4 ms·

This is quite the caveat. "Its a good book, except that all the testable claims made are false". Shouldn't that discredit the untestable "narrative" claims? Gun

This is quite the caveat. "Its a good book, except that all the testable claims made are false". Shouldn't that discredit the untestable "narrative" claims? Guns Germs and Steel is a Talmudic exercise in making stuff up to support the author's biases. Its only usefulness is as an example of how to make a superficially convincing case for something totally wrong. https://www.bitchute.com/video/qvaxPH3ftUQ/ https://www.bitchute.com/video/qvaxPH3ftUQ/

ghaff 5y ago
That a degree of geographical determinism exists seems pretty clear. What's far less clear is that it was a simple as agriculture rose first on the Hilly Flanks. Game over. Why the West Rules for Now is IMO correct when it basically says "Of course, the various factors Diamond discussed played a role but they're not the whole story. The book then goes on to show (based on a lot of data) how the Western Core and the Eastern Core actually switched leadership positions back and forth over time. I think it's fair to characterize his position as it was always going to be one of those two, but the West achieve its position solely because it was first.
- sthnblllII 5y ago
  >solely because it was first. Why didn't Babylon industrialize? Or China or Egypt or Persia or India or Ethiopia or the Inca or the Greeks or Romans or Arabs or Nubians or Zulu or Mississippians or Ottomans or or or or or. North-West Europeans did what we did because we chose to do the things necessary and others didn't. The only purpose of environmental determinism is to muddy the waters. If Africans had invented electricity and someone used specious arguments to belittle Africans by saying their accomplishment was nothing special because industrialization was inevitable in Africa because of how much rainfall they get you and I would recognize how racially motivated that is.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    You're stopping way ahead. Things are done for reasons. Why did Africans not invent electricty? Turkic peoples invented basic steam engines, so did the Greeks, why didn't they use them for anything? Ultimately the reasons for this are going to come back to material reality, ie, your surroundings.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - sthnblllII 5y ago
      Actually, the universe is a closed thermodynamic system so the course of history and all decisions ever made by humans in the past and the future were completely determined by the initial energy density fluctuations of the big bang. It logically follows that we should let all criminals out of prison immediately because their crimes were purely an inevitable consequence of their environment. No one can be "guilty" of a crime he did not chose to commit. Likewise everyone should be given the same amount of wealth because the amount of studying and hard work you do is not a virtue deserving of reward, but an inevitability. Time is an illusion. Volition does not exist for one may recursively ask "why" until time collapses into a simple parameter of the function describing the state of the universe. The fact that we experience time at all is a fluke, an irrelevant mystery.

ghaff 5y ago

That a degree of geographical determinism exists seems pretty clear. What's far less clear is that it was a simple as agriculture rose first on the Hilly Flanks. Game over. Why the West Rules for Now is IMO correct when it basically says "Of course, the various factors Diamond discussed played a role but they're not the whole story. The book then goes on to show (based on a lot of data) how the Western Core and the Eastern Core actually switched leadership positions back and forth over time. I think it's fair to characterize his position as it was always going to be one of those two, but the West achieve its position solely because it was first.

sthnblllII 5y ago
>solely because it was first. Why didn't Babylon industrialize? Or China or Egypt or Persia or India or Ethiopia or the Inca or the Greeks or Romans or Arabs or Nubians or Zulu or Mississippians or Ottomans or or or or or. North-West Europeans did what we did because we chose to do the things necessary and others didn't. The only purpose of environmental determinism is to muddy the waters. If Africans had invented electricity and someone used specious arguments to belittle Africans by saying their accomplishment was nothing special because industrialization was inevitable in Africa because of how much rainfall they get you and I would recognize how racially motivated that is.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  You're stopping way ahead. Things are done for reasons. Why did Africans not invent electricty? Turkic peoples invented basic steam engines, so did the Greeks, why didn't they use them for anything? Ultimately the reasons for this are going to come back to material reality, ie, your surroundings.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - sthnblllII 5y ago
    Actually, the universe is a closed thermodynamic system so the course of history and all decisions ever made by humans in the past and the future were completely determined by the initial energy density fluctuations of the big bang. It logically follows that we should let all criminals out of prison immediately because their crimes were purely an inevitable consequence of their environment. No one can be "guilty" of a crime he did not chose to commit. Likewise everyone should be given the same amount of wealth because the amount of studying and hard work you do is not a virtue deserving of reward, but an inevitability. Time is an illusion. Volition does not exist for one may recursively ask "why" until time collapses into a simple parameter of the function describing the state of the universe. The fact that we experience time at all is a fluke, an irrelevant mystery.