This is a reflection of all the readings from session 1. Much of the focus was on technological revolution in early years of civilisation. It was enriching to read about how people, way back in time, were just beginning to discover ways and solutions for mere activities, such as gathering food to sustain their community, keeping themselves warm, and surviving in the enviroment, against climate or the wild.
Jared's Guns, Germs and Steel was very comprehensively put together, and made it more clear on how warfare, diseases and geographical locations have shaped Africa or the Western countries the way they are now. He believes that geography is the main factor. However, it does strike to me as odd, where the people in New Guinea who are on a constant move to new places, in search of food and shelter, did not to travel as much as the Westerners. What had stopped them from making the leap to being as advanced as the whites and get as much 'cargo' as them? Many countries have surpassed the geographical barriers in search of better living and thrived.
The reason could be that indegenous people of Africa, were made of small communities. And their priority in life is to sustain each other and ensure continual living of thier kind. Thus, the innovations that arise from them, are limited to survival techniques. The westerners were a more amibitious bunch, where they took innovations to great heights that could change the dynamics of large communities.
From my previous blog, I had a question about whether the white dominance had anything to do with stifling the progress of New Guineans and also how societies have been shaped till now. It was not mentioned much in the videos about how the skin colour could have affected New Guineans' way of life. This could have been one of the more subtle factors. This amongst many other things, shaped the way the world it is.
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