*sighs*

[conuly]

I was watching BSG the other day (of course), and at one point Madam President has a vision. Or a hallucination, really, but when she talks to the priestess about this (that's another religious thing, she doesn't go to a doctor with her hallucination, she goes to a priest) she's told "That's just like what Pythia described". We don't know who Pythia is, so of course poor Madam President is forced to ask "Who is Pythia?" to lead the priestess into a long discussion of who Pythia is, when she lived, what she did, and what she said.

Fine, fine. Except that later, Baltar says he "hasn't read Pythia since the sixth grade". Um, what? And Madam President was a teacher, no less. If this is something you read in the sixth grade, shouldn't there at least be name recognition? Just like if I mention a Trojan horse, you all know what I mean, even those of you who never read Homer.

Now, I understand why poor Madam President had to do this, because somewhere or another we had to find out who Pythia is, but why couldn't've been done more subtly?

"You've been reading Pythia, right?"
"No... actually *embarassed laugh*, I've never had a chance, and I'm really quite ignorant. Why do you ask?"
"Well, as you know, Pythia was a seer who lived 3,000 years ago...."

Instead, we have to sit around and wonder why this former teacher is missing basic information.

Comments

Baltar's Reading Level

[invalidsavant.livejournal.com]

Perhaps in the BSG culture a vision / hallucination is covered by religion and not medicine?

As for Baltar reading Pythia is sixth grade-- the man is a genius, after all (and possibly a Cylon.) Who knows what Baltar's reading level was in the sixth grade? Maybe Pythia is too advanced for anyone (except a genius or the priesthood) to really grok?