“The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization” and other lanky links…
Dr. Moira Gunn: “Dr. Moira Gunn talks with Cornell professor and author, Spencer Wells, discussing the contents of his new book Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization** where he voices misgivings about the breakthrough to farming 10,000 years ago, spurred by climate change. Nowadays, Wells contends, we are both stultified and overstimulated, cut off from the land and alienated from one other, resulting in mental illness and violent fundamentalism.”
Of course, I have not read Spencer’s book but the interview mentioned nothing about the social revolution away from biological altruism called imperialism. The interview failed to touch upon the correlation of poor natural resources and farming “civilizations”… The interview did mention Jared Diamond what with his astute observation that only a small slice of humanity domesticated animals in any meaningful way. This success with animals can naturally lead to the domestication of people—an unforeseen cost of civilization.
“How bedbugs invaded New York…”
Ed Pilkington: “One reason often cited for the resurgence of the pest is the banning of the toxic chemical DDT, with which they had previously been brought under control. But Cooper believes the main cause of their success today is human ignorance. People are unaware of what to look for and miss the early signs, allowing the bedbugs to establish themselves and spread throughout a dwelling. Part of the problem is the assumption that infestation is confined to poor neighbourhoods with dirty and crowded living spaces.”
“Book Review—Russia Against Napoleon”
Dominic Lieven: “The French, of course, communicated with one another in their own language, but this made it easy for the Russians to read captured letters; Russian generals, on the other hand, could communicate in a variety of languages—including, in one case, Latvian, which virtually guaranteed complete confidentiality. Moreover, Alexander worked easily and well with the numerous Frenchmen who fled Napoleon’s regime and wanted to help in his downfall. As a result, his intelligence operation was far superior to that of his enemy.”
“Neanderthal genes ‘survive in us’”
Paul Rincon: “This must have taken place just as people were leaving Africa, while they were still part of one pioneering population. This mixing could have taken place either in North Africa, the Levant or the Arabian Peninsula, say the researchers. …But there are several variations on this idea. The most conservative model proposes that this replacement took place with no interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals.”