Phi

Golden ratio

The golden ratio, otherwise known as the Divine Proportion or Phi, is a mathematical ratio with special properties and aesthetic significance. An enormous number of things in the universe are engineered around the ratio, ranging from the human body to the ark of the covenant to snail shells to the orbits of the planets. Some argue that the prevalence of the Golden Ratio is positive evidence of a common design plan uniting a wide variety of phenomena which share only their creator in common.

Calculating

Phi is derived by dividing a line segment into two parts in such a way that the ratio of the smaller segment to the larger segment is the same as the ratio of the large segment to the whole. 

The number is irrational, meaning it never ends or repeats in a decimal system. To the first ten decimals, it is 1.6180339887 ...

A golden rectangle is one in which the ratio of length to height is 1:phi.

The divine ratio also makes an appearance in the Fibonacci sequence. The fibonacci sequence is derived by starting with 0 and 1, and then calculating the next number in the sequence by adding the last two together. Thus the sequence is 0, 1, 1 (0+1), 2(1+1), 3(1+2), 5(2+3), 8(3+5) and so on. The ratio of a number to the previous number in the sequence approximates the golden ratio, and comes to approximate it more closely as the values increase. Thus:

8/5 = 1.6

144/89 = 1.6179775280

10946/6765 = 1.6180339985

Examples

Because Phi is irrational, it is impossible for anything to measure at "precisely" the golden ratio. However, a large number of things approximate the golden ratio to a startling degree.

Architecture

The divine ratio and golden rectangles appear throughout ancient architecture and art. It was believed to be the most aesthetically pleasing and harmonious means of design. Statistical analysis seems to indicate that "people involuntarily give preference to proportions that approximate to the Golden Section." The Oxford Companion to Art, Ed. Harold Osbome, First Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1978, p.489.

• Egyptian pyramids were designed with reference to the golden ratio. Slant height / distance from center to perimeter = Phi;
• Greek Parthenon designed and constructed out of golden rectangles;
• Modern credit cards are golden rectangles;
• The painting, The Last Supper, is based on the golden ratio;
• The Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is based on the golden ratio;

In Genesis 6:15, God commanded Noah to build an ark saying, "And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits." The end of the ark is thus in a ratio of 5:3. Both are fibonacci numbers, thereby approximating phi at 1.667, so close as to be indistinguishable to the eye.

In Exodus 25:10, God commands Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant, in which to hold His Covenant with the Israelites, the Ten Commandments, saying, "Have them make a chest of acacia wood- two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high." 2.5/1.5 or 5/3 (a fibonacci relationship) = 1.667, again approximating Phi so closely as to be indistinguishable to the eye.

Biology

Humans

• The human head forms a golden rectangle;.
• The mouth and nose are each placed at golden sections of the distance between the eyes and the bottom of the chin.
• Whole body height / head to fingertips = Phi;
• Top of head to fingertips / head to navel and elbows = Phi;
• Top of head to navel and elbows / head to pectorals and inside top of arms = Phi;
• Top of head to navel and elbows / width of shoulders = Phi;
• Top of head to navel and elbows / length of forearm = Phi;
• Top of head to navel and elbows / length of shinbone = Phi;
• Top of head to pectorals / top of head to base of skull = Phi;
• Top of head to pectorals / width of abdomen = Phi;
• Length of Forearm / length of hand = Phi;

DNA

Each cycle of the DNA molecule measures 34 angstoms long by 21 angstroms wide. 34 and 21 are fibonacci numbers, as noted above. 34/21 is 1.619, approximating phi. Jean-claude Perez suggests there is a strong link between DNA and golden ratio in 1991, then again in 1997 in his book l'ADN décrypté. In this work, he shows that relative proportions of nucleotides within coding DNA sequences like genes or RNA strings are governed by specific Fibonacci and Lucas numbers sets. This discovery was validated particularly on all known HIV and SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) retroviruses whole genomes with Professor Luc Montagnier (the discoverer of HIV virus) which called the discovery a "DNA supracode" . 

DNA supracode is revealed by computing sets called "resonances" within any DNA sequence: specific nucleotides clusters like FFF (Fibonacci Fibonacci Fibonacci), LLL (Lucas Lucas Lucas), FFL (Fibonacci Fibonacci Lucas) or LFF (Lucas Fibonacci Fibonacci). An example of elementary FFF resonance: 144 contiguous TCAG bases contain exactly 55 bases T and 89 bases A or C or G. This kind of screening is processed along the DNA sequence, for all possible Fibonacci/Lucas combinations, and for all possible values (example here 144 89 and 55 are 3 consecutive Fibonacci numbers). Then there appear lots of "resonances". For example, in HIV whole genome, long of about 9000 bases, there are more than 50000 significant Fibonacci/Lucas resonances. The longer resonances (several hundred resonances) are overlapping about 2/3 of the whole HIV genome (6765 bases which is a Fibonacci number). 

Then, to explore both aesthetics and Ethics dimensions of this discovery, Perez published in 1994 an audio CD entitled "the first music of genes" - SACEM GEN0694 - (a subset of supracode for the oncogene KIRAS involved in cancers)... 

And also in 1995 sone thinkings related to Ethics of a discovery .

In 2008 Jean-claude Perez is publishing proofs on evidence of Golden ratio based rules at all levels of Life information: bioatoms, DNA, RNA amino acids or whole genomes 

Particularly he will publish a central book entitled " CODEX BIOGENESIS: les 13 CODES de l'ADN " (spring 2009) .

Human Genome

The book CODEX BIOGENESIS show that the whole Human Genome is controled by two BINARY CODES ATTRACTORS which provide a kind of self-organized bistable binary code like in computers.[1]

With the central following difference - the binary code within computers was invented artificially by humans and yet the binary code of Life has either “emerged” spontaneously perhaps by self-organization or was the intentional act of divine creation.

The ratio between both bistable states is exactly equal to “2” (the space between two consecutives octaves in Music...)

• The Top state is exactly matching with a GOLDEN RATIO...
• The Bottom state is also exactly related to Golden Ratio... 
• “Top” level = = 1 / Phi 
• “Bottom” level = 1 / 2 Phi 
• Top / Bottom = 2

Where Phi is the "Golden Ratio"

In 2009 new proofs were provided on the human Fractal Genomephysical and logical structure.

Other life

• The bodies of dolphins are defined by the golden ratio
• The bodies of ants are defined by the golden ratio
• Snail shells and many seashells are golden spirals, that is, a spiral formed by making successively smaller golden rectangles.
• In plants, petals, leaves, sections, and seeds, pinecones, pineapples and sunflowers all exhibit fibonacci numbers; 
• Fruit seeds form in golden spirals.

Astronomy

• Golden ratio in the planets: The orbital periods, mean distances, and orbital velocities of the planets in the solar system are all related by phi to a statistical significance of over 99%.
• The rings of Saturn form two golden sections, divided by the Cassini division.
  

Implications

Related References

External links

See Also

Read in another language

Yet Moses was INDEED a Prince, AND a Judge, and KNEW it

"Yet Moses was INDEED a Prince, 

AND a Judge, and KNEW it 

and thought the Hebrews 

would have understood it;  

but they stood in their own light, 

and thrust him away. 

See what base constructions malice puts 

upon the best words and actions. 

Moses, for reproving him, 

is presently charged 

with a design to kill him."

-- John Wesley

2:11 When Moses was grown he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens - He looked on their burdens as one that not only pitied them, but was resolved to venture with them, and for them.

2:12 He slew the Egyptian - Probably it was one of the Egyptian task - masters, whom he found abusing his Hebrew slave. By special warrant from heaven (which makes not a precedent in ordinary cases) Moses slew the Egyptian, and rescued his oppressed brother. 

The Jew's tradition is, that he did not slay him with any weapon, but as Peter slew Ananias and Sapphira, with the word of his mouth.

2:14 He said, Who made thee a prince? - He challengeth his authority; Who made thee a prince? - A Man needs no great Authority for giving a friendly reproof; it is an Act of Kindness; yet this man needs will interpret it an Act of Dominion, and represents his reprover as imperious and assuming. 

Thus, when people are sick of good discourse, or a seasonable admonition, they will call it preaching, as if a man could not speak a word for God, and against sin, but he took too much upon him. Yet Moses was indeed a prince, and a judge, and knew it, and thought the Hebrews would have understood it; but they stood in their own light, and thrust him away. 

#Acts 7:25|,27. Intendest thou to kill me? - See what base constructions malice puts upon the best words and actions. 

Moses, for reproving him, is presently charged with a design to kill him.

2:15 Moses fled from Pharaoh - God ordered this for wise ends. 

Things were not yet ripe for Israel's deliverance. 

The measure of Egypt's iniquity was not yet full; the Hebrews were not sufficiently humbled, nor were they yet increased to such a multitude as God designed : Moses is to be farther fitted for the service, and therefore is directed to withdraw for the present, till the time to favour Israel, even the set time, come. 

God guided Moses to Midian, because the Midianites were of the seed of Abraham, and retained the worship of The True God; so that he might have not only a safe, but a comfortable settlement among them; and through this country he was afterwards to lead Israel, which, that he might do the better, he now had opportunity of acquainting himself with it. 

Hither he came, and sat down by a well; tired and thoughtful, waiting to see which way Providence would direct him. 

It was a great change with him, since he was but the other day at ease in Pharaoh's court.

(The Doctor has completed assembly of K9 Mark II, his personal mobile gun platform and computer. He blows a dog whistle and it lifts its head.)

K9: 

Master?

Tom : 

It works, K9, It works. 

Listen, I've got a little surprise for you.

K9: 

Master?

Tom : 

You and I are going away 

on holiday.

K9: 

Affirmative.

Tom : 

A nice, long holiday.

K9: 

Affirmative.

Tom : 

Would you like that, K9?

K9: 

Affirmative!

affirmative!

affirmative!

Tom : 

Shush! Halergan Three's lovely, K9. 

You'll really like it. 

Beaches, palm trees, sunshine all day. 

Hot and —

(The Tardis goes completely dark. Then the main doors start to open and golden light floods in to organ accompaniment.)

GUARDIAN [OC]: 

Doctor.

Tom : 

Yes?

GUARDIAN [OC]:

Your presence is required.

Tom : 

Look, listen, I, I,

 I don't wish to appear rude, 

but who are you?

GUARDIAN [OC]: 

Do you really need to ask, Doctor?

Tom : 

Well, only A Guardian could —

(A rumble of thunder echoes.)

Tom : 

Oh, I see. 

Well, in that case, sir…

GUARDIAN [OC]: 

You will come to no harm.

Tom : 

Just as you say.

[Guardian's abode]

(Wind chimes sound in the flat area with a white rocks as a backdrop and a few small plants around. A wicker peacock chair stands under a sunshade next to a small table carrying a decanter and glasses. A man in a white suit with a red carnation in the lapel fades into view, seated on the chair.)

The White Guardian : 

Doctor, you have been chosen 

for a vitally important task.

Tom : 

That's very flattering, sir.

The White Guardian : 

It concerns The Key to Time. 

You know of The Key to Time?

Tom : 

Well, I've heard a few stories. 

Old legends, myths, that sort of thing.

The White Guardian : 

It is no myth.

Tom : 

Sorry, sir.

The White Guardian : 

The Key to Time 

is a perfect cube, 

which maintains 

the equilibrium 

of time itself.

(A holographic image of a spinning cube appears for illustration, then fades away.)

The White Guardian : 

It consists of six segments, 

and these segments are scattered 

and hidden throughout the cosmos. 

When they are assembled into the cube, they create a power which is too dangerous for any being to possess.

Tom : 

Well hidden then, I hope, sir.

The White Guardian : 

There are times, Doctor, when the forces within the universe 

upset the balance to such an extent 

that it becomes necessary 

to stop everything.

Tom : 

Stop everything?

The White Guardian : 

For a brief moment only.

Tom : 

Ah.

The White Guardian : 

Until The Balance is restored --

Such a moment is rapidly approaching. 

These segments must be traced and returned to me 

before it is too late, before The Universe is plunged 

into Eternal Chaos.

Tom : 

Eternal Chaos?

The White Guardian : 

Eternal as you understand the term.

Tom : 

Look, I'm sure there must be plenty of 

other Time Lords who'd be delighted to --

The White Guardian : 

I have Chosen You.

Tom : 

Yes, I was afraid you'd say something like that... 

Ah! You want me to volunteer, isn't that it?

The White Guardian : 

Precisely.

Tom : 

And if I don't?

The White Guardian : 

Nothing.

Tom : 

Nothing? You mean nothing will happen to me?

The White Guardian : 

Nothing at all. Ever.

Tom : Ah. What do they look like, these segments? How will I know them?

The White Guardian : They're all disguised.

Tom : Yes, I thought they might be.

The White Guardian : 

They contain the elemental force 

of the universe. 

They can be in any shape, form or size.

Tom : 

Then how will I recognise them?

The White Guardian : 

You will be given a locator.

Tom : 

Thank you.

The White Guardian : 

And an assistant.

Tom : 

An assistant….? 

Please, sir, on an assignment like this, 

I'd much rather work alone. 

In my experience, assistants mean trouble. 

I have to protect them 

and show them and teach them 

and couldn't I just — 

couldn't I just manage with K9?

The White Guardian : 

K9 is a mere machine.

Tom : 

He is a very sensitive machine…! Sorry, sir.

The White Guardian : You will find your assistant waiting for you in the Tardis.

Tom : 

Very well, sir. If you insist.

The White Guardian : One final thing, Doctor.

Tom : Yes?

The White Guardian : 

I am the White Guardian. 

In order to maintain the universal balance, there is also a Black Guardian, 

and he also requires the Key to Time, 

but for a different purpose. 

An evil purpose. 

He must not get it. 

Doctor, at all costs, 

you must prevent that.

Tom : 

How am I to prevent that?

The White Guardian : Beware the Black Guardian.

Tom : Beware The Black Guardian.

The White Guardian : 

Beware. Beware.

(The Guardian picks up his glass of green wine and fades away.)

[Tardis]

Tom : 

I'm so sorry, K-9, 

The Holiday's off.

ROMANA [OC]: 

Doctor?

Tom : 

(sotto) 

That's the new assistant.

(Tall, brunette, statuesque, aloof, wearing a floorlength white dress fastened only at the waist, and her hair held up by a tiara. Everyone welcome Mary Tamm)

ROMANA: 

My Name is Romanadvoratnelundar.

Tom : 

I'm so sorry about that. Is there anything we can do?

ROMANA: The President of the Supreme Council sent me.

(That should be the Doctor, but he's forgotten all about the last story.)

ROMANA: 

I was told to give you this --

(Romana hands over a rod.)

Tom : 

What's this?

ROMANA: According to my instructions, 

it's the core to The Key of Time.

Tom : 

Ah.

ROMANA: 

Very exciting, isn't it?

Tom :

 Yes, I suppose it must be for someone as young and inexperienced as you are.

ROMANA: I may be inexperienced, but I did graduate from the Academy with a triple first.

Tom : I suppose you think we should be impressed by that, too?

ROMANA: 

Well, it's better than scraping through with fifty one percent at the second attempt.

Tom : That information is confidential! That President. I should have thrown him to the Sontarans when I had the chance.

Something About Moses

“Suddenly it’s, 

‘I no longer have 

the chains of this role 

and 

this responsibility,’

He doesn’t have to be THAT Superman anymore.”

Moses KNEW he couldn’t create 

a Society of Free Men 

from a Generation 

born as slaves.

…So Moses kept His People wandering [in The Desert] 

until The Previous Generation has DIED.

From The Nile to The Borders of Canan at Gaza 

is an 8 Day Walk.

Moses made them walk round and around 

in circles in The Desert 

for 40 Years.

Rameses, Prince of Egypt :

The Slave who would be King. 

Captain, The Robe of State.

 

His Hebrew Mother brought it to the prison 

before she died. 

Kindly Old Soldier :

I'd rather this be Your Armor. 

Rameses, Prince of Egypt :

You will have need of A Scepter. 

Give me this binding pole. 

Here is your King's Scepter, 

and here is Your Kingdom, 

with The Scorpion, The Cobra, 

and The Lizard for subjects. 

Free them, if you will. 

Leave the Hebrews to me. 

Give this Prince of Israel one day's ration 

of bread and water. 

Kindly Old Soldier :

One day's ration? 

It will take many days to cross This Wilderness, 

if he can cross at all. 

Rameses, Prince of Egypt :

I commend You to Your Hebrew God 

who has No Name. 

If you die, it will be by His Hand, 

not by mine. 

Farewell, my one-time brother. 

Hyah! 

Into the blistering wilderness of Shur, 

The Man Who Walked with Kings now walks alone. 

Torn from the pinnacle of royal power, 

stripped of all rank and earthly wealth, 

a forsaken man without a country, without a hope, 

his soul in turmoil like the hot winds and raging sands that lash him with the fury of a taskmaster's whip. 

He is driven forward, always forward, 

by a God unknown, 

toward a land unseen... 

Into the molten wilderness of sin, 

where granite sentinels 

stand as towers of living death 

to bar his way. 

Each night brings 

the black embrace 

of loneliness. 

In the mocking whisper of the wind, 

he hears the echoing voices of the dark... 

Moses! Moses! Moses! 

Moses! Moses! Moses! 

His tortured mind wondering if they call 

the memory of past triumphs 

or wail foreboding of disasters yet to come 

or whether the desert's hot breath 

has melted his reason into madness. 

He cannot cool the burning kiss of thirst upon his lips nor shade the scorching fury of the sun. 

All about is Desolation. 

He can neither bless nor curse 

the power that moves him, 

for he does not know from where it comes. 

Learning that it can be more terrible 

to live than to die, 

he is driven onward through 

the burning crucible of desert, 

where holy men and prophets 

are cleansed and purged 

for God's Great Purpose --

Until at last, 

at the end of human strength, 

beaten into the dust 

from which he came, 

The Metal is ready 

for The Maker's Hand. 

And he found strength 

from a fruit-laden palm tree... 

and life-giving water flowing from 

The Well of Midian. 

Our Father is Jethro. 

He's Sheik of Midian. 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Strength to you, Stranger. 

Moses :

I am Moses, 

Son of Amram & Yochabel. 

Health, Prosperity, 

Life to You, Jethro of Midian. 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Sephora has told me of Your Kindness. 

Let us break bread while my daughter brings meat. 

You have come far.

 

Moses :

From Egypt. 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Across The Desert on foot? 

He Who Has No Name surely guided your steps. 

Moses :

No Name. 

You Bedouins know 

The God of Abraham? 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Abraham is The Father 

of many Nations. 

We are The Children of Ishmael, 

His Firstborn. 

We are The Obedient of God. 

Moses :

My People look to Him for Deliverance... 

but they are still in bondage. 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Tomorrow we leave for the high pastures beneath God's Holy Mountain. 

My Tent would be favored 

if you joined us.

 Moses :

I am A Stranger in a strange land. 

I have no wealth, no skill as A Shepherd, and it is Death to give sanctuary to a runaway slave. 

Jethro, Sheik of Midian :

Slave? Death? 

Not among Our People. 

You have Wisdom. 

You need nothing more. 

And There are Seven here 

to teach you the tasks of A Shepherd. 

Sephora is The Eldest. 

You can learn best from her. 

Moses :

Oh. I will dwell in This Land. 

•••••

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Today he sleeps. 

Moses :

Who sleeps? 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

He who has no name. 

Moses :

Does your god live on this mountain? 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Sinai is his high place, his temple. 

Moses :

If this god is God, he would live on every mountain, in every valley. 

He would not be only the god of Israel or Ishmael alone, but of all men. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

It is said he created all men in his image. 

Moses :

Then he would dwell in every heart, in every mind, in every soul. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

I do not know about such things, but I do know that the mountain rumbles when God is there, and the earth trembles, and the cloud is red with fire. 

Moses :

At such a time, has any man ever gone to see him face-to-face? 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

No man has ever set foot on the forbidden slopes of Sinai. 

Why do you want to see him, Moses? 

Moses :

To know that He Is. 

And if he is, to know why he has not heard the cries of slaves in bondage. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Moses, it would be death to look upon his face. 

Moses :

How many of my people have died 

because he has turned away his face? 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Can a man judge God? 

No, Moses. We cannot see his whole purpose. 

Even Ishmael did not know that God drove him into the desert to be the father of a nation. 

Is it not enough to know that he has saved you from the Pharaoh's anger? 

Moses :

How do you know that? 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

You walk like a prince, and you fight like a warrior. 

There is word in the caravans of a great one who was driven out of Egypt. 

Moses :

This is not the scepter of a prince, 

but the staff of a wanderer. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Then rest from wandering. 

My father has many flocks and no son to tend them. 

There would be peace of spirit for you, Moses, in our tents beneath the holy mountain. 

Moses :

You have strong faith in this god, Sephora... 

but for me, there is no peace of spirit 

until I hear the word of God from God himself. 

Moses :

In The Tent of Jethro, 

there is Dignity, Honor, 

Freedom, and Beauty... 

All that a man could ask of life, 

but my heart is still a prisoner of the past. 

I... I cannot choose now. 

Strength to You, Sheiks of Sinai. 

Strength to You, Sheiks of Sinai. 

May God guide Your Heart. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Oh, Moses! 

Tonight He is awake. 

Which of my sisters did you choose? 

Moses :

I made no choice, Sephora. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

She was very beautiful, wasn't she? 

This woman of Egypt, who left her scar upon your heart. 

Her skin was white as curd, her eyes green as the cedars of Lebanon, her lips, tamarisk honey. 

Like the breast of a dove, her arms were soft... 

and the wine of desire was in her veins. 

Moses :

Yes. She was beautiful... 

as A Jewel. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

A Jewel has brilliant fire, 

but it gives no warmth. 

Our Hands are not so Soft, 

but they can serve. 

Our Bodies not so White, 

but they are strong. 

Our lips are not perfumed, 

but they Speak The Truth. 

Love is not an art to us. 

It's Life to Us. 

We are not dressed in gold and fine linen. 

Strength and Honor are our clothing. 

Our tents are not the columned halls of Egypt, 

but our children play happily before them. 

We can offer you little... 

but we offer all we have. 

Moses :

I have not little, Sephora. 

I have nothing. 

Sephora, 

Daughter of Jethro :

Nothing from some... 

is more than Gold from others.

"Stories become unforgettable when they communicate sophisticated modes of being — complex problems and equally complex solutions — that we perceive, consciously, in pieces, but cannot fully articulate. It was for this reason, for example, that the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt became such a powerful touchstone for black slaves seeking emancipation in the United States:

  Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land

  Tell old Pharaoh

  To let my people go.

  The biblical story of Exodus is properly regarded as archetypal (or paradigmatic or foundational) by psychoanalytic and religious thinkers alike, because it presents an example of psychological and social transformation that cannot be improved upon. It emerged as a product of imagination and has been transformed by constant collective retelling and reworking into an ultimately meaningful form that applies politically, economically, historically, personally, and spiritually, all at the same time. 

This is the very definition of literary depth—something that reaches its apogee in certain forms of ancient, traditional stories. 

The fact of that depth means that such accounts can be used diversely as a meaningful frame for any process of profound change experienced by any individual or society (stable state, descent into chaos, reestablishment of stability), and can lend that process multidimensional reality, context, powerful meaning, and motivation.

 The Emergence of the Unforgettable

  How might an unforgettable story come to be? What might precede its revelation? It is at the very least the consequence of a long period of observation. Imagine a scientist monitoring the behavior of a wolf pack, or a troop of chimps—indeed, any group of complex social animals. He or she attempts to identify regularities in the behavior of the individuals and the group (patterns, in a word) and to articulate those regularities—to encapsulate them in language. The scientist might first relate a series of anecdotes about animal actions emblematic of the general behavior of the species. He or she might then abstract even further, attempting to generalize across anecdotes with rule-like descriptions. 

I say “rule-like” because the animals are not following rules. Rules require language. Animals are merely acting out regularities. They cannot formulate, understand, or follow rules.

  But human beings? We can observe ourselves acting, as a scientist might — more accurately, as A Storyteller might. Then we can tell the stories to each other. 

The stories are already distillations of observed behavior (if they are not distillations, they will not be interesting; relating a sequence of everyday actions does not make for a good story). Once the story is established, we can analyze it, looking for deeper patterns and regularities. 

If that analysis is successful, we can generalize across anecdotes with the formulation of rules, and then we can learn, consciously, to follow those rules. 

Here is how this might happen. We all react judgmentally when a child or adult—or, indeed, a society—is acting improperly, unfairly, or badly. The error strikes us emotionally. We intuit that a pattern upon which individual and social adaptation depends has been disrupted and violated. We are annoyed, frustrated, hurt, or grief-stricken at the betrayal. This does not mean that each of us, reacting emotionally, has been successful at articulating a comprehensive philosophy of good and evil. We may never put our finger on what has gone wrong. However, like children unfamiliar with a new game but still able to play it, we know that the rules are being broken.

  Something precisely like this is portrayed in the biblical story of Exodus, the ancient account of the flight of the Hebrew slaves from their Egyptian masters. Moses, who leads the escaping people, is continually called upon by his followers to draw very fine moral distinctions when they struggle with one another and seek his advice. In consequence, he spends a very long time observing and contemplating their behavior. It is as if the desert prophet had to discover what rules he and his Israelite followers were already struggling to act out, prior to his receipt of the explicit commandments from God. Remember: Every society is already characterized by patterned behavior; otherwise it would be pure conflict and no “society” at all. But the mere fact that social order reigns to some degree does not mean that a given society has come to explicitly understand its own behavior, its own moral code. 

It is therefore no accident that in this story Moses serves as A Judge for his followers — and does so with sufficient duration and intensity to exhaust himself — before he receives the Ten Commandments:

  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to Judge The People: and The People stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

  And when Moses’ Father in Law saw all that he did to The People, he said, "What is this thing that thou doest to The People? Why sittest Thou thyself alone, and all The People stand by thee from morning unto even?"

  And Moses said unto his Father in Law, "Because The People come unto me to inquire of God:

  When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I Judge between one and another, and I do make them know The Statutes of God, and His Laws."

  And Moses’ Father in Law said unto him, "The thing that thou doest is not good.

  Thou wilt surely wear away, both Thou, and This People that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; Thou art not able to perform it thyself alone." (Exodus 18: 13–18)

  This difficult exercise in discrimination and judgment, observing and weighing, is an integral part of what prepared the biblical patriarch for the receipt of divine revelation. 

If there had been no behavioral base for those rules — no historical precedent codified in traditional ethics, no conventions, and no endless hours of observation of the moral patterns — the commandments simply could not have been understood and communicated, much less obeyed.

  An unforgettable story captures the essence of Humanity and distills, communicates, and clarifies it, bringing what we are and what we should be into focus. It Speaks to Us, motivating the attention that inspires us to imitate. We learn to see and act in the manner of the heroes of the stories that captivate us. 

These stories call to capacities that lie deep within our nature but might still never develop without that call. 

We are dormant adventurers, lovers, leaders, artists, and rebels, but need to discover that we are all those things by seeing the reflection of such patterns in dramatic and literary form. That is part of being a creature that is part nature and part culture. 

An unforgettable story advances our capacity to understand our behavior, beyond habit and expectation, toward an imaginative and then verbalized understanding. Such a story presents us in the most compelling manner with The Ultimate Adventure, the divine romance, and the eternal battle between good and evil. 

All this helps us clarify our understanding of moral and immoral attitude and action, personal and social. This can be seen everywhere, and always.

  Question: Who are you — or, at least, who could you be?

Answer: Part of the eternal force that constantly confronts the terrible unknown, voluntarily; part of the eternal force that transcends naivete and becomes dangerous enough, in a controlled manner, to understand evil and beard it in its lair; and part of the eternal force that faces chaos and turns it into productive order, or that takes order that has become too restrictive, reduces it to chaos, and renders it productive once again.

  And all of this, being very difficult to understand consciously but vital to our survival, is transmitted in the form of the stories that we cannot help but attend to. And it is in this manner that we come to apprehend what is of value, what we should aim at, and what we could be."