4 ms·

> The findings suggest that factors such as the movement of peoples These are heavily influenced by geography. > direct and indirect cultural exchanges This

> The findings suggest that factors such as the movement of peoples These are heavily influenced by geography. > direct and indirect cultural exchanges This are heavily influenced by physical proximity, which, of course, is heavily influenced by geography. Of course that geography is not destiny, at the end it of it all nothing is, but it plays a very big part. And the historical truth is that Karakorum (located towards the Eastern end of the Eurasian landmass) had a lot more closer connections to places like Budapest and Kiev (located towards the Western end of the Eurasian landmass) compared to the connection between, let's say, Cairo and Johannesburg. As such, saying that "Jared Diamond is wrong" without looking at concrete historical facts from our past does not help anyone, no matter if the people doing it like to brandish themselves as "scientists".

andrewflnr 3y ago
> As such, saying that "Jared Diamond is wrong" without looking at concrete historical facts from our past does not help anyone, no matter if the people doing it like to brandish themselves as "scientists". Good thing the article didn't really say that, then? They explicitly agreed with some of his proposed mechanisms.
- paganel 3y ago
  These are direct quotes from the article: > However, the researchers discovered that these environmental barriers do not consistently favor Eurasia over other continents. This finding directly challenges Diamond’s assertion that Eurasia’s geographic orientation provided a unique advantage in the spread of agricultural and other critical innovations. > Instead, the study indicates that the facilitation of cultural spread by geographical and ecological conditions is a global phenomenon, with no clear bias towards Eurasia. which to me says that indeed the authors of the article intended to say that Diamond was "wrong", at least that's how I interpret the part with "challenges Diamond’s assertion".
  - andrewflnr 3y ago
    So are these: > In line with Diamond’s hypothesis, the researchers found that environmental barriers do indeed impact the likelihood of cultural traits being shared between societies. > “Our analyses support the hypothesis that yes, environment likely influences how cultural innovations spread, just like Diamond intuited..." > “Our study offers one quantitative realization of Diamond’s arguments and not a definitive answer,” Meaning, not a definitive no, either. > “Our findings point out that geography, like genetics and ecology, matters, but it is not destiny.” It's complicated. I hope this doesn't surprise anyone.

andrewflnr 3y ago

> As such, saying that "Jared Diamond is wrong" without looking at concrete historical facts from our past does not help anyone, no matter if the people doing it like to brandish themselves as "scientists". Good thing the article didn't really say that, then? They explicitly agreed with some of his proposed mechanisms.

paganel 3y ago
These are direct quotes from the article: > However, the researchers discovered that these environmental barriers do not consistently favor Eurasia over other continents. This finding directly challenges Diamond’s assertion that Eurasia’s geographic orientation provided a unique advantage in the spread of agricultural and other critical innovations. > Instead, the study indicates that the facilitation of cultural spread by geographical and ecological conditions is a global phenomenon, with no clear bias towards Eurasia. which to me says that indeed the authors of the article intended to say that Diamond was "wrong", at least that's how I interpret the part with "challenges Diamond’s assertion".
- andrewflnr 3y ago
  So are these: > In line with Diamond’s hypothesis, the researchers found that environmental barriers do indeed impact the likelihood of cultural traits being shared between societies. > “Our analyses support the hypothesis that yes, environment likely influences how cultural innovations spread, just like Diamond intuited..." > “Our study offers one quantitative realization of Diamond’s arguments and not a definitive answer,” Meaning, not a definitive no, either. > “Our findings point out that geography, like genetics and ecology, matters, but it is not destiny.” It's complicated. I hope this doesn't surprise anyone.