Considerations:
- Good discussion questions should reference a specific point or idea in the text.
- Good discussion questions require critical analysis skills.
- Good discussion questions challenges one to demonstrate factual knowledge and an understanding of the geo-political, socio-historical context of the issue.
- Example: In the epilogue, Diamond states, "The histories of the Fertile Crescent and China also hold a salutary lesson for the modern world: circumstances change, and past primacy is no guarantee of future primacy"(GGS, 417). Discuss historical and contemporary examples that support or refute this assertion. (NOTE: This question is from the epilogue. You are only required to read and answer questions about the Prologue and Parts I, II, & III.)
Each student must create UNIQUE discussion questions. All comments are dated and time stamped - check previous comments to be sure you aren't duplicating someone else's question.
In chapter eleven, Diamond says that much like humans, germs evolve to become more effective. According to Diamond, “Mircobes have evolved diverse ways of spreading from one person to another, and from animals to people” (Diamond 198). Germs are constantly evolving and becoming more and more difficult to control. In the past, epidemics such as Black Death have wiped out populations in almost their entirety. Since then, medicine has evolved as humans evolve. In present times, epidemics such as Black Death do not seem to occur, but surely germs have not become less effective. It seems that the medical abilities of humans are evolving faster than the germs are evolving. If humans were evolving at an equal rate then the destructive epidemics would live on, and if humans were evolving slower than the germs then germs would successfully be killing off the entire human population. I think that the fast pace of human evolution is attributed to the development of civilization. As Diamond states multiple times, when societies begin to domesticate their food rather than hunting-gathering they are able to provide for intellectual occupations. As our society has become increasing less reliant of self-provided food, more and more people have been able to spend their time in fields such as science to further develop human capabilities. Yet, AIDS still seems to puzzle medical scientists. The disease AIDS has the ability to adapt at speeds too quick for scientists to keep up. Therefore, it seems to be that the evolution of germs has to be addressed individually for each germ. I have no doubt that germs continue to evolve, because if they didn’t then humans would not suffer from disease, because scientists wouldn’t have to keep adapting their curing methods. Basically, had the world not evolved to provide for the scientists, disease would have evolved faster than humans, which would in fact eventually lead to the extinction of the human race.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 12, “Blueprints and Borrowed Letters,” Diamond asks “...why did no traditional hunters-gatherers evolve or adopt writing? Among island empires, why did writing arise in Minoan Crete but not in Polynesian Tonga?”(Diamond 216) These statements and curiosities are valid due to the fact that no archaeological evidence has been found to show that they had writing. However, maybe the hunter-gatherers and the people of the Polynesian Tonga did have writing. They may have written on perishable or biodegradable items, like thin paper or organic objects that could not survive for an extended period of time. Additionally, they may have written on rocks or clay, but when they moved on to another area, or no longer needed them, they may have grinded the writing off to refresh and start over again with a clean slate. In remote areas, their writing instruments and tablets could have been lost due to their inability to transport these items with them. Is it possible that these societies could have had writing or language that was not preserved or has yet to be discovered?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 10, “Spacious Skies and Tilted Axes,” Diamond shares “Why was the spread of crops from the Fertile Crescent so rapid? The answer depends partly on that east-west axis of Eurasia with which I opened this chapter. Localities distributed east and west of each other at the same latitude share exactly the same day length and its seasonal variations. To a lesser degree, they also tend to share similar diseases, regimes of temperature and rainfall, and habitats or biomes (types of vegetation)” (Diamond 183). His arguments may have applied to the Fertile Crescent, however, differences in topography and climate may vary the landscape across a constant latitude in other areas. For instance, the Northeastern United States has much more severe winters and often experiences a “lake effect” coming off of the Great Lakes. Whereas, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, at the same latitude, do not. Topographical barriers such as the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains pose other obstacles for the spread of crops, livestock, and technology. Diamond asserts that these areas, like the Fertile Crescent, across an east-west axis, should have similar soils, habitats, and vegetation. However, when analyzing the east-west axis through the United States, these factors vary greatly between the damp, forested Northwest, the dry, flat plains of the Midwest, and the snowy, mountains of the Northeast. Did Diamond’s argument only apply to the unique case of the Fertile Crescent or is it a valid assessment of the spread of development throughout the world?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 13, “Necessity’s Mother,” Diamond claims that the QWERTY keyboard, used on every electronic device today, was originally designed to slow the typing process down because the adjacent keys on typewriters, when struck rapidly, would jam. He asserts that the 1873 keyboard model was a “feat of anti-engineering” because “it employs a whole series of perverse tricks designed to force typists to type as slowly as possible, such as scattering the commonest letters over all keyboard rows and concentrating them on the left side (where right-handed people have to use their weaker hand)” (Diamond 248). In 1932, a new keyboard layout was tested and studies showed that using it would double one’s typing speed and decrease effort by ninety five percent. Since the beginning of technology, more efficient designs and advancements have been adopted and purchased by consumers. At this point, if this keyboard was so much better than the 1873 model, why was it not embraced and implemented as a more efficient solution? Diamond believes that it is because so many were already invested in the current keyboard model. In 1932, how much typing technology had already been developed? Wouldn’t replacing the 1873 keyboard with a new and improved model be similar to any other advancement in technology (ex. VHS, DVD, Blue-Ray; records, cassette tapes, CDs, downloads)?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 6, Jared Diamond explains that one factor leading to the dominance of food production “was the two-way link between the rise in human population density and the rise of food production” (111). Provide examples from prehistoric and modern times that support this claim.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 13, Diamond explains his conclusions of technology. He states, “My two main conclusions are that technology develops cumulatively, rather than in isolated heroic acts, and that it finds most of its uses after it has been invented” (245). Provide and explain at least two examples from history that maintain or oppose his argument.
In Chapter 9, Diamond asks, “For example, did Africa’s abundance of big wild mammals, available to kill by hunting, make it superfluous for Africans to go to the trouble of tending domestic stock?” He then states, “The answer to that question is unequivocal: No!” (163). Support or refute this claim using evidence from Guns Germs and Steel and at least one other source.
In Chapter 9, Diamond begins the chapter with, “Domesticable animals are all alike; every undomesticable animal is undomesticable in its own way.” Support or refute this statement with two different animals; one from Guns, Germs, and Steel and one from an outside source.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 13, Diamond explains that some inventions are adopted more quickly than others in a society. Provide an example of an invention that was adopted quickly in modern society and an invention that was either adopted slowly or rejected by modern society. Also, explain why these inventions were adopted quickly or adopted slowly or rejected by the public.
In Chapter 14, Diamond lists four ways that kleptocrats “gain popular support while still maintaining a more comfortable lifestyle then commoners.” Provide two examples of kleptocrats that have used one or more of the four listed methods; one from Guns, Germs, and Steel and one from an outside source.
In Chapter 6 Diamond boldly stated, “… the first farmers on each continent could not have chosen farming consciously, because there were no nearby farmers for them to observe” (108). I do agree that anything can be spread by someone observing a breakthrough in food production and trying to mimic it, but I actually disagree with the thought process that humans model their “discoveries” after someone already practicing something already in existence. I believe that these humans may have just watched the plants and crops sprout in the wild and modeled farming off of nature. As Diamond mentioned in a previous chapter, human evolution brought forth larger and more sophisticated beings, why are these more intelligent people not capable of just observing a plant in the wild and trying to do it on their own? Diamond’s argument makes plenty of sense, but no one is really sure how farming came about, I am just another intellectual trying to answer this debated question.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 8 Diamond explained, “Thus, the first farmers in the Jordan Valley selected the 2 very best of the 23 best wild grass species available to them” (146). A few sentences later he concluded, “… illustrates that the first farmers used their detailed knowledge of local species to their own benefit” (146). Diamond supports his claim by explaining that these were very large to decently large seeds, more abundant, and annual plants unlike some of the other wild grass species in the area. All of this information is valid because barley and emmer wheat did have noticeable advantages over the other types, but who says that these first farmers did not just choose random seeds. Sure it seems like they had this limited knowledge of wild grasses, but how sure are historians that they used their knowledge when choosing these crops? I know sometimes I make impulsive decisions when I see something in a store that looks neat and I purchase it without realizing that I could have gone with the more effective model. These early famers may have simply been either experimenting with all of the grasses to see which one sprouts first, or maybe they chose the one they thought was more interesting. For all we know, these first farmers may have gone into the valley, picked two and those lucky choices happened to have been the best for their situation. Since no one can really grasp what these farmers were thinking, no one will know how these two grasses were domesticated first.
ReplyDelete1. In the prologue, Diamond summarizes his entire text in one all-important thesis: “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves” (25). However, throughout Chapter 7, Diamond frequently claims that natural selection and genetic mutations are responsible for some plants’ dominance over other plants of the same species. Could it be possible that this idea applies to humans as well? Based on this consideration, examine the counterargument of Diamond’s thesis. In other words, is it possible that some imbalances of today’s society are due to differences in particular peoples – not by racism, but as products of natural selection in which people of different regions adapted to their environment in different ways than people of other societies? Use scientific examples of environmental conditions and possible acquired adaptations to those conditions to support or refute the claim.
ReplyDelete2. In Chapter 4: Farmer Power of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond analyzes how food production – of both domesticated plants and animals – gave societies an advantage in acquiring guns, germs, and steel. For example, he writes, “Food production was indirectly a prerequisite for the development of guns, germs, and steel” (82). After looking closely at the effects of possessing domesticated plants and animals, determine which you think is more advantageous to bringing about guns, germs, steel, and other proximate factors. That is, assuming all other factors are equal, which society has the advantage: a society with domesticated plants but not domesticated animals, or a society with domesticated animals but not domesticated plants? Analyze this question, providing an example of two such societies (one with only plants, and the second with only animals) to support your answer.
3. In Chapter 1: Up to the Starting Line, Diamond creates a sample situation of an archaeologist who travels back in time to 11,000 B.C. to hypothesize which continent would become dominant (49). In the book, the archaeologist eventually concludes that any continent has a fair chance, and that there is not yet enough information to decide (Diamond 51). Now imagine you were that archaeologist who visits 11,000 B.C. with no knowledge of future outcomes but possessing all knowledge of Diamond’s argument (for example, you understand the critical importance of food production but do not know that it will develop first in the Fertile Crescent). In this situation, it is likely that your detailed knowledge of Diamond’s theories would eventually allow you (after research of suitable domesticable plant and animal species) to confidently determine Eurasia as the “winner” of continental development and conquest. However, now imagine an alternate planet Earth. Environmental factors such as continent size and location, climate and vegetation zones, physical features like mountains and bodies of water, flora and fauna wildlife, and the place of origin of the earliest humans will all have changed. Choose one particular combination of such factors to compose your new world. Using these decided factors and your comprehensive knowledge of all of Diamond’s arguments, discuss which continent will most likely become dominant in your fantasy world. In other words, how will your newly chosen layout of the Earth affect the development of societies over the next thousands of years?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5, Diamond questions why farming was not adopted in areas that are perfectly suitable for a farming lifestyle. Explain, based on the facts supplied by Diamond, why in suitable areas for farming, farming was not adopted, and why farming was adopted at different times on different continents.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8, Diamond uses that example that the apple was perfectly capable of being domesticated where some Native Americans lived, but never was. He then asks if the blame is on the apple or on the Native Americans. Provide two examples for why it could be the apple's fault, and two examples for why it could by the Native American's fault.
In chapter 13, Diamond explains the Phaistos disk and how it's origins were never traced. Provide one reason for the Phaistos disk could not be traced back to one particular society, and why no other artifact contains the same writing system as that found on the disk.
In Chapter Two, “A Natural Experiment of History,” Diamond explains that “purposeful experiments cannot be carried out on human societies. Instead, scientists must look for ‘natural experiments,’ in which something similar befell humans in the past” (55). Diamond then goes on to observe the clash between the Moriori and Maori peoples, for these two peoples originated from the same population and evolved in different environments (54-57). Their clash therefore shows the effects that environment has on a population (54-57). Find another historical event that illustrates a “natural experiment” relating to another topic or idea that Diamond discusses in Guns, Germs, and Steel.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter Eight, “Apples or Indians,” Diamonds asks, “For those Native Americans who failed to domesticate North American apples, did the problem really lie with the Indians or with the apples?” (134). What was Diamond’s ultimate answer to this question, and why do you think that this answer, like many answers to historical questions, was not a simple, straightforward one?
In Chapter Fourteen, “From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy,” Diamond says that “the Fayu consist of about 400 hunter-gatherers, divided into four clans and wandering over a few hundred square miles. According to their own account, they had formerly numbered about 2,000, but their population had been greatly reduced as a result of Fayu killing Fayu. They lacked political and social mechanisms, which we take for granted, to achieve peaceful resolution of serious disputes. Eventually, ... one group of Fayu invited a courageous husband-and-wife missionary couple to live with them. The couple has now resided there for a dozen years and gradually persuaded the Fayu to renounce violence. The Fayu are thereby being brought into the modern world, where they face an uncertain future” (266). Diamond explains here that a formally violent, uncivilized group was pacified by the introduction and assimilation of religion into their culture. Why do you think that religion has this effect on such groups?
In Chapter Two, "A Natural Experiment of History," Diamond provides an example of how one society of people (the Maori), divided by vast geographical boundaries, managed to take completely different paths of social and technological development. Diamond then goes on to show that the environment of the Cathams greatly inhibited the abilities of the Moriori people for their centuries long year period of independence, as opposed to the Maori conquerors who had developed on the larger and more diverse islands of New Zealand. Diamond, however, also states that the Moriori had, for all their primitive technologies and customs, managed to develop a common "... tradition of resolving disputes peacefully. They decided in a council meeting not to fight back but to offer peace, friendship, and a division of resources." If the Moriori people were able to willingly and voluntarily offer friendship than to arm themselves for defense then aren't the Moriori the more culturally mature? If, for all its simpleness, a council meeting managed to persuade their people to maintain peace in their attitude over a fruitless defense of their land, should they not be considered more wise?
ReplyDelete(The additional 2 questions)
DeleteIn chapter 4 of GGS Diamond says how the languages of the people with horses eventually replaced all other earlier Western European languages except basque. This is not elaborated upon I n the book and there are no clear geological borders. How is it that the language of basque, spoken in the north of Spain and the south of France, managed to survive the genocide of all the other languages?
In chapter 14 of GGS Diamond states that all continents except Antarctica a divided. Despite the apparent cold and distance, European colonies in Africa once were regarded as hot, sweaty, distant places by the countries that colonized them. Now, we know that Africa has many useful resources and is home to some complex local governments that can affect global affairs (for better or for worse). Why is it then, that Antarctica has managed to receive no interest other than basic scientific monitoring?
In chapter Four, "Farmer Power," Diamond provides some information on why the hunter gatherer population was replaced by the farming population. Diamond explains that the hunter gatherers did not have a stable food supply at all times, as did the farmers. Diamond also goes on to explain that the hunter gatherer lifestyle was erratic since they depended on their food sources for life. Since the farmer lifestyle was much more settled, most hunter gatherers preferred the farmer lifestyle. As well as these two examples, Diamond went on to explain a few more in this chapter. Other than a unstable food source and erratic lifestyle and any other reason provided by Diamond, were there any other reasons not explained in this chapter that explains why the hunter gatherer lifestyle was mostly replaced by the farmer lifestyle?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter eight, "Apples or Indians" Diamond goes into detail about the advantages of the Fertile Crescent over other various places and why the Fertile Crescent advanced the quickest. The first advantage was that the plants wasted little energy creating inedible wood or fibrous stems, which were not useful to the inhabitants.The plants would instead create large seeds which would turn dormant in the dry season, but sprout when it rains. Were these conditions what allowed for the most cereals and pulses to occur here? Also, were there originally only a few types of cereals and pulses to start off, but over the years the cereals and pulses here changed the most due to the climate being the most sufficient to meet their needs? Finally, did the forest trees not occur in the Fertile Crescent or could they just not survive the long dry periods?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter nine of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Friedman discusses the “Anna Karenina Principle”. This principle describes that a marriage must meet many different respects in order to be successful . Friedman uses it to help explain animal domestication. Friedman states, “Domesticable animals are all alike; every undomesticable animal is undomesticable in its own way” (GGS 157). Based on your knowledge, how can the Anna Karenina principle help explain and relate to other concepts other than marriage?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter three, "Collision at Cajamarca", Friedman briefly touches on the point how horses transformed the face of warfare and the use of them helped the Spaniards gain a tremendous advantage over their enemy (GGS 76). In addition, Friedman touches base on them again in chapter four, "Farmer Power”. He discusses new warfare technologies for horses, such as stirrups (GGS 91). Based on the text, what were some advantages of utilizing horses during war? Using your own knowledge, how did the role of horses change as the world was introduced to new technologies? List a few new, modern warfare technologies.
In chapter eleven, “Lethal Gift of Livestock”, Friedman makes the connection of the rise of food production and the answer to Yali’s question about why different people ended up with different degrees of power and affluence. He makes a bold statement, saying that the, “ultimate cause of food production led to the proximate cause of germs, literacy, technology, and centralized government” (GGS 195). Do you agree with this statement? Use examples from the text to support your answer.
In Chapter 1 “Up to the Starting Line,” Diamond started off by explaining the theory of evolution which says that the modern human being evolved from apes, gorillas, and chimpanzees. He then adds on that these species are confined to Africa so this is possibly where humans originated. This scientific theory is highly controversial with the existence of over 4,000 religions that may say otherwise. Many of these religions believe that a god of some sort created the universe, humans, and currently controls it. Also, early religions such as mythology had a god for many things such as the ocean, sun, and even war. These early religions and many modern religions were created try to explain the unexplainable and to help humans cope with their biggest fear, death. Now, whichever religion one believes is true to which is own. What if humans were made and placed on earth? What if it just so happened that humans were placed in Africa and not a late evolution of gorillas?
ReplyDeleteIn the Prologue, Diamond discusses the four most common answers to Yali's question of why some areas of the world develop at different rates than others (14). Are there any other possible answers that can be given to Yali's question, and if so, what are they?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9, Diamond discusses the domestication of animals, and how some animals can be domesticated based on the Anna Karenina Principle. Based on his discussion on why certain animals are domesticated, is it possible that human beings are actually domesticated themselves?
In chapter 13, Diamond contrasts the common theory of invention, which is that an invention is made to fulfill a need. Give three examples that oppose Diamond's argument and support the heroic theory of invention.
In chapter 1, Diamond discusses the Cro-Magnons and their tools. Why did the Cro-Magnons decide to use stone and bones as tools out of anything around them, and why did the Cro-Magnons like to wear jewelry such as ostrich-shell beads? Also, how did the Cro-Magnons realize that these items would be able to be of use? Was it through trial and error or were they thinking about something like this ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9, Diamond states that only 14 of the 148 big wild terrestrial herbivorous mammals became domesticated. Were all 148 of the animals tested or were some just dismissed right away as unfit to become domesticated? Also, were the 14 that passed the test figured out through trial and error or by certain characteristics that would make them more valuable than others
In chapter 1, Diamond studied Australian giants and the reasons they became extinct. His theory is that because they all simultaneously died when the humans arrived, they were either directly or indirectly killed by humans. Are there any other theories that can explain why the giants of Australia died off? If so, explain.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 8, “Apples or Indians”, Diamond’s Foré friends said that “Only Americans could be so stupid to confuse poisonous mushrooms with safe ones” (144). Why is it that Americans sometimes confuse mushrooms when Foré people don’t? Is it based off intellect or something else?
In chapter 12, Diamond explains the three basic strategies to create a writing system. The strategies include the alphabet, logograms, and syllabaries. Based on the facts that Diamond includes in this section, pages 216-217, which strategy is the best and most logical one to start a language?
In chapter 3, Diamond states, "Today, it is hard for us to grasp the enormous numerical odds against which the Spaniards' military equipment prevailed." Why would it be so hard for readers to grasp the concept that against basically all odds they won? Diamond gives us the statistical numbers for each side, and that was not our first war that we have either heard about or been in?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 14, Diamond talks about how if a quarrel were to break out, but it is within a tribe with less than a few hundred people and everyone is fairly close to each other, many people would come in attempt to break the fight up. However, in a larger society where people were a bit more distant from each other, and if a quarrel were to break out, less people would come to break the heated argument up. So I ask, why is it so different if a person is related to you or not, if a fight starts and you're present, would you not help regardless of your blood connection?
In chapter 11, Diamond states that, "All these types of diseases, characteristics of small isolated populations, must be the oldest diseases of humanity." So how can he place the characteristic that this disease is from a small isolated population when it is a disease, that could be spread in a variety of ways and possibly in a larger population?
Chapter 1: “Furthermore, the genetic diversity is highest in Africa; perhaps more-diverse humans would collectively produce more-diverse inventions.”(GGS,50) Do you agree with this statement? Why would Africa have the highest genetic diversity? Explain why.
ReplyDeleteChapter 9: “These differences result from two processes: human selection of those individual animals more useful to humans than other individuals of the same species, and automatic evolutionary responses of animals to the altered forces of natural selection in operating in human environments as compared with wild environments.”(GGS,159) Why would humans select some animals as more useful than others? Name 3 animals that would be the most beneficial to humans and why.
Chapter 11: “Microbes have evolved diverse ways of spreading from one person to another, and from animals to people.”(GGS,198) Discuss historical examples in ways that microbes have evolved in ways to spread. What are some ways to prevent microbes from spreading? Use outside sources for help if needed.