First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese • Hacker News Board

Re: First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese

#61

Post by kmkswamy » Wed, May 18, 2016, 5:07 AM UTC

codezero wrote: post #55

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The inhabitants are extremely unique. There may be no other society like theirs on the face of the planet. If an unintrusive privacy breach of that small group was likely to allow us to learn something that would improve the lives of 7 billion others, it ought to be made. Just do the math. I don't think there's likely to be that much we can learn which would actually be useful, but that ought to be the test.

Out of curiosity, what could we learn that would change people's lives? My understanding is that the only thing we'd learn is more about how early tribal systems might have been, which is of academic interest to Anthropologists, not of general value to every day people. I am known to misunderstand though, which is why I'm asking if there is something we think we can learn from studying them that would apply to all pe…

One of the things the article said was that they survived the tsunami with their observation of the nature.. don't you think that this lost/gained knowledge can be an insight on how we understand nature now?

Re: First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese

#62

Post by TeMPOraL » Wed, May 18, 2016, 9:58 AM UTC

codezero wrote: post #5

redsummer wrote: post #4

Any significant contact would wipe the Sentinelese out. Even a common cold infection would be the end of them. The anthropologists know this, but seem willing to risk this for their own ego. If we wanted to learn anything about the Sentinelese, then perhaps we could use well-camouflaged camera traps, and other electronic eavesdropping devices. The moral considerations are difficult - it's a privacy breach, but the in…

I don't think the moral considerations are that difficult. Would you accept NSA surveillance if they said it was so that your descendants could understand you, and "For Science"?

You are right, they aren't difficult. The answer is: yes, of course I would.

Re: First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese

#63

Post by TeMPOraL » Wed, May 18, 2016, 10:00 AM UTC

codezero wrote: post #13

donutz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the best analogy. The anthropologists aren't trying to root out wrongdoers in this tribe by surveilling the whole lot of them.

I know, but the NSA could argue they aren't trying to root out wrongdoers either. What would they do if their camera recorded a violent act between tribe members, or against a child? They might feel obligated to act, or not act, either of which could have dangerous consequences.

That's why such hypothetical NSA should adopt the Prime Directive[0].

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive

Re: First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese

#64

Post by TeMPOraL » Wed, May 18, 2016, 10:09 AM UTC

goda90 wrote: post #50

Jun8 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does she use "us" to refer to Indian society, or humanity in general (minus other primitive tribes, presumably)? What parameters do you base "advancement" in this case, e.g. is the Sentilenese socially "far ahead of" US society in general? How about, say, Ethiopian or Navajo societies? Once we start thinking about the diversity of human experience I think we can see such statements as examples of the Noble Savage sen…

Perhaps too much emphasis is being put on technological and cultural advancement when thinking about these things. It may be that a tight knit, homogenous society has fewer problems in general and thrives as long as outside influence doesn't overwhelm it.

I think that maybe not enough emphasis is put on technological advancement. Cultures tend to look pretty similar to each other on any given technological level. There's a case to be made that it's technology that drives social structure, not the other way around.

Re: First Friendly Contact with the Sentinelese

#65

Post by codezero » Wed, May 18, 2016, 11:11 PM UTC

kmkswamy wrote: post #61

codezero wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, what could we learn that would change people's lives? My understanding is that the only thing we'd learn is more about how early tribal systems might have been, which is of academic interest to Anthropologists, not of general value to every day people. I am known to misunderstand though, which is why I'm asking if there is something we think we can learn from studying them that would apply to all pe…

One of the things the article said was that they survived the tsunami with their observation of the nature.. don't you think that this lost/gained knowledge can be an insight on how we understand nature now?

> with their observation of the nature

Well, I guess I answer my own question here, but we don't know that they survived because of their observation of the nature. We don't know enough about them to say that. They survived, how or why, we don't know. Knowing how or why may be of interest to Anthropologists, but there's nothing indicating that it would be generally useful for all humans.