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November, 2024

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Guns, Germs, and Steel. LOOK IT UP

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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
Ok this needed to be posted because it really is quite possibly the most intelligent study on civilization ever done by anyone.

Yes the book is a bit dated, and some probably know of it already, but EVERYONE needs to know about it. Jared Diamond (a UCLA professor) basically proves with historical fact why there are impoverished countries in todays world. Not only that, but he touches on the stem of racism and social inequality on a level that no one could have even imagined.

Please do yourself a favor if you have any compassion towards the world we live in and either read Guns, Germs, and Steel, or get a copy of the National Geographic Doumentary.

It will change the way you look at things.
May 30 2008 9:53AM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
"why there are impoverished countries in todays world"

Does he touch on the proximity and diversity of natural resources in different regions as a major factor in this?
May 30 2008 10:11AM
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fsscott
Posts: 4684 - Karma: 114
Sweet
ha at first i was thinking of the next 4bi9 video
May 30 2008 10:13AM
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pmills
Posts: 7162 - Karma: 59
The book's title is a reference to the means by which European nations conquered populations of other areas and maintained their dominance, often despite being vastly out-numbered - superior weapons provided immediate military superiority, and European diseases weakened the local populations and thus made it easier to maintain control over them. Hence the book attempts to explain, mainly by geographical factors, why Europeans had such superior military technology and why diseases to which Europeans were immune devastated conquered populations.
May 30 2008 10:16AM
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low_fidelity
Posts: 2673 - Karma: 118
aha i watched a video called "guns germs and steel" in my history class and it was the dumbest shit ever.
May 30 2008 10:18AM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
Thats what I figured it was about/how it would explain it. I dunno if I'd read it...I've heard/read enough about it in university to understand how those european countries did it.

Technology was like a plague to them/(us)...we can't just be happy being sustainable like other cultures...
May 30 2008 10:19AM
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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
Yeh it's pretty much the entire basis of most of his theory.
May 30 2008 10:32AM
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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
It's def worth reading, or watching if you haven't. He really does an amazing job.
May 30 2008 10:32AM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
I dont doubt it...I'll probably just skip to the documentary though seeing as I will likely look focus with the book :P
May 30 2008 10:34AM
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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
Yeh the documentary is quite amazing if you don't have patience for books.
May 30 2008 10:36AM
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Happy.
Posts: 1248 - Karma: 9
Suprise, suprise, the documentary is great, but doesn't go into anywhere near as much detail as the book. Either way it's still a great book/documentary and is pretty interesting
May 30 2008 10:41AM
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pmills
Posts: 7162 - Karma: 59
any idea where to find the doco?
May 30 2008 11:44AM
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*Nickdel*
Posts: 2264 - Karma: 956
Ya i was thinking the same thing.

Can you read some of this book onliline or do you have to buy it?
May 30 2008 11:47AM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
If i need that detail i'll buy the book...but 99% chance is I wont :P
May 30 2008 11:48AM
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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
I'd peep demonoid.com other then that google the torrent. If that fails, amazon.com has it.
May 30 2008 12:18PM
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ChanchoVelez.
Posts: 1029 - Karma: 11
doesnt sound interesting at all
May 30 2008 12:24PM
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urbanjib
Posts: 1801 - Karma: 255
iits an amazing book, and i will highly suggest...i read it when i was in 8th, so its not super hard to understand...gives you stuff to think about...
May 30 2008 12:41PM
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Gnl.Weirdness
Posts: 3867 - Karma: 20
does it ever haha, and yeh endgame is a good read too for sure.
May 30 2008 12:47PM
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Twinjibber77
Posts: 6239 - Karma: 2,355
me too!!!!, pretty good read
May 30 2008 4:53PM
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pommery
Posts: 853 - Karma: 185
yeah I agree on all accounts, I took a class on it in 7th grade.
May 30 2008 7:01PM
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Grube
Posts: 962 - Karma: 14
my 6th grade teacher read it to us but nobody got what he was talking about at all
May 30 2008 7:09PM
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Ahmets_Brother
Posts: 20283 - Karma: 5,931
I read it in 10th grade....GREAT book. very inciteful
May 30 2008 10:59PM
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mtsteeze406
Posts: 447 - Karma: 11
i thought it wss good but he didnt touch on religion, which i think plays a pretty big part in world conquest....
May 31 2008 12:57AM
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Elijah.
Posts: 9322 - Karma: 76
Jared Diamond is a smart motherfucker...
May 31 2008 2:29AM
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spliff.Life
Posts: 7847 - Karma: 1,549
me too haha
May 31 2008 11:10AM
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EastCoastPride
Posts: 11654 - Karma: 4,989
Diamond actually bases most of his "facts" on a theory of evolutionary and genetic determinism and assumes a unilinear development of events,  and he presents a chain of happenings that could have occurred no other way. He completely ignores the dichotomy of human decision-making and free will throughout the course of human history. Example: he essentially claims that at the battle of Cajamarca, the Spanish Pizarro attacked the Incan Atahuallpa simply because the Spaniards had the technological means to do so, ignoring the fact that Atahuallpa had over 80,000 troops at hand and could have chosen to do the same to Pizarro. That battle altered the course of Central and South American history in a big way, and the next few centuries could have been very different had Pizarro and his men been defeated.

Diamond is smart, and his shit makes sense, but there are quite a few leaps of faith made by the author, and he kind of relegates the impact on history of human decision-making to a minor (sometimes non-existent) role. He is a really good writer, however, and it is a very interesting book. Definitely a good read.
Jun 1 2008 3:15PM
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eastside
Posts: 1744 - Karma: 167
Had to watch that in World History class earlier this year. Some of it was interesting, some of it just plain sucked.
Jun 1 2008 3:38PM
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vinnyT
Posts: 349 - Karma: 10
watched the documentary, and I think that his theory is too generalized and completely ignores the human element of historical events....        i.e. Africa is very fertile in some parts but the countries are shit because of war, not poor resources
Jun 1 2008 6:16PM
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leckett1
Posts: 6476 - Karma: 294
Wow that sounds really interesting. I actually want to read this at some point in my life now
Jun 1 2008 6:18PM
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.Capn.
Posts: 1454 - Karma: 152
It was a very interesting book. I usually dont enjoy books about history and stuff, I more like physics books and more fore front of science topics if you will, but I found this book quite worth my time.
Jun 1 2008 8:48PM
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seemeski
Posts: 4210 - Karma: 124

Its a very good movie. I watched it in my bio class. It made me think a lot.

Jun 1 2008 8:58PM
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skeeze
Posts: 315 - Karma: 29
just ordered it..sounds like a good summer read to get some thinking going..thanks man
Jun 1 2008 9:25PM
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SirFryanator
Posts: 11149 - Karma: 1,415
This is such an amazing book. It's been out a while now, and won a few prizes. But it gave me a whole new look at the geography of society and whatnot, a real mind-opener. All very well researched and done in a very readable way.
Jun 1 2008 10:25PM
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General_Shredgnar
Posts: 3024 - Karma: 34
my mom read that book. She said it was good. I read peoples history of the us, so it kinda counts, but yea I heard its quite good. I never got around to reading it myself unfortunately.
Jun 1 2008 10:34PM
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i.ski.troll.
Posts: 4692 - Karma: 247
i just watched that last week!
Jun 1 2008 10:41PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
The documentary is on the d/l right now
Jun 1 2008 10:49PM
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lanks
Posts: 12544 - Karma: 73
if you read guns, germs, and steel, be sure to read the wealth and poverty of nations as well.
Jun 2 2008 9:34AM
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