hang it around the neck of every human being.?

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keannu

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Do you have any idea what hang it around the neck of every human being. means? This is like a myth or a fairy tale, but I'm curious if you know what it means. Does it mean Adam's apple or something?

ex)...One myth tells how a group of gods had a meeting to decide where to hide the "truth of the universe" from people. The first god suggested putting it under the ocean, but the others shouted him down, saying that people would build an underwater boat to take themselves there to find it. A second god suggested hiding it on a planet far from the earth, but the other gods realized that a craft might be built to reach this destination as well. Fianlly, a third god suggested that they hang it around the neck of every human being. The other gods agreed that people would never look at it for the truth. So they did exactly as the third god had suggested....
 

birdeen's call

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My interpretation is this:

The gods wanted to hide the truth of the universe from people. They couldn't find the right place until the third god, who knew the human nature best, suggested the human neck as the right place. He knew that humans always want to find out everything about the world around them and they would find the truth of universe if it were hidden anywhere outside them. He also knew that humans are not inclined to look for the truth in themselves. Thus, the best place to hide it is on their bodies, where they won't ever try to look for it.
 

keannu

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My interpretation is this:

The gods wanted to hide the truth of the universe from people. They couldn't find the right place until the third god, who knew the human nature best, suggested the human neck as the right place. He knew that humans always want to find out everything about the world around them and they would find the truth of universe if it were hidden anywhere outside them. He also knew that humans are not inclined to look for the truth in themselves. Thus, the best place to hide it is on their bodies, where they won't ever try to look for it.

I'm sorry but you went in a wrong direction,my question was what the neck means.
 

birdeen's call

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A neck is the part of body that joins your head with the rest of your body.
 

BobK

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I'm sorry but you went in a wrong direction,my question was what the neck means.

You know what a 'neck' is, don't you? The argument was that the best place to hide the truth of the universe was to attach it to a string or chain of some sort and loop it over each person's head so that it 'hung aroung their neck'. A more commonly used idiom that refers to a place that is obvious but can escape notice is 'under one's nose': 'Doh. I've been looking for this book for ages and it was here all the time - right under my nose.' A more literary reinforcing word is 'under one's very nose'.

b
 

keannu

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You know what a 'neck' is, don't you? The argument was that the best place to hide the truth of the universe was to attach it to a string or chain of some sort and loop it over each person's head so that it 'hung aroung their neck'. A more commonly used idiom that refers to a place that is obvious but can escape notice is 'under one's nose': 'Doh. I've been looking for this book for ages and it was here all the time - right under my nose.' A more literary reinforcing word is 'under one's very nose'.

b

So, some kind of necklace means where the truth was held so that people can't reconize it, I know its physical meaning, but is it a fable or does it have any idiomatic use known to people? Have you heard of this story? Is it familiar to people?
 

BobK

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It's not an idiom. The story is faintly familiar - the idea of hiding something in the most obvious place is common to many folk tales. As I said, 'under one's nose' is common.

b
 
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birdeen's call

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It could be a story translated from another language, in which this could have some kind of idiomatic usage.
 

Coolfootluke

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So, some kind of necklace means where the truth was held so that people can't reconize it, I know its physical meaning, but is it a fable or does it have any idiomatic use known to people? Have you heard of this story? Is it familiar to people?
I am not a teacher.

There is no concrete symbolism in the neck thing; this is not a creation myth like how the tiger got his stripes or anything like that. I would call it a parable about self-awareness. It is not a well-known story where I come from---it is not at all part of the cultural landscape here. I have never heard it before, and the presence of a spaceship in it dates it to quite recent times.
 
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