Saket Vora

I heard about this extraordinary book earlier this spring from my friend Mike Lee, who told me about its interesting premise and the quality in which the material was presented. Over the course of the semester, I heard mention of it by more people and felt it would be a worthy book to tackle first this summer. After all, I had never taken an anthropology or history course in college, and the last time I studied biology was in the 9th grade of high school.

Guns, Germs, and Steel is written by Dr. Jared Diamond, professor of geography at UCLA. Dr. Diamond has had many years of field experience in Polynesia (New Guinea in particular) and elsewhere around the world. The book attempts to answer a strikingly fundamental question about ‘how things became the way they are’ (to borrow a theme from the excellent book Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn). How did it come to be that the people of Europe and Asia (Eurasia) to dominate the world so thoroughly in technology and economy? Why, despite being the birthplace of Homo sapiens, is so much of Africa devastatingly poor and unstable. How is it that the Spaniards and Englishmen who first arrived in the New World brandished fire-arms, steel armor and weaponry, while the natives they found still fought with spears and bows & arrows? It is such an intriguing question to ask and explore!

Some people before have attributed Eurasian’s dominance, particularly that of Europe, to such factors such as the mental or biological superiority of the Caucasian race or Judeo-Christian tradition. Dr. Diamond reaches farther back into human history and convincingly presents the case that environmental and geographical differences between the habitats of people around the world, already in place thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, instead explain ‘how things came to be’. This explanation may seem un-interesting on the surface, but the strength of Guns, Germs, and Steel is the lucid and powerful presentation of information that was often a great surprise to me. Also, Dr. Diamond writes with a very comfortable style; the book’s language features a good example of how presenting information need not be a dry and textbookish exercise.

The book first covers the basics of how and when the human species began spreading out of Africa and across the continents. The next main area concerns plant domestication and the resulting effects and consequences of domesticating plants. It is hear that many of the eye-opening facts begin to occur. One finds that the Fertile Crescent naturally featured an enormous variety of critical plants that were suitable for domestication while the other continents had poor native selections. Despite the amazing farm productivity of the American heartland, one realizes that all those successful plants were not domesticated in the US. With a dearth of suitable or worthwhile plants available for domestication, early human societies naturally sought hunter-gatherer lifestyles that better matched the environmental and geographical characteristics of their surroundings. Dr. Diamond also discusses what advances can be had once a sedentary lifestyle that produces an excess of food is reached (specialization of labor, cities, writing, etc.).

The book then goes on to discuss animal domestication. Once again, I was startled to learn about this. Diamond goes over what qualities make for a large animal suitable for domestication. Native to Eurasia were horses, goats, cows, and sheep. Despite the vivid images of Indian horsemen on the Great Plains, horses nor goats nor cows nor sheep existed natively in North America! In South America, the alpaca or llama was somewhat available, but none of the large common domesticated animals that Eurasia had. In Africa, despite its image as the big game continent, actually has a very poor selection of large animals that are suitable for domestication. Without these animals, early human populations could not utilize them as a source of power in tilling fields, operating machinery, or obtaining milk and other ingredients. Such animals were critical steps in helping to establish civilizations. In addition, nearly all the major human diseases have first cousins in the animal kingdom. As animal domestication began and humans went into more close contact with the animals, outbreaks of mutated diseases afflicted human populations but also resulted in immunities to them. Having been dealt an environmental hand sorely lacking in available animals for domestication, the peoples of other continents had less avenues to develop the kind of resistance and immunity to these diseases than the Europeans so thus the widepread dying of the Native American populations to disease.

For those interested in the historical development of gun and steel technology, do not be fooled by the book’s title; neither topic is explored with the except of a paragraph mentioning gunpowder’s origin in medieval China. Plants, Animals, and Germs might be a more suitable title. Regardless, Diamond goes on to explore a few more ways how geography has affected the course of human history. A particularly illuminating example is when he contrasts the human empires of China versus Europe. The geography of China allowed for easier conquest by a single group, so as a result what we consider modern China actually became unified in the 2nd century B.C. The European continent however, with its mountain ranges, lengthy coastline and several peninsulas, and rivers allowed for a variety of empires to form and reign over smaller geographical areas, thus the French, Spanish, Italian, English, Prussian, etc. empires that continously fought each other for control. While China’s early unification might have aided it in conquering adjacent lands, it was also a disadvantage. In Europe, the actions of a single emperor or society based upon short-term political, monetary, or social goals did little to prevent a new idea from being hatched at all. Diamond mentions the roll-out of electric lighting in England as an example. The gas companies in England at the time enjoyed their street lighting contracts. When the electric street lighting system was introduced as an alternative, they lobbied aggressively against it to protect their interests. Other European countries that lacked a powerful gas company lobby adopted electric street lighting. Once it was implemented, more and more societies across Europe started using it too and finally the climate in England became receptive to electric street lighting. One could replace ‘electric street lighting’ with a multitude of other ideas, innovations, and advances and the idea is equally valid. On the other hand, if the government of an enormous unified country decides on a course of action based on similar personal, financial, or political short-term factors, there are no nearby alternatives where that idea could prove itself. Diamond mentions an instance when an incumbent Chinese regime was associated with massive shipbuilding efforts was defeated by an opposition party. The opposition party, eager to show its differences with the incumbent, took an anti-shipbuilding stance, and once in power dismantled the shipyards. As a result, China no longer had the means to continue innovating and improving ship designs and technology. It’s interesting what can be both strengths and disadvantages.

My edition of the book included a 2003 afterword by Diamond. I was interested to see how people in the business, political, and organizational research fields have expanded on the ideas presented in this book. In furthering exploring the difference that the diversity of societies in Europe created a climate that was arguably better for cultivating innovation across the continent, businesses are looking into how they can best organize their various divisions and groups to emulate the same idea. How much should a single company march in lock-stop? If separate divisions are given more autonomy, maybe they can generate better more efficient processes that can then spread to other divisions. It’s very interesting. My sister was showing me her history book and how it actually mentioned why the agricultural revolution happened in the Fertile Crecent due to a high number of viable candidates that naturally grew there. This book was published in 2004, and when I looked in the references section of the chapter, I saw Guns, Germs, and Steel listed there. So the ideas of this book are already entering the textbook literature.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your field of study, your background, or your profession. Enjoy it.

I went to my first major league baseball game today at Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore, one of the premier ballparks in the country. I got a ticket courtesy of Jim Anderson and Pete Wehr, two colleagues of mine from last summer’s internship at Progress Energy. They will be attending a two-day conference in Washington, D.C. but they flew up a day early to catch the game, which featured the Baltimore Orioles versus the New York Yankees. Pete is a Yankee fan after growing up in the north, and Jim and I follow the path of rooting for any team that beats the Yankees.

As I headed out to Baltimore, I saw that it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining with some scattered clouds, temperature in the mid 70s, and very little humidity. I ended up circling downtown Baltimore and heading down south again on I-95 while trying to find parking, so I had to give it literally another pass and this time parked without trouble. I toured the area around Camden Yards while I waited for Pete and Jim to arrive. You see, their flight this morning was canceled and they ended up going up each on a different carrier. It was a screwy morning, but they finally made it up there. Jim had been able to score some great seats for the game. We were in left field just to the left of the foul pole.

Camden Yards is a great looking ballpark. The field was in top-condition and it seemed like everyone had a great view of the action. We got inside during the 4th period. The Orioles were already in the lead with a score of like 7-0. Apparently the Yankees had a lot of players down from injuries. I munched on some cracker-jacks (like the song) and later even had a cold beverage with Jim and Pete.

The Orioles ended up winning it, much to Pete’s chagrin. After we got out of the ballpark we walked over to the Inner Harbor. It was an incredible day and the harbor looked great. We had dinner on the waterfront, and I caught up with some on-goings at Progress Energy. There was definitely some recruitment stuff going on, too.

Jim and Pete dropped me off at my car before heading back to Washington, D.C. I headed too back to College Park on I-95, but I messed up the College Park exit for the second time. You follow I-495 West but then have to stay on the left side, not the right side. So I got turned around a bit, but came across a Safeway and picked up some vegetables. I’ll use them for some chinese stir-fry tomorrow.

On Friday, I dashed back to my apartment so I could leave as early as possible to Philadelphia, where Radiohead (one of my favorite bands) was playing that night. I managed to hit the road at around 4pm and arrived there at 7pm. This was my first visit to the city of brotherly love since elementary school. The venue for the show was the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, which lies just on the westerly edge of proper Philadelphia.

I soon met up with my good friend Donny Katz and two of his friends from New Jersey, Chris and Chris S. (for Scarpa). They are roommates at Rutgers University, where Chris studies business and Chris S. studies history. We headed over to a nearby pizza parlor for a bite to eat before the show. We were simply buzzing with excitement about the show; my three companions have an effervescent adoration of Radiohead that never falls into an oft-encountered state of blind obsession with any given band. They understand the uniqueness and masterful skill of the band, from the musical composition of the songs (they are musicians) to the context and influence of factors both societal and personal of the songs. Compared to them, I am a honest ‘newbie’ - my deep interest in Radiohead only began to snowball last summer. Nonetheless, Chris and Chris welcomed my presence warmly without prejudice and I immediately enjoyed their company.

The show started after 9pm and I could see with anxious anticipation that the road crew were setting up snare drums in the front that is an indicator of the song There There, which ranks as one of my most favorite songs. At long last, Radiohead took the stage amidst raucous cheers and launched into what would ultimately be a wonderful setlist.

The band tried out many of their new songs, which have a softer and Bends-ish feel to them. The treats for me in particular were There There, Paranoid Android, Dollars and Cents, I Might Be Wrong, and of course, Let Down. Other highlights included the National Anthem, Arpeggi, and Idioteque. Let Down was really special because it is one of the band’s most beautiful songs, has rarely been played lived after 8 years, but also (I learned from Chris and Donny) that it itself is notoriously difficult to play. The song features three unique guitar parts and each follow different time signatures.

Unlike most other songs in which bandmembers and gauge whether they are synched properly by listening to each others beats, Let Down apparently forces the band to forge ahead on their own with intense concentration through what must be quite disorienting to play. The end result however is a magnificently complex and layered melody which was a thrill to hear live.

The only downside of the night was that I happened to be standing next to a belligerant drunkard. This man, who consumed five beers in just over an hour, repeatedly tried talking with me during the songs. When he saw me taking some photos, he asked that I email me them and proceeded on reciting his email address. Wanting to enjoy the show, I leaned over and told him that “we’ll talk after the show”. Being drunk, he apparently mis-interpreted my sincerity as a brush-off, and started cursing at me. When Donny asked me what was up and I told him, the Drunk’s irritation spread to Donny as well. After the show, I turned my bank to this guy and followed my companions out of the balcony. The entire time the Drunk cursed us and berated us. I was not going to let this idiot ruin what was a great evening, so I simply ignored him completely (also, I’m not very confrontational and there is that whole ahimsa tradition by Gandhi). My companions stuck up for me, and things started to get a little heated when the Drunk actually shoved Donny a bit. He even started taunting us with yells of ’see you outside!’ The security guards in the lobby must have taken notice of the Drunk’s exceedingly belligerent manner towards us, because I heard behind me a remarkably soften tone when he asked me again to send me his pictures. Annoyed and hoping to end this ridiculous episode, I asked for clarification of the email domain and the Drunk had to actually ask his friend. We finally ducked out of a side exit into pouring rain. The rain was welcomed however after the hot theatre. It was immensely gratifying to hear behind me the confident words of support from Chris, Chris S., and Donny during that whole affair. When Chris S. marveled at how they always manage to sit next to the only belligerent drunk in the venue, I said it was karma. You see, over dinner Donny and Chris told me about the bad luck that surrounds Street Spirit (Fade Out), the closing song to the Bend’s album. Donny once listened to it in the morning and that afternoon his bike was stolen. Chris listened to it on the morning of September 11th. And I had listened to it on the drive up to Philadelphia. Needless to say, it is now off my song rotation!

After arriving at Donny’s apartment we dryed a bit and discussed the amazing show we were just witness to. Spirits were high . We convinced Donny to skip his early morning crew practice (who wants to row in the pouring rain?) and then at around 1am walked back out in the rain to a pizza place that Chris S. once stumbled across some time ago. It was a small store but was busy because it was one of the rare pizza parlors that also sold beer. Donny explained to me that in Philadelphia and New Jersey there are only a limited number of alcohol selling licenses and that such restaurants are very rare. There were two refrigerators, approximately the size that one might find in a small gas station mart, with a decidely remarkable selection of import beers. I spotted four different kinds of Paulaner, Leffe Belgian blonde (nonexistant in my local grocery stores), a Bavarian brand I have yet to see in the States, and the venerable Weihenstephaner Hefe-Weisse. What I could only find in a specialty store was found here in the most unlikely of places! So for our second meal of that evening, we huddled still wet around a small table eating greasy feel-good pizza enjoying a fine beverage.

I loved it.

The next morning I woke up early (a good habit I suppose) on the futon in Donny’s room and had breakfast with Donny as he prepared for his Rotary Scholarship interview. He came back at around 12pm by which time Chris and Chris S. had gotten ready. We walked over the Marathon Grill, which sits at the edge of the University of Pennsylvania’s campus for lunch and to meet with one of Donny’s other friends from high school, Randy, who attends UPenn’s and is pursuing a double degree at the Wharton School of Business as well as Nursing. On a whim, Donny remarked how we could order one of their chocolate chip cookie dough pancakes as an appetizier; an idea that was quickly agreed upon by everywhere. Randy was going to be in town for a week, and over lunch he told us more about UPenn and what he is studying. After lunch, we asked Randy if he could show us the esteemed and famous Wharton School of Business. Randy generously gave us a great walking tour of the entire UPenn campus. He showed us the whole Wharton building with its eye-opening facilities, such as individually heated italian leather lecture room seats and specially imported Indian hardwood. The power of alumni was on display as well, with nearly all the numerous study rooms and lecture halls named after someone. UPenn is the oldest university in the country (Harvard and William & Mary were started as single discipline colleges) and its founder was Ben Franklin. The campus, though being nearly in the shadow of the imposing Philadelphia skyscrapers, still retains a very ‘university’ feel to it. Much appreciation to Randy for taking several hours of his day to show us around the campus. I bid farewell to Donny and my two new friends Chris and Chris upon return to the apartment and began driving back to Maryland at around 4:30pm. This time it only took me about 2 hours.

My trip to Philadelphia proved to be quite a memorable experience. I never expected to have such a fulfilling and enjoyable time there — just goes to show what a difference interesting company can make!

GO HURRICANES! The Carolina Hurricanes won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight with a score of 3-2 against the Buffalo Sabres. Ross and I (joined later by Konstantin) watched it at the Cornerstone Grill near our apartment. Great game, great win! Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals begins on Monday and we’re going to win it this year! Go Canes!