Pyramid in Prometheus?

My question was not why some of the characters call the dome a pyramid, I was asking, "Can anyone tell me why everyone keeps calling the dome we spent two hours looking at a pyramid?" Everyone includes you. So let me put it to you directly: When [b]you[/b] look at the structure presented to the audience, would you say it's more a dome-like structure or more a pyramid-like structure? I asked myself why some of the characters call the dome a pyramid and I believe I have a satisfactory answer. I named a scene in the movie I thought might help explain my reason. Have you looked at that? I have already stated why I think the discrepancy is important - because understanding why will help understand the film better. And I do expect a high degree of logical consistency in [i]Prometheus[/i] given that Ridley is presenting us with a puzzle. And as a side note, I do find it interesting why people spent two hours looking at a dome and yet keep calling it a pyramid.

I would have called it a dome If our charactors refer to it as a pyramid, well that is different but OK I'll go along with it,,especially after finding do much more in this hollow building. For me the quesation is not sematics but it function and to some extent it's construction method. I can't recall an explanation for the Head on top of the dome. On the close ups just outside the dome it looks like the outer surface was machined..then at other times more of built up , you guessed it like a pyramid. The thing is if they were were constructed then why were entrances machined out. Why build a solid structure and then hollow it out ? It would be hard to believe that that there were 4 or five mountains lined up in a natural manner ro be turned into what we call domes or pyramids. As far as the time spend on this question it could be as simple as the movie has been discussed to death and there are no other subjects to investigate. I do hope this is not true and look forward to andditional threads on topics relating to our movie. Fot those that criticize the shallow nature of some threads please post an intersting related subject and I am sure quality minded posters would be glad to add their comments. That would make a good read.

"[i]When [b]you[/b] look at the structure presented to the audience, would you say it's more a dome-like structure or more a pyramid-like structure?[/i]" Since you ask... The first time I look at it – with no idea of what it is – I might well be inclined to call it what Holloway calls it: "It". When describing it – with knowledge of its interior and the many echoes of the workings of an Egyptian pyramid – I might well be inclined to call it a Pyramid. Even though it's not one. When describing its exterior – disregarding certain elements of the structure – I might well be inclined to call it a Dome. Even though it's not one. In fact, I have used both Dome and Pyramid as descriptions in my postings. But if I hung around long enough on the planet, I'd come up with a different word. Temple, maybe. Weapons Dump, maybe. Or some entirely new word that described the structure uniquely.

@ ZZ Ok. I'll go along with your very grudging inclination to call the exterior design of the structure - which is what I'm talking about - a dome. We don't want to get bogged down in semantics, which is obviously a game you play very well. So let's forget about all that. Can I ask you another question, concerning Holloway, the so-called archeologist, and "it"? He's confused as to whether the structure is natural or made by some intelligent being. I would have thought it's very obvious that it's "man-made" or not natural. Especially as there are several very similar looking structures running off into the horizon. Do you share Holloway's confusion or were you too fairly certain it's man/jockey/alien-made? It's not a trick question. Just wondering.

I'm not grudging at all about describing the formation's exterior as a dome, even though it's not a actually a dome. We need words to describe the alien structure and – in the absence of something more suitable – this will do. We and the crew only caught a fleeting glimpse of the other formations as the Prometheus settled in the canyon. My initial suspicion would have been that it was almost certainly artificial (certainly not 'man-made') and most likely made by the Engineers, who apparently brought us there. However, it being a completely alien environment, I would not completely rule out some kind of natural phenomenon giving rise to bulbous lumps of rock surrounded by regular outcrops. It's not Earth. For the simple expedient of asking the geologist sitting in the back, it would be worth getting his opinion. In less enlightened times, generations of people believed the Giant's Causeway to be the work of an intelligent designer rather than the natural cooling of certain basalts, which is exactly the opposite of that found by the Prometheus. Wrong conclusions can be drawn, Up close, of course, it is immediately apparent that the central section of the formation is sitting atop sharply defined and angled 'stilts' (for lack of a better word). It is hard to imagine that they could have formed by any natural means. This was not the case, however, when Holloway asked the question. At that time, they could only see rock, in an arrangement that can be described by a small number of mathematical variables.

"..He's confused as to whether the structure is natural or made by some intelligent being,," For me it was not so much of Holloway's question not being right but Fifield immediate response that 'I can't tell you if it's natural or not.." I would have expected Fifield to know right away.. Also Holloway asks for spectrograph to be used. Is this an actual scientific term/procedure? And if it is valid would it be used to check our the dome?

A spectrograph will tell you something about the chemical or mineral make up of a target. Robot probes do this very often, e,g. as is happening right now on the Messenger mission to Mercury. Of course, if the results are consistent with those of rock, that in itself can't tell you if it's natural or not.

I don't know much about archaeology, but I do know a bit about spectroscopy. At one time I was part of a team developing industrial process control instrumentation for analysing substances remotely using the infrared portion of the spectrum. Something like a radio penetrator would likely be needed to work out remotely if something is hollow or not. Of course, it's the future, and Fifield has some amazing gadgets at his disposal. I have no idea what the RT01 instrumentation is showing. It's probably just made up stuff for simple visual effect. [img]http://i49.tinypic.com/20jn1h.jpg[/img]

@ZZ Are you an someone who actually knows something about these things, like an archeologist or something? It'd be just my bloody luck. (smiley) Yes, I thought the use of spectrograph to give a hollow reading was a bit dodgy. You'd need something related to sound, like sonar, for that. The terrain data scanner of the Prometheus does pick up the lines and the dome as "man-made" about the same time as Holloway notices the straight lines. But nobody says anything. Strange. On the other hand, the terrain scanner (if that's what it is) on the spacebus shows something different. Strange. Something's going on. Maybe Holloway's not an archeologist?

Ok Z. But ask yourself why Ridley would show the three scientists looking though the windshield at the dome and then in the POV shot he just gives us a dirty glarey windscreen? Why not gives us a closer look at the dome? Maybe he's hiding something. But he does give us a chance to see roughly what the crew are looking at via the terrain scanner. If you follow the scanner as it moves from (our) right to left, you will see on the far left a dome similar to the one we see but with a different top on it. There also appears to be a transparent structure in front of the dome. Ok it could be just a pretty visual, or a Ridley mistake, or sloppy scriptwriters, or one of the many excuses we make for this movie. Or maybe this movie is not as silly as it sometimes looks.

My dome question concerns the figure at the very top. We have the Big Head, the decapitated head and this sculplture at the very top of the dome to represent the Engineer's race of beings. What are we to make of any one or all three?