Voiceover: Jared Diamond's quest to uncover the roots of inequality began in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. Voiceover: Diamond is a professor at UCLA in Los Angeles. He's a biologist by training , a specialist in human physiology. But his real passion has always been the study of birds.
Why is Jared Diamond in New Guinea?
Diamond's affection for New Guinea began in 1964 when he and a college friend decided they wanted to take a trip to the tropics. “We said to ourselves, ‘What's the most wild and adventurous place that we young and unattached bachelors could go to? ‘ And so we cooked up a trip to New Guinea.
Who is Jared Diamond and what did he do?
Jared Diamond is one of America's most celebrated scholars. A professor of Geography and Physiology at the University of California , he is equally renowned for his work in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, and for his ground-breaking studies of the birds of Papua New Guinea.
What is Jared Diamond's claim?
In the landmark book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, author Jared Diamond argues that environmental advantages, not inherent differences in genetics or intellect , explain why some civilizations became dominant over others.
What is Jared Diamond's highly original theory?
These are questions that fascinate Professor Jared Diamond. He is on a quest to understand the roots of power, searching for clues in the most unlikely places. He's developed a highly original theory that what separates the winners from the losers is the land itself – geography .
What accent does Jared Diamond have?
“I've already done the most dangerous thing I'm going to do all day — taken a shower,” he said at the Festival of Books in his strong New England accent . Lest people conclude that he was irrationally obsessive, Diamond laid out the statistics: “I'm 76 years old. Life expectancy for a man is 91 years.
What is the big question Diamond poses?
The big question that Jared Diamond is posing is an expansion of one that was asked of him . This is usually referred to as “Yali's question,” based on a passage in which Diamond converses with a New Guinean man, Yali.
Why is agriculture the worst mistake in human history?
Archaeologists studying the rise of farming have reconstructed a crucial stage at which we made the worst mistake in human history. Forced to choose between limiting population or trying to increase food production, we chose the latter and ended up with starvation, warfare, and tyranny.
What is Jared Diamond's main argument?
In the Pulitzer-prize winning book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, author Jared Diamond argues that environmental differences rather than inherent differences between races are responsible for some cultures becoming dominant in the modern world .
Where is Jared Diamond now?
JARED DIAMOND is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles .
What evidence does Jared Diamond support his claim?
He uses scientific evidence , linguistic evidence, and historical evidence, among others. For example, in the early parts of the book, Diamond uses a great deal of scientific evidence. He uses things like evidence about the size of the seeds of prehistoric grasses.
What is Jared Diamond's hypothesis or main point he is making?
Jared Diamond's basic theory is that some countries developed more rapidly than others and were able to expand and conquer much of the world because of geographic luck .
Is Jared Diamond A genius?
Pulitzer Prize-winning human multiprocessor Jared Diamond has a lot on his mind. ... Diamond is, by most any definition, a genius . The MacArthur Foundation gave him one of its genius awards in 1985.
Can Jared Diamond explain how America fell to Guns Germs and Steel?
Can Jared Diamond explain how America fell to guns, germs and steel? ... They had ruthlessly conquered their neighbors in South America , and by 1532 governed a vast territory, the length and breadth of the Andes. But as Jared discovers, the Inca lacked some critical agents of conquest.
What did the Spaniards unknowingly bring with them that helped them conquer the Aztecs?
What did the Spaniards unknowingly bring with them that helped them conquer the Aztecs? ... Horses were large and powerful and the Aztecs were terrified of them .
What is Jared Diamond's highly original theory about why certain civilizations were able to conquer and dominate others?
What is his highly original theory? His highly original theory is that what separates the winners from the losers is geography — the shape of the continents, their crops and animals which allowed some societies to flourish while others were left behind .
