>>40963445
That "old man with a long beard" is Plato, specifically taken from Raphael's painting The School of Athens, where he's pointing up at the sky to represent his idealism and belief in the world above, contrasted with Aristotle next to him, who has his palm facing toward the earth to represent his empiricism and belief in the world in front of him

But sure, yeah, he's just some old guy pointing upwards because he thinks it makes him look smart and for no other reason, symbolism is for nerds after all