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Even rational choice theory bases its conclusions upon statistics and upon a costs and benefits analysis to come up with their conclusions in a more logical manner. Simply put, rationality can not be directly tested. Rather, social scientists that base their ideas upon rational choice theory build dependable and testable models.
In Guns, Germs and Steel, there are no testable models. There are no alternative models whatsoever. The determinism of Mr. Diamond's theory makes his reasoning circular, and therefore not able to be tested. This is what makes his effort amateur history. It is possible that the book due to its apparent originality garnered some awards. However, while Mr. Diamond's efforts to put the science in social science is laudable, it is largely amateurish in its methods and scope and belongs squarely with the group of pseudo-historical and pseudoscientific tomes that gather dust and small change at the local second hand shop. In this author's opinion, the work belongs there and not in the college library.
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Hunt, Terry. "Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island." American Scientist. Available from http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?id=1002&y=2006&no=5&content=true&page=5&css=print. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
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introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile. Available from http://www.pnas.org/content/104/25/10335.full. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
Works Cited
"Ancient Greece: Sparta." Ancient Greece. Available from http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/SPARTA.HTM. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
Diamond, Jared.
1997. Guns Germs and Steel. New York: WW. Norton.
Downs, Robert.
21st Century." Global Research.ca. Available from http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=2095. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
Hunt, Terry. "Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island." American Scientist. Available from http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/issue.aspx?id=1002&y=2006&no=5&content=true&page=5&css=print. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile. Available from http://www.pnas.org/content/104/25/10335.full. Internet; accessed 1 May 2010.
What are the symbols of group identity in the United States? Are they good or bad in your opinion? Symbols of group identity often pertain to foodstuffs (such as the critical evolution of wheat, corn, and the animals consumed) and cultural symbols such as literacy. What one eats, where one lives, and how one expresses one's self-reflects one's cultural associations -- whether a society was a hunter-gatherer or agrarian in ancient
Guns, Germs, and Steel is the documentary film version of Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name. Like the book, the documentary is divided into three separate sections. This allows for the logical development of Diamond's ideas, and for the application of the underlying thesis to different time periods, themes, and human populations. Although extensive ground is covered in the three episodes, the premise and themes
Till the period up to 11,000 BC every individuals remained Stone Age hunters/gatherers. Nearly that time, the roads of growth of human societies on various continents started to move away in a large scale. (Guns, Germs, and Steel- the Fates of Human Societies: (www.2think.org) During that period, when Stone Age hunter-gatherers comprised the total human population, a big segregation happened in the proportion that the human societies progressed. In
Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond, in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, explains how he went from being a biologist, studying birds in New Guinea, to developing an entirely new theory on the evolution of human societies. It began in 1972, when a native New Guinean asked him "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea,
9. Wild almonds contain cyanide: a person can die from eating only a few dozen of them (Diamond, p. 114). They taste bitter due to the presence of amygdalin, the precursor to cyanide. The chemical serves as a defense mechanism for the almond, deterring animals (and people) from eating them and better ensuring the propagation of the almond plant because the nut is its seed. As Diamond points out, if
Strengths of Author's Argument On their face, the author's main arguments seem to make sense. The way different societies developed depended largely on the natural resources available to them. Greater resources led to larger and more complex societies that both permitted and promoted subsequent technological development and advancement. By the time Western societies encountered and dominated tropical societies, the means through which they did so were result of earlier (natural) causes