Nothing against New Guineans, but the notion of attributing not sleeping under a dead tree to their specific culture is funny. It's basic risk management of anyone who camps frequently in the backcountry. In fact many learn the 4 W's of concern when picking a campsite- Wind/Weather, Water, Wildlife, and Widowmakers (i.e. a falling tree branch)
That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
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Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#12Nothing against New Guineans, but the notion of attributing not sleeping under a dead tree to their specific culture is funny. It's basic risk management of anyone who camps frequently in the backcountry. In fact many learn the 4 W's of concern when picking a campsite- Wind/Weather, Water, Wildlife, and Widowmakers (i.e. a falling tree branch)
I think you missed his point. He wasn't trying to establish that New Guineans somehow "invented" the idea of not sleeping under a dead tree, merely that the author wasn't personally tuned to the risks of being under trees until he spent time with the people there. That's all.
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#13Nothing against New Guineans, but the notion of attributing not sleeping under a dead tree to their specific culture is funny. It's basic risk management of anyone who camps frequently in the backcountry. In fact many learn the 4 W's of concern when picking a campsite- Wind/Weather, Water, Wildlife, and Widowmakers (i.e. a falling tree branch)
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Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#14Where can I get that snake-head shower-head?
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#15Not discussed is how the author's hyper-vigilance impacts his life in the form of stress. Stress kills.
Its possible to be careful and unstressed. I avoid caffeine. I don't even think about it any more; I just don't choose drinks containing caffeine.
Not so black and white though, caffeine may have health benefits, e.g.
http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20120607/coffee-may-hel...
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#16One of the reasons falls are so fatal for old people is because elderly people in our society rarely stay active. Look at cultures like the Chinese, where you so elderly women up in the morning doing Taichi, or working out on those weird outdoor gym sets in the rest of the day. Maintaining strength and flexibility during old age helps mitigate damage from falls a lot.
Physical deterioration is often a self-fulfilling prophecy,
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#17Nothing against New Guineans, but the notion of attributing not sleeping under a dead tree to their specific culture is funny. It's basic risk management of anyone who camps frequently in the backcountry. In fact many learn the 4 W's of concern when picking a campsite- Wind/Weather, Water, Wildlife, and Widowmakers (i.e. a falling tree branch)
I think you missed his point. He wasn't trying to establish that New Guineans somehow "invented" the idea of not sleeping under a dead tree, merely that the author wasn't personally tuned to the risks of being under trees until he spent time with the people there. That's all.
The point is not lost, but the author does attribute it to a specific culture:
>"I first became aware of the New Guineans’ attitude toward risk on a trip into a forest..."
>"I now think of New Guineans’ hypervigilant attitude..."
>"Traditional New Guineans have to think clearly about dangers....In contrast, Americans’ thinking about dangers is confused."
The truth is it's a common, learned attitude of anyone who spends a lot of time sporting in the outdoors - no matter where you live. The author himself points out the American/European pilot and raft guide, for example.
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#18Yep. This is why every dollar spent on the TSA would be better spent on preventing car accidents, heart attacks, and falls in the shower.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/01/the_comparativ...
But I like the OP's more practical point: personal attention to normal activities that are actually risky, based on a realistic view of those risks.
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#19Strangely not mentioned at all, so I'll put it here: Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs and Steel , his most famous work. It addresses the question of how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations. There is also an excellent four-part series streaming on Netflix.
Guns, Germs, and Steel was most certainly not about "how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations". The concept of "advanced", or being "ahead of" is inapplicable. It's a book about sociocultural evolution.
Additionally, Diamond is pretty ambivalent about the "winners". Diamond wrote an essay on the subject of agriculture called "The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race". He closes the essay with "As our second midnight approaches, will the plight of famine-stricken peasants gradually spread to engulf us all? Or will we somehow achieve those seductive blessings that we imagine behind agriculture's glittering facade, and that have so far eluded us?"
Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer
#20Strangely not mentioned at all, so I'll put it here: Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs and Steel , his most famous work. It addresses the question of how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations. There is also an excellent four-part series streaming on Netflix.
Guns, Germs, and Steel was most certainly not about "how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations". The concept of "advanced", or being "ahead of" is inapplicable. It's a book about sociocultural evolution. Additionally, Diamond is pretty ambivalent about the "winners". Diamond wrote an essay on the subject of agriculture called "The Worst Mistake in…
No. I'm pretty sure it was about why and how European civilizations were able to conquer technology and the world, and specifically why many of the developments critical to the rise of European supremacy are not found in other societies. Yes, the judgments made in the book tend to be more fact-based and objective, e.g., a gun is more effective than a spear.
It is not a screed extolling the virtues of European civilization, nor a litany of the failings of other people. Sorry if that's how you understood my brief.
Gotta love HN-contrarianism. Oh have you also heard of Jared Diamond and would now like that knowledge recognized by pedantically contradicting me?
EDIT: actually let me update this. It is about sociocultural evolution. However if I had said "he wrote a book about sociocultural evolution," nobody would have understood the primary emphasis of his work. That book is specifically and primarily about identifying the key developments in Europe which allowed that civilization to rise in power. He has spent many years living among primitive societies around the world to explore his hypotheses. As much as possible, concepts like "primitive" and "advanced" are objective qualifiers and not value judgments.
When I say it that way, people understand what it's about and want to read the book.