2 ms·
> You don't need a study to debunk this theory within the context of Diamond's overall hypnosis; you need a globe and some measuring tape. Africa's east-west ax
by LudwigNagasena 3y ago
> You don't need a study to debunk this theory within the context of Diamond's overall hypnosis; you need a globe and some measuring tape. Africa's east-west axis (4600m) is only 8% smaller than its north-south axis (5000m), which in turn is almost identical to Eur-Asia's (4,900m). The only time this isn't true is on a distorted map like the Mercator projection he uses in the book.
Surely Eurasia is around twice than that? You don't need a distorted map to see that the distance between Portugal and Japan is far greater than the distance between Senegal and Somalia.
- CSMastermind 3y agoEast to West yes but the book asserts that it's the variance North to South that matters because supposedly biomes change far more along that axis than on the East to West one. Africa and Eur-Asia measure almost identically North to South
- thaumasiotes 3y ago> Africa and Eur-Asia measure almost identically North to South And there's not much room for useful exchange of crops or livestock between Indians engaged in tropical farming and Sami engaged in reindeer pastoralism on the tundra.
- brabel 3y agoThe book says that a longer West-East axis means more civilizations can exchange the same crops/animals as the climate tends to be similar, while across the Nort-South axis you have a much harder time moving things, as you end up having to go from cold to temperate to tropical and then back again, effectively stopping movements. I haven't read the book again in many years, but this is something that stuck with me...