The rate of human invention is faster, and the rate of cultural loss is slower, in areas occupied by many competing societies with many individuals and in contact with societies elsewhere.

Quote by Jared Diamond

Topics: Jared Diamond Quotes

The southward advance of native African farmers with Central African crops halted in Natal, beyond...

The southward advance of native African farmers with Central African crops halted in Natal, beyond...

I personally am not conscious of my accent.

I personally am not conscious of my accent.

Twenty years ago, you might have been pessimistic and said there's no hope. But these...

Twenty years ago, you might have been pessimistic and said there's no hope. But these...

Federal elections happen every two years in this country. Presidential elections every four years. And...

Federal elections happen every two years in this country. Presidential elections every four years. And...

Take air quality in the United States today: It's about 30 percent better than it...

Take air quality in the United States today: It's about 30 percent better than it...

Lest those islands still seem to you too remote in space and time to be...

Lest those islands still seem to you too remote in space and time to be...

We're uncomfortable about considering history as a science. It's classified as a social science, which...

We're uncomfortable about considering history as a science. It's classified as a social science, which...

Native Americans had only stone and wooden weapons and no animals that could be ridden....

Native Americans had only stone and wooden weapons and no animals that could be ridden....

AIDS and malaria and TB are national security issues. A worldwide program to get a...

AIDS and malaria and TB are national security issues. A worldwide program to get a...

Decided that now is the time to start doing the things that really interest me...

Decided that now is the time to start doing the things that really interest me...

I've always been interested in a lot of things, and a lot of things at...

I've always been interested in a lot of things, and a lot of things at...

Infectious diseases introduced with Europeans, like smallpox and measles, spread from one Indian tribe to...

Infectious diseases introduced with Europeans, like smallpox and measles, spread from one Indian tribe to...

Technology causes problems as well as solves problems. Nobody has figured out a way to...

Technology causes problems as well as solves problems. Nobody has figured out a way to...

Tasmanian history is a study of human isolation unprecedented except in science fiction - namely,...

Tasmanian history is a study of human isolation unprecedented except in science fiction - namely,...

Thousands of years ago, humans domesticated every possible large wild mammal species fulfilling all those...

Thousands of years ago, humans domesticated every possible large wild mammal species fulfilling all those...

It's striking that Native Americans evolved no devastating epidemic diseases to give to Europeans, in...

It's striking that Native Americans evolved no devastating epidemic diseases to give to Europeans, in...

Science is often misrepresented as the body of knowledge acquired by performing replicated controlled experiments...

Science is often misrepresented as the body of knowledge acquired by performing replicated controlled experiments...

All human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little...

All human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little...

The United States has long thought of itself as the land of infinite plenty, and...

The United States has long thought of itself as the land of infinite plenty, and...

The main thing that gives me hope is the media. We have radio, TV, magazines,...

The main thing that gives me hope is the media. We have radio, TV, magazines,...