9 ms·

I have the (weak) theory that non-developed countries were such because of the weather. I love reading and thinking... but in summer I cannot do any of that at

by danwee 4y ago

I have the (weak) theory that non-developed countries were such because of the weather. I love reading and thinking... but in summer I cannot do any of that at home, it's just impossible for me to sit and study without sweating and feeling umcomfortable. So, my theory goes like this: For the people who like thinking/studying: hot weather does not invite you to stay at home and study/think, so you are forced to do something else. I imagine that as summers get longer and hotter, we'll see a diminishing in new ideas and the like because the people who like to think will be forced to do something else (laying on the cold floor to pass by the day).

yunohn 4y ago
> theory that non-developed countries were such because of the weather Don’t tell me you actually subscribe to the theory of undeveloped countries are so because of the heat, not colonialism or global exploitation. Your theory is beyond weak, its kindergarten level nonsense.
- pvaldes 4y ago
  Yes, of course, colonialism was a curse for many countries, but we need to see further. Colonialism only works if a side has a much better technology than the other. And the fact is that Europe (subjected to harsh winters, global empires and constant wars) had a much better technology. Period. And that advances in war and travel, were based in lots and lots of solid science, created much before colonialism. You can't build a big ship or a bridge that stands 1000 years without solid math and skills. Being subjected to a strong religion that is against science o pro-science also played a huge part. The idea that when in danger of overheating or freeze our brain stop all machines and concentrates only in how to keep our body alive for one hour more is totally reasonable.
  - yunohn 4y ago
    > Colonialism only works if a side has a much better technology than the other. > You can't build a big ship or a bridge that stands 1000 years without solid math and skills. I refuse to engage with someone so woefully misinformed about the non West world. I’ll leave it to you to read and learn more. Open your mind…
  - sharikous 4y ago
    I'd say it was more like Europe had world class technology and much better growth. In Asia you could find pretty good technology too, it's the growth mindset that didn't take over there as much as in Europe. Anyway too few data points and too much speculation to be able to say that advancement of civilization is casually dependent on the climate. We have agriculture/cities/empires/writing/some technology that developed independently in many parts of the world, and the rise of Europe from the Reinessance. Very few data point for "civilization advancement events"
    - yunohn 4y ago
      > Europe had world class technology and much better growth. In Asia you could find pretty good technology The irony in this view is that almost everything tech and otherwise is manufactured by developing countries. And in places like Shenzhen, they innovate at an unimaginably rapid pace. But sure, Europe has “world class” tech and Asia has “pretty good” tech…
      - sharikous 4y ago
        Had, not has. I spoke of the '500s more or less. The exponential spike in innovation from that century until these days was something unprecedented in human history and started in Europe. Of course today Europe is not the central point for technology anymore. Still they have a legacy of good schools, accumulated wealth and a middle class, something that is less radicated (for now) in the East
        yunohn 4y ago
        > legacy of good schools, accumulated wealth and a middle class Where do you get the notion that developing countries don’t have “good schools”? They’ve had formalised education for millennia. Unless you are measuring wealth purely in post colonial USD/EUR, every single country (developing or developed) clearly has an accumulated wealth class, middle class, and poor class. It’s absurd that you think isn’t the case?
        4y ago
- ddalex 4y ago
  Really.... how do you explain the cultural differences in work productivity between south Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) versus North Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland) ?
  - tokai 4y ago
    Protestant work ethic.
    - ddalex 4y ago
      What exactly drove the apparition of this work ethic ? or of Protestantism in general ? Go the 5 whys route and you'll end up at the environment.
  - yunohn 4y ago
    You do realise that Italy was previously Rome, and along with Greece, they kickstarted European democracy and governance? And they had (surprise) hot climates?
    - ddalex 4y ago
      Do you realise that the fall of the Roman empire (west side) was mainly triggered by climate change? Perhaps the climates 2000 years ago were not as hot as we might think.
      - yunohn 4y ago
        You literally didn’t even try to research this hot take, did you? Climate change is not the same as global warming, though related. TL;DR - Warm weather good, cold weather bad. Plague much worse. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-change-and-disease-helped-fall-rome-180967591/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-ch... > the characteristic warm, wet and stable weather was conducive to economic productivity in an agrarian society > violent sequence of eruptions triggered what is now called the ‘Late Antique Little Ice Age,’ when much colder temperatures endured for at least 150 years. > This phase of climate deterioration had decisive effects in Rome’s unravelling. It was also intimately linked to a catastrophe of even greater moment: the outbreak of the first pandemic of bubonic plague.
kidsil 4y ago
This completely ignores many of the major empires in history. The Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, Babylon, the Egyptian empire, the Persian empire, all were in relatively hot weather. Needless to say some of these empire are famous for studying and thinking (e.g. Ancient Greece?).
butterfly771 4y ago
I agree with this view that Homo sapiens is smart because of natural selection in the ice age. However, the earlier primitive people in the tropics had easy access to food, which hindered the development of social civilization.

by danwee 4y ago

yunohn 4y ago

> theory that non-developed countries were such because of the weather Don’t tell me you actually subscribe to the theory of undeveloped countries are so because of the heat, not colonialism or global exploitation. Your theory is beyond weak, its kindergarten level nonsense.

pvaldes 4y ago
Yes, of course, colonialism was a curse for many countries, but we need to see further. Colonialism only works if a side has a much better technology than the other. And the fact is that Europe (subjected to harsh winters, global empires and constant wars) had a much better technology. Period. And that advances in war and travel, were based in lots and lots of solid science, created much before colonialism. You can't build a big ship or a bridge that stands 1000 years without solid math and skills. Being subjected to a strong religion that is against science o pro-science also played a huge part. The idea that when in danger of overheating or freeze our brain stop all machines and concentrates only in how to keep our body alive for one hour more is totally reasonable.
- yunohn 4y ago
  > Colonialism only works if a side has a much better technology than the other. > You can't build a big ship or a bridge that stands 1000 years without solid math and skills. I refuse to engage with someone so woefully misinformed about the non West world. I’ll leave it to you to read and learn more. Open your mind…
- sharikous 4y ago
  I'd say it was more like Europe had world class technology and much better growth. In Asia you could find pretty good technology too, it's the growth mindset that didn't take over there as much as in Europe. Anyway too few data points and too much speculation to be able to say that advancement of civilization is casually dependent on the climate. We have agriculture/cities/empires/writing/some technology that developed independently in many parts of the world, and the rise of Europe from the Reinessance. Very few data point for "civilization advancement events"
  - yunohn 4y ago
    > Europe had world class technology and much better growth. In Asia you could find pretty good technology The irony in this view is that almost everything tech and otherwise is manufactured by developing countries. And in places like Shenzhen, they innovate at an unimaginably rapid pace. But sure, Europe has “world class” tech and Asia has “pretty good” tech…
    - sharikous 4y ago
      Had, not has. I spoke of the '500s more or less. The exponential spike in innovation from that century until these days was something unprecedented in human history and started in Europe. Of course today Europe is not the central point for technology anymore. Still they have a legacy of good schools, accumulated wealth and a middle class, something that is less radicated (for now) in the East
      - yunohn 4y ago
        > legacy of good schools, accumulated wealth and a middle class Where do you get the notion that developing countries don’t have “good schools”? They’ve had formalised education for millennia. Unless you are measuring wealth purely in post colonial USD/EUR, every single country (developing or developed) clearly has an accumulated wealth class, middle class, and poor class. It’s absurd that you think isn’t the case?
        4y ago
ddalex 4y ago
Really.... how do you explain the cultural differences in work productivity between south Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) versus North Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland) ?
- tokai 4y ago
  Protestant work ethic.
  - ddalex 4y ago
    What exactly drove the apparition of this work ethic ? or of Protestantism in general ? Go the 5 whys route and you'll end up at the environment.
- yunohn 4y ago
  You do realise that Italy was previously Rome, and along with Greece, they kickstarted European democracy and governance? And they had (surprise) hot climates?
  - ddalex 4y ago
    Do you realise that the fall of the Roman empire (west side) was mainly triggered by climate change? Perhaps the climates 2000 years ago were not as hot as we might think.
    - yunohn 4y ago
      You literally didn’t even try to research this hot take, did you? Climate change is not the same as global warming, though related. TL;DR - Warm weather good, cold weather bad. Plague much worse. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-change-and-disease-helped-fall-rome-180967591/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-climate-ch... > the characteristic warm, wet and stable weather was conducive to economic productivity in an agrarian society > violent sequence of eruptions triggered what is now called the ‘Late Antique Little Ice Age,’ when much colder temperatures endured for at least 150 years. > This phase of climate deterioration had decisive effects in Rome’s unravelling. It was also intimately linked to a catastrophe of even greater moment: the outbreak of the first pandemic of bubonic plague.

kidsil 4y ago

This completely ignores many of the major empires in history. The Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, Babylon, the Egyptian empire, the Persian empire, all were in relatively hot weather. Needless to say some of these empire are famous for studying and thinking (e.g. Ancient Greece?).

butterfly771 4y ago

I agree with this view that Homo sapiens is smart because of natural selection in the ice age. However, the earlier primitive people in the tropics had easy access to food, which hindered the development of social civilization.