Why did Human History Unfold Differently on Different Continents for the Last 13000 years?

Article: http://edge.org/conversation/why-did-human-history-unfold-differently-on-different-continents-for-the-last-13000-years

a. Identify Diamond's major themes and key points

 Jared Diamond begins his article with a question that seems to encompass his article: Why did history take such different evolutionary courses for peoples of different continents? Diamond explores the reasons that people of different regions seemed to have thrived throughout history whilst others haven't.  Diamond highlights the fact that throughout the ages, people of certain locations seemed to have greater evolved in their use of tools and technologies while other people, of less advanced locations still worked with primitive tools and habits. He focuses on how the advances of certain peoples seems to be related to the location of said people. Diamond implies that differences in geography and location not only initiates differences in advancements, but also helps increase development in a way that makes the growth of inequalities increase much faster than other locations and peoples.

key points: 

• the importance of location 
• the reasons certain locations advanced faster
• the growth of inequalities as they relate to location and advancement 
• the idea of history as a science
• biogeographic differences
• domestication

b. What does he identify as the most important determinants to a society's success? 

Diamond focuses his article on two aspects that determined a society's success: domestication of animals and plants and isolationism, as well as the aspects that these instigated.

Domestication of animals and foo

Eurasia had more domesticated plants than any other continent, therefore Eurasia had more "food per acre" than any other place. This enabled Eurasia to not only have a greater population density, but also to expand the progression of its people. Whereas the people of other areas spent most of their time on harvesting and procuring nutrition, the peoples of Eurasia began to expand its technologies and to expand knowledge such as reading and writing, which later proved to be a great advantage as the peoples of the old world could spread accurate detailed information among each other. The domestication of food also instigated political organization as well as the domestication of animals. The location of Eurasia also had a greater advantage since there were more mammals there than any other area. The close proximity to animals also proved to be a biological advantage as the people of Eurasia developed immunities to diseases related to animals that were before unknown to other areas of the world.

Isolation

In a couple of paragraphs, Diamond uses Australia and Tasmania to explain that the isolation and forced small population of certain societies can be a great disadvantage. In less isolated areas, the rate of human invention is faster, and said inventions are have a higher rate of acceptance and usage in areas of greater population. Less isolated areas also have a slower rate of cultural loss, which is also a factor that Diamond uses as a determinant to a society's success.

c. How can these ideas be applied to today's global economy?

I think there are two ways that Diamond's ideas and thesis could be applied to today's global economy, development and globalization. One of Diamond's key points what the biogeological differences between continents and how these differences affect the development of the societies within. Through the lense of economics, one can clearly see these differences in between developed and undeveloped countries. The economics of a third-world country is extremely different than that of a first-world country, yet these two have found many relations, which brings us to the second idea, globalization. In terms of history, globalization is a new revolution that has changed the economics of every country and every society within. Diamond speaks of the lack of weapons, foods, animals, or technologies in some areas, and the disadvantages that this lack posed. Globalization, and the use of finances and money, has changed that lack of advances. How would our history be different had we had globalization during the colonization of the lands?