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re: Why Is Africa Continent Still Full Of “Developing Countries “?
Posted on 1/11/19 at 12:57 pm to jbond
Posted on 1/11/19 at 12:57 pm to jbond
quote:
Why did some regions transition from hunter gatherers to farmers before others?
That's an incredibly complicated question. Some of it had to do with being around the right sort of plants that could be domesticated. Grains like wheat and pulses like peas had to be domesticated for widespread agriculture. African civilizations nearest Mesopotamia developed along similar lines. Lots of domestication was trial and error. Jared Diamond suggests that the East-West axis afforded by Asia was better suited to the development of civilizations, as West Asia specifically was positioned nicely as the crossroads of multiple peoples. If groups of people did not have the right sort of plants to be domesticated, then they couldn't use the time saved through agriculture to develop other technology. The East African Nile Valley and Rift Valley offered plenty of plants and animals, as did North Africa, for domestication, but the Sahara presented a problem because of its size, which by necessity isolated lots of groups from cultural exchange. Even then, there was lots of cultural exchange in East Africa, which was the most highly developed place in Africa for a long time.
The lack of domesticated animals in comparison between Africa and Asia is noteworthy. For example, the horse provided Steppe peoples significant advantage, one they used to push westward into Europe and West Asia, and displace and absorb indigenous groups. If somehow Zebras could have been domesticated, it would have provided whatever group who did the domestication an advantage relative to other groups, while also encourage centralization efforts. That the Zebra is unsuited to domestication due to its defensive nature, as well as the fact that it couldn't support a rider nor is it as as fast and as robust as the domesticated horse, means that Africans had no animal native to the region that could compare.
These are just some of the issues, many of which go much deeper. Many African tribes were highly adapted to their environment and had little reason to change, because their culture was developed around the environment. The major issue is that the biggest east-west axis on the continent is a desert. If not, it would have provided good grazing lands which would have been highly prized had the region not been a desert. To understand how large the Sahara is, it's a region bigger than the US excluding Alaska. That's a massive area that had no real resources.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 12:59 pm to jbond
quote:
Why did some regions transition from hunter gatherers to farmers before others?
Because some people are smart and some people are tards. And IQ is passed on genetically.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:04 pm to OTIS2
quote:
What stalls The continents progress?
Obviously it's because those people are inferior to us.
amirite?
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:06 pm to Zach
Relying on IQ in historical discussions isn't a reliable metric. Firstly, nutrition levels seemingly declined after the neolithic revolution, where groups of people decreased in height and weight. Nutrition levels determine quite a bit of IQ, up to one standard deviation. One meta-study of 37000 Chinese children showed an IQ difference of 15 points based on the addition of iodine alone, which is a massive swing. Given the inconsistent levels of nutrition in the ancient world, our notion of IQ isn't necessarily applicable to those civilizations. Secondly, African civilizations on river valleys in East Africa were as highly developed as European ones until antiquity. Things like centralization efforts, trade routes, and availability of domesticated plants and animals are much more predicative of the success of ancient civilizations than something as nebulous as "intelligence."
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:33 pm to crazy4lsu
Then go back to Ice people Sun people. That's why white people had to become more violent. Like this white guy:
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:35 pm to Zach
Damn. 5'5 185. Dude's shaped like a bowling ball.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:37 pm to crazy4lsu
quote:
Nutrition levels determine quite a bit of IQ, up to one standard deviation
Right. IQ matters but a lot of the countries with lower IQ are likely battling nutritional issues. Then you have the issue of epigenetic inheritance to factor in as well.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:37 pm to OTIS2
quote:
What stalls The continents progress?
We all know the reason. Yet, in today's ridiculous PC climate, we can't answer without risking a ban.
It's really quite simple.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:45 pm to OTIS2
They aren't actually developing. We just call them that to be polite.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 1:45 pm to Powerman
quote:
Right. IQ matters but a lot of the countries with lower IQ are likely battling nutritional issues. Then you have the issue of epigenetic inheritance to factor in as well.
With regard to ancient civilizations, the intelligence debate becomes more meaningless, as we know that most people during ancient times were fairly small in comparison to modern humans. Nutrition was uneven, as without consistent access to a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats which buttressed the Agricultural Revolution, the diet instead relied on staple crops that, while filling, occasionally lacked key nutrients.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 2:00 pm to jbond
quote:
Why did some regions transition from hunter gatherers to farmers before others?
The equator. Peoples from Africa were able to survive as hunter gathers for relatively more generations because the climate was favorable to a land that naturally produced food sources that were easily obtained.
As people began to migrate towards the colder climates of Europe, it was necessary to survive through means of agriculture and animal husbandry. "Necessity is the mother of invention." Generation after generation after generation of Europeans had to survive based on intellect, more so than brute strength and endurance.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 2:05 pm to Cosmo
quote:
White people holding them down
I know you write this down in jest, but it's not as implausible an explanation as it appears at first blush. Although Sub-Saharan Africa consists mostly of nations which have been independent republics since ~ 1960, they still have yet to extricate themselves from the incubus of centuries of European colonial occupation. The British overlords, in particular, ruled by "divide and conquer", pitting tribe against tribe whereby there had previously been no conflict.
Just look at Wakanda for what is possible there. I know it's fictional, but I visualize the day Africa will become a more just, verdant and peaceful place.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 3:39 pm to tarzana
quote:Yeah, all they need is for a magical substance to literally fall from the sky into their laps, thus making them the most advanced people on earth.
Just look at Wakanda for what is possible there. I know it's fictional, but I visualize the day Africa will become a more just, verdant and peaceful place.
But only if they hide from the world and - drum roll please - KEEP OUT THE FOREIGNERS.
This post was edited on 1/11/19 at 3:39 pm
Posted on 1/11/19 at 3:40 pm to tarzana
quote:
Just look at Wakanda for what is possible there.
Oh for the love of god.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 3:40 pm to tarzana
quote:
Just look at Wakanda for what is possible there.
that is literally not possible
ignoring the fact that they require an alien material to advance, they could never have developed like that on their own (no person could). advances come from trade, competition, and the desire to win.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 3:50 pm to i am dan
It seems like the equator and tropics are a magnet for dysfunction.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 4:02 pm to wfallstiger
quote:
Tribalism
This.
quote:
precious little natural resources
Put down the pipe and step away from your computer.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 5:44 pm to OTIS2
Why is every single major city have a blight infested hood?
Why is Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, parts of Chicago, Jackson Miss and so many other once great cities shite holes? What relationship does that have to African countries?
Once you determine the true answer to this question, now how can it be fixed? If Africa hasn’t had one single success story of a great nation and civilization in all of earth’s history, what makes you think it will ever change?
Change must happen from within. Until the inhabitants decide to stop blaming everyone else for their failure and fix their own communities themselves, nothing will happen. A culture of stealing and violence can not build a sustainable economy or successful city or country.
Why is Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, parts of Chicago, Jackson Miss and so many other once great cities shite holes? What relationship does that have to African countries?
Once you determine the true answer to this question, now how can it be fixed? If Africa hasn’t had one single success story of a great nation and civilization in all of earth’s history, what makes you think it will ever change?
Change must happen from within. Until the inhabitants decide to stop blaming everyone else for their failure and fix their own communities themselves, nothing will happen. A culture of stealing and violence can not build a sustainable economy or successful city or country.
Posted on 1/11/19 at 5:47 pm to tarzana
quote:
Africa will become a more just, verdant and peaceful place.
You must be on acid
Posted on 1/11/19 at 5:47 pm to Geauxboy
quote:
We all know the reason. Yet, in today's ridiculous PC climate, we can't answer without risking a ban.
It's really quite simple.
Find a polite way to say it then
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