pressure favoring

  • 03:37

    primates’ specialized visual systems.

  • 03:40

    And compared to other mammals, the pulvinar region of the brain, which helps visually

  • 03:44

    detect relevant objects, is disproportionately large in primates and humans.

  • 03:50

    Studies from different international labs have detailed the ability of humans’ enhanced

  • 03:54

    visual relay system to recognize snakes.

  • 03:59

    And this sight is preconscious.

  • 04:01

    Blindsight, which lets even those with cortical blindness respond to visual stimuli without

  • 04:07

    knowingly perceiving it, allows us to detect snakes and react without being consciously

  • 04:12

    aware of them.

  • 04:13

    Basically, we can notice and react to a snake without having to think, “There is a snake,

  • 04:18

    I’d better watch out!”

  • 04:21

    Or like explorer Percy Fawcett wrote after dodging the attack of a bushmaster, “I had

  • 04:26

    not seen it until it flashed between my legs, but the ‘inner man’ - if I can call it

  • 04:31

    that - not only saw it in time, but judged its striking height and distance exactly,

  • 04:36

    and issued commands to the body accordingly!”

  • 04:39

    Fawcett’s “inner man” was confirmed by a 1993 study on “Conditioned electrodermal

  • 04:45

    responses to masked fear-relevant stimuli.”

  • 04:49

    Not very catchy.

  • 04:51

    Consistent with the hypothesis, the lemurs of Madagascar, an early branch of primates

  • 04:56

    living on an isolated island off the coast of Africa with no venomous snakes, do not

  • 05:02

    fear snakes and have poor vision.

  • 05:06

    Armed with the vision to detect them, we quickly learn to fear snakes.

  • 05:11

    Ophidiophobia, or a fear of snakes, is one of the most common and intense phobias in

  • 05:16

    the world.

  • 05:17

    In The Dragons Of Eden, Carl Sagan notes dream studies in which almost half of the people

  • 05:21

    surveyed reported dreams about snakes.

  • 05:25

    And while modern psychologists’ studies show neither human infants nor monkeys raised

  • 05:30

    in captivity inherently fear snakes, studies of fear association showed both are prepared

  • 05:36

    to learn.

  • 05:37

    Lab monkeys showing no initial fear response were conditioned to fear live as well as toy

  • 05:42

    snakes after viewing videos of wild monkeys demonstrating a fear response to snakes.

  • 05:48

    Researchers were unable to condition the monkeys to fear non-threatening stimuli like flowers

  • 05:54

    or toy rabbits.

  • 05:57

    We notice and fear snakes as part of a co-evolution arms race for survival that eventually led

  • 06:03

    to us telling legendary stories of our origins amongst serpents.

  • 06:09


  • 06:10

    Skeptics of the Snake Detection Hypothesis would like to see more data, like studies

  • 06:14

    done with primates reacting not just to snakes, but to other primate predators like leopards

  • 06:20

    and eagles.

  • 06:21

    And in any case, dragons don’t just look like snakes, dragons have legs, they can fly

  • 06:28

    and they have a mouth full of ferocious sharp teeth.

  • 06:31

    Dragons are more like a snake mixed with a leopard and an…eagle.

  • 06:39

    The three predators monkeys are screaming about.

  • 06:43

    When Anthropologist David Jones studied howler monkeys, he noticed they use three distinct

  • 06:48

    alarm signals that lead to specific instinctive safety actions.

  • 06:53

    One call alerts the group to a snake and they stand up on their hind legs to look at the

  • 06:57

    ground and then climb to safety in the tops of trees.

  • 07:01

    Another call identifies a hunting bird or raptor and monkeys abandon the trees, hit

  • 07:06

    the ground and take cover in bushes.

  • 07:08

    Finally, a call for a leopard or large carnivoran causes them to run into the trees and out

  • 07:14

    onto the thinnest branches that can’t support heavier meat-eating mammals.

  • 07:18

    In An Instinct For Dragons, Jones writes that the dragon is a composite creature of the

  • 07:23

    three major predators of primates -- serpent, carnivore and raptor.

  • 07:29

    He believes combining them into one monster is a natural indexing mechanism performed

  • 07:34

    by the brain to consolidate a message.

  • 07:38

    That message is to recognize, beware, and honor what Georgess McHargue called in her

  • 07:43

    1968 book The Beasts Of Never, “the oldest, the first, and the most basic monster.”

  • 07:51

    McHargue was right.

  • 07:53

    The Epic Of Gilgamesh not only mentions dragons but featured the demigod Humbaba, whose dragon-like

  • 07:59

    characteristics included the head of a lion, the claws of a vulture, a body covered in

  • 08:04

    thorny scales, and a tail that ended in a snake’s head.

  • 08:08

    Also, a phallus that ended in a snake’s head.

  • 08:13

    Phallus means weiner.

  • 08:16

    Conquering or harnessing the power of this symbol of nature’s chaos granted the hero

  • 08:21

    the power to create order.

  • 08:23

    Chinese emperors are said to be descended from dragons, and adorned their kingdoms with

  • 08:28

    dragon imagery.

  • 08:30

    In the East, civilizations were created with the blessing of dragons.

  • 08:34

    In the West, civilizations drew power from tales of defeating them.

  • 08:41

    But something weird happened to dragons in Western culture over the last hundred years

  • 08:45

    - these manifestations of evil that needed to be vanquished to secure our future became

  • 08:52

    friends with our future.

  • 08:55

    Dragons became playmates for children.

  • 08:59

    The Reluctant Dragon, written by Kenneth Grahame in 1898, was the first popular western story

  • 09:05

    in which a dragon is a sympathetic character.

  • 09:08

    It tells the tale of a bookworm child who befriends and defends a peaceful, poetry-loving

  • 09:13

    dragon from the stubborn, ideological local villagers who believe all dragons must be

  • 09:20

    destroyed as tradition demands.

  • 09:22

    The valiant dragon slayer of legend, St. George, is summoned to kill the dragon but the child

  • 09:27

    successfully convinces the knight to spare his harmless friend.

  • 09:31

    To appease the blood-thirsty villagers, they stage a fake battle in which George innocently

  • 09:36

    pierces a fold of skin on the dragon’s neck.

  • 09:40

    George then parades the dragon through town and declares he is no longer a threat.

  • 09:45

    The knight, the child and the dragon walk away peacefully, hand-in-hand into the night.

  • 09:52

    Peter Green wrote in a 1959 biography of Grahame that he grew up in the countryside of Berkshire

  • 09:58

    during a time so simple kids entertained themselves by playing games like “push the heavy log.”

  • 10:06

    As an adult, Grahame was reluctantly forced into banking in the booming city of London

  • 10:11

    after being unable to afford his dream of going to Oxford University.

  • 10:16

    At the height of uncontrolled development of manufacturing during the industrial revolution,

  • 10:20

    the whimsy and serenity of Grahame’s rural youth contrasted starkly with the rigid responsibilities

  • 10:27

    of banking in polluted, urban 19th century London.

  • 10:31

    The Reluctant Dragon represents the inner turmoil Grahame felt between his creative,

  • 10:37

    artistic self -- the dragon -- and his dutiful, banker self embodied by the fabled dragon

  • 10:42

    slayer St. George.

  • 10:44

    In the end, the knight, the child and the dragon make peace with one another at a time

  • 10:50

    when Grahame reconciled with his own struggle between being an artist and being a prominent

  • 10:55

    member of The Establishment.

  • 10:59

    The first friendly dragon story is a negotiation between the rigid control of modern humanity

  • 11:05

    and the anarchist entropy of nature brokered by the precocious innocence of adolescence.

  • 11:12

    The dawn of modern science and human advancement required a compromise between our past and

  • 11:17

    our future.

  • 11:18

    We became friends with an enemy we had fought for time immemorial.

  • 11:23

    An enemy who represents time immemorial.

  • 11:28

    The ouroboros, a serpent or dragon eating its own tail, symbolizes the infinite cycle

  • 11:34

    of nature -- creation from destruction.

  • 11:37

    A fundamental truth recorded by the earliest civilizations.

  • 11:43

    Life and death eternal.

  • 11:48

    Today, we don’t need dragons.

  • 11:55

    Not like we used to.

  • 11:57

    The millions-year war is over and we’re still here.

  • 12:02

    Living and breathing the fire of curiosity and courage.

  • 12:06

    Instinctively exploring the deepest, darkest, depths of the unknown.

  • 12:09

    And overcoming the impossibly powerful enemy guarding the most valuable treasures imaginable.

  • 12:16

    Using our minds to detect problems and invent ways to conquer challenges.

  • 12:22

    It’s how we evolve.

  • 12:26

    But into what?

  • 12:30

    Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche warned, “He who fights too long against dragons becomes

  • 12:36

    a dragon himself...”

  • 12:42

    Devoid of the monsters that strengthened us for this moment, we’re left with the power

  • 12:47

    to decide.

  • 12:48

    “Am I the knight?

  • 12:51

    Am I the child?

  • 12:55

    Or am I the dragon?”

  • 13:00

    And as always - thanks for watching.

  • 13:13

    Don't you know?

  • 13:21

    You were brave with a free-talking mind and a voice that is still a cry for life.

  • 13:28

    And no matter what we want, we want to be loved.

  • 13:35

    Yes we were here.

  • 13:38

    We were afraid.

  • 13:40

    We paid them for the right to commit our own ego suicide.

  • 13:48

    But I believe it's just a ride.

All

The example sentences of ARTISTIC in videos (15 in total of 232)

getting verb, gerund or present participle in preposition or subordinating conjunction touch noun, singular or mass with preposition or subordinating conjunction your possessive pronoun artistic adjective side noun, singular or mass can modal help verb, base form you personal pronoun feel verb, non-3rd person singular present more adverb, comparative calm adjective and coordinating conjunction relaxed verb, past participle .
artistic adjective self noun, singular or mass - - the determiner dragon noun, singular or mass - - and coordinating conjunction his possessive pronoun dutiful adjective , banker noun, singular or mass self noun, singular or mass embodied verb, past participle by preposition or subordinating conjunction the determiner fabled verb, past participle dragon noun, singular or mass
to to discover verb, base form the determiner mysteries noun, plural of preposition or subordinating conjunction life noun, singular or mass , not adverb through preposition or subordinating conjunction science noun, singular or mass , but coordinating conjunction through preposition or subordinating conjunction their possessive pronoun own adjective artistic adjective expression noun, singular or mass .
artistic adjective mastery noun, singular or mass and coordinating conjunction business noun, singular or mass growth noun, singular or mass , not adverb seeing verb, gerund or present participle women noun, plural as preposition or subordinating conjunction some determiner sort noun, singular or mass of preposition or subordinating conjunction objects noun, plural to to be verb, base form
artistic adjective dynasty noun, singular or mass , and coordinating conjunction she personal pronoun would modal have verb, base form been verb, past participle brought verb, past participle up preposition or subordinating conjunction in preposition or subordinating conjunction very adverb close verb, base form proximity noun, singular or mass to to a determiner
bodies noun, plural as preposition or subordinating conjunction the determiner medium noun, singular or mass for preposition or subordinating conjunction his possessive pronoun artistic adjective vision noun, singular or mass , but coordinating conjunction who wh-pronoun often adverb objectifies noun, plural , ignores verb, 3rd person singular present or coordinating conjunction silences noun, plural
incorporated verb, past participle a determiner lot noun, singular or mass of preposition or subordinating conjunction like preposition or subordinating conjunction my possessive pronoun artistic adjective day noun, singular or mass in preposition or subordinating conjunction the determiner video noun, singular or mass me personal pronoun drawing verb, gerund or present participle me personal pronoun editing noun, singular or mass
campbell proper noun, singular s proper noun, singular soup noun, singular or mass everyday adjective of preposition or subordinating conjunction his possessive pronoun life noun, singular or mass , andy proper noun, singular found verb, past tense artistic adjective inspiration noun, singular or mass on preposition or subordinating conjunction his possessive pronoun own adjective dining noun, singular or mass table noun, singular or mass .
of preposition or subordinating conjunction an determiner artistic adjective and coordinating conjunction artistic adjective rendition noun, singular or mass of preposition or subordinating conjunction these determiner aliasing verb, gerund or present participle patterns noun, plural that preposition or subordinating conjunction you personal pronoun get verb, non-3rd person singular present we personal pronoun also adverb saw verb, past tense this determiner
to to accomplish verb, base form a determiner variety noun, singular or mass of preposition or subordinating conjunction tasks noun, plural , such adjective as preposition or subordinating conjunction applying verb, gerund or present participle artistic adjective filters noun, plural to to an determiner image noun, singular or mass , tuning verb, gerund or present participle
international adjective copyright noun, singular or mass law noun, singular or mass , and coordinating conjunction the determiner berne proper noun, singular convention proper noun, singular for preposition or subordinating conjunction the determiner protection proper noun, singular of preposition or subordinating conjunction literary proper noun, singular and coordinating conjunction artistic proper noun, singular works proper noun, singular . "
" look verb, base form buddy noun, singular or mass , i personal pronoun do verb, non-3rd person singular present n't adverb take verb, base form my possessive pronoun clothes noun, plural off preposition or subordinating conjunction for preposition or subordinating conjunction anyone noun, singular or mass , even adverb if preposition or subordinating conjunction it personal pronoun is verb, 3rd person singular present artistic adjective . "
some determiner children noun, plural that determiner show noun, singular or mass signs noun, plural of preposition or subordinating conjunction being verb, gerund or present participle gifted adjective in preposition or subordinating conjunction certain adjective academic adjective , athletic adjective and coordinating conjunction artistic adjective progress noun, singular or mass
we personal pronoun have verb, non-3rd person singular present to to develop verb, base form our possessive pronoun artistic adjective intuition noun, singular or mass to to be verb, base form able adjective to to express verb, base form our possessive pronoun ideas noun, plural
so adverb on preposition or subordinating conjunction the determiner artistic adjective side noun, singular or mass , i personal pronoun want verb, non-3rd person singular present to to create verb, base form more adverb, comparative finished verb, past participle work noun, singular or mass this determiner year noun, singular or mass .

Use "artistic" in a sentence | "artistic" example sentences

How to use "artistic" in a sentence?

  • The mathematician's best work is art, a high perfect art, as daring as the most secret dreams of imagination, clear and limpid. Mathematical genius and artistic genius touch one another.
    -Gosta Mittag-Leffler-
  • Tasting is an act of pleasure and writing about that pleasure is an artistic gesture, but the only true work of art, in the end, is another person's feast.
    -Muriel Barbery-
  • I wanted to only create a great perfume, not any perfume that would sell, but a great artistic one that the fans would not feel cheated by.
    -Lady Gaga-
  • Being surrounded by artistic and musical beauty soothes the soul, bringing both quiet calm and creative inspiration. . . .
    -Wayne D. Dosick-
  • Nast is an artist of uncommon abilities. His works evince originality of conception, freedom of manner, lofty appreciation of national ideas and action, and a large artistic instinct.
    -James Jackson Jarves-
  • The proper artistic response to digital technology is to embrace it as a new window on everything thats eternally human, and to use it with passion, wisdom, fearlessness and joy
    -Ralph Lombreglia-
  • I had always loved beautiful and artistic things, though before leaving America I had had very little chance of seeing any.
    -Emma Albani-
  • Education by choice, with its marvelous motivating psychology of desire for truth, will make life ever cleaner and happier, more rhythmical and artistic.
    -R. Buckminster Fuller-

Definition and meaning of ARTISTIC

What does "artistic mean?"

/ärˈtistik/

adjective
having or revealing natural creative skill.

What are synonyms of "artistic"?
Some common synonyms of "artistic" are:
  • creative,
  • imaginative,
  • inventive,
  • original,
  • expressive,
  • inspired,
  • poetic,
  • eloquent,
  • aesthetic,
  • cultivated,
  • sensitive,
  • perceptive,
  • discerning,

You can find detailed definitions of them on this page.

What are antonyms of "artistic"?
Some common antonyms of "artistic" are:
  • unimaginative,

You can find detailed definitions of them on this page.