The ethical dimension
"Why is that you white people developed much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?"
Yali's question is a very simple one - something that even a child might ask - but it struck me as one that must be carefully answered, as the answer will shape human decisions. An explanation based on biological differences between races can be used to justify discrimination and maybe even genocide, in a Brave New World-type of society. Lee Kuan Yew, to some extent, subscribes to these beliefs and this is reflected in some of his policies (e.g. graduate mothers). This makes for an interesting contrast to Diamond's thesis: “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people's environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves.”
The nuts and bolts of technology aside, I think that the ethical dimension is something that cannot be ignored. After understanding the changes that technology has brought about, we should ask ourselves how it can be used as a force for good and how we can mitigate any negative effects it might have.
The rise of civilizations
As for the content covered in class, it seems that nearly every region of the world had its heyday at some point in history. I think many historians have already identified the common factors, though of course there will always be disputes about which are more important and whether some should or should not be on the list. These are interesting and worth exploring, as understanding the past helps us to better shape the future
And beyond that, there will always be a specific explanation for each region and for each “technology” revolution (e.g. the Middle East's in the 7th century, which was covered in reading 4). I think that knowing these explanations is valuable, as you need to use these specific examples to illustrate the general factors.
All in all, I look forward to becoming better acquainted with these ideas via the TWC course.
