Myth

A myth is a traditional or legendary story, collection, or study. It is derived from the Greek word mythos (μῦθος), which simply means "story". Mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. A myth also can be a made up story to explain why something exists.

Academic usage

Generally associated with the academic fields of mythology, mythography or folkloristics, a myth can be a story involving symbols that are capable of multiple meanings. The body of a myth in any given culture usually includes a cosmogonical or creation myth, concerning the origins of the world, or how the world and its creatures came into existence. The active beings in myths are generally gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines or animals and plants. Most myths are set in a timeless past before recorded and critical history begins.

A myth is a sacred narrative in the sense that it holds religious or spiritual significance for those who tell it. Myths also contribute to and express systems of thoughts and values. Use of the term by scholars implies neither the truth nor the falseness of the narrative. To the source culture, however, a myth by definition is "true", in that it embodies beliefs, concepts and ways of questioning to make sense of the world.

Myth (series)

Myth is a series of real-time tactics video games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. The games are:

Myth was developed by Bungie and published in 1997 by Eidos in Europe and Bungie in North America. Myth II was also developed by Bungie and self-published in North America in 1998. It was published by GT Interactive Software in Europe. As a result of Bungie's sale to Microsoft in 2000, the company lost the franchise rights to Take-Two Interactive.Myth III: The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo and published by Take-Two in 2001.

All three games have received good reviews, especially the first and second game. Although the third game also received a generally positive reception, many reviewers cited a number of bugs in the initial release, and there was a general feeling that Take-Two had not given MumboJumbo enough time to complete the game.

The Myth games are categorized as real-time tactics, representing a departure from established real-time strategy titles such as Warcraft and Command & Conquer; resource micromanagement and the gradual building up of armies are not part of the gameplay, which instead focuses entirely on squad and soldier-level tactics. Some critics have argued that this style of gameplay allows the games a far greater sense of realism than their real-time strategy contemporaries.

Myth (disambiguation)

A myth is, broadly, any worldview-based traditional story, or collection or study thereof:

Overpopulation

Overpopulation occurs when a population of a species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. Overpopulation is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as the water and essential nutrients they need to survive. It can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources.

Animal overpopulation

In the wilderness, the problem of overpopulation of species is often solved by growth in the population of predators. Predators tend to look for signs of weakness in their prey, and therefore usually first eat the old or sick animals. This has the side effects of controlling the prey population and ensuring its evolution in favor of genetic characteristics that enhance escape from predation (and the predator may co-evolve, in response).

In the absence of predators, species are bound by the resources they can find in their environment, but this does not necessarily control overpopulation, at least in the short term. An abundant supply of resources can produce a population boom that ends up with more individuals than the environment can support. In this case, starvation, thirst and sometimes violent competition for scarce resources may affect a sharp reduction in population in a very short lapse (a population crash). Lemmings, as well as other species of rodents, are known to have such cycles of rapid population growth and subsequent decrease.

Overpopulation in domestic pets

Overpopulation in domestic animals refers to a surplus of domestic animals, such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, an estimated 6 to 8 million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated 3 to 4 million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable. Euthanasia numbers have declined from the 1970s, when U.S. shelters euthanized an estimated 12 to 20 million animals. Most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge animal caregivers to have their animals spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted and accidental litters that could contribute to this dynamic.

Critics such as Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center argue that overpopulation is a myth and logical fallacy, which many animal control agencies use to avoid criticism for high numbers of killings and low numbers of adoptions. Winograd argues that traditional shelters kill animals primarily out of habit and convenience, even when space is available for the animals. When shelters implement methods outlined in the No Kill Equation, such as trap-neuter-return for stray and feral cats, Winograd asserts that they have been able to save all healthy and treatable animals, and raise their save rates to at least 90% of all impounded animals. In October 2014, the website "Out the Front Door" documented 212 communities in the U.S. saving more than 90% of impounded animals.