• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

What is it that makes some cultures so much more creative than others?

N

notfred

Lifer
I know people are going to call me a racist for this, but what the hell. Many cultures (most of Europe and parts of Asia) have been inventing/discovering new things for thousands of years, like the process to refine iron ore, gunpowder, the printing press, electricity, etc.

Meanwhile, other countries (say... many African nations, many pacific island cultures, etc..) don't seem to have come up with a single new innovation since agriculture. What makes science and technology so much more important to some cultures than others?


EDIT: This question is not "Why is more technology coming out of Europe than Africa right now?" But rather "Why has more technology come out of Europe than Africa consistently for the last 5000 years?" (You can generalize "Europe" and "Africa" to any cultures that fit the situation).
 
Originally posted by: notfred
I know people are going to call me a racist for this, but what the hell. Many cultures (most of Europe and parts of Asia) have been inventing/discovering new things for thousands of years, like the process to refine iron ore, gunpowder, the printing press, electricity, etc.

Meanwhile, other countries (say... many African nations, many pacific island cultures, etc..) don't seem to have come up with a single new innovation since agriculture. What makes science and technology so much more important to some cultures than others?
Click to expand...

Africa is poor. You can't research/invent if you can't afford to.
 
Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Africa is poor. You can't research/invent if you can't afford to.
Click to expand...
No it's not. Prince Abdul Jabaar Dashekee has millions to offer me.
 
Look where a lot of our advances have gotten us. Nuclear waste, gargantuan landfills, acid rain, polluted bodies of water. On the other hand what do the tribal people do? They live off the land and recycle what nature gives them. Nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes I wonder who the real winner is in that situation.
 
Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Africa is poor. You can't research/invent if you can't afford to.
Click to expand...

What about 500 years ago? How did other places in the world come up with the technology to build the great wall of China and the castles in Europe, while Africans didn't? The land mass in Europe isn't inherently richer than the land in Africa, so why did the people in Europe advance technologically while Africans didn't?
 
I think this is explained in a Pulitzer prize winning book: Guns, Germs, and Steel. You might want to check it out. I haven't read much of it so I can't say much more beyond that!
 
In the case of Africa and modern day central America, conditions that remain from Imperialist occupations in the recent past have probably stifled the creative environment. Perhaps it is more than that though, ever read Frank Herbert's Dune series? Perhaps it has more to do with isolation over long periods of time, and lack of change to perpetuate cultural evolution.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Africa is poor. You can't research/invent if you can't afford to.
Click to expand...

What about 500 years ago? How did other places in the world come up with the technology to build the great wall of China and the castles in Europe, while Africans didn't? The land mass in Europe isn't inherently richer than the land in Africa, so why did the people in Europe advance technologically while Africans didn't?
Click to expand...

Europe and Asia had more assh0les in charge forcing people to do that stuff.

 
>>PanzerIV

hmmm real winner???? well, you seem to have no problem in using this horrible invention known as a computer 😉

but i do agree, that sometimes i sit in my office building or at home in front of the hdtv and wish i busting my butt in a field for food, or building a fire for light.... wait.. no, i don't.
 
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
What about the Nubians and Egyptians?
Click to expand...

The actual cultures are immaterial, What mades the Egyptians push for new technology while the Zulu didn't? It doesn't matter if they're both in Africa or not.
 
I think a big part of it is natural resources. Nations that have been naturally rich have a big headstart in formulating an active economy and starting up the stairway of progression, as opposed to those nations that exist in especially dry or cold climates. It takes a major, major investment and decades to make economies in those areas viable.
 
oh yeah... in reply to the question stated....

in our culture, we will bust our butt to invent anything that will let us have more time to spend on ATOT...

laziness is the best motavator 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Afrotech
>>PanzerIV

hmmm real winner???? well, you seem to have no problem in using this horrible invention known as a computer 😉

but i do agree, that sometimes i sit in my office building or at home in front of the hdtv and wish i busting my butt in a field for food, or building a fire for light.... wait.. no, i don't.
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying but that wasn't really my point. Of course I love my modern conveniences. I grew up with them just like you. What I was getting at is they may not have civilization changing innovations going on but they haven't harmed the Earth in the ways we have either. No way I could go and live in a hut and hunt for my food but I see nothing wrong with their lifestyle.
 
Originally posted by: PanzerIV
Originally posted by: Afrotech
>>PanzerIV

hmmm real winner???? well, you seem to have no problem in using this horrible invention known as a computer 😉

but i do agree, that sometimes i sit in my office building or at home in front of the hdtv and wish i busting my butt in a field for food, or building a fire for light.... wait.. no, i don't.
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying but that wasn't really my point. Of course I love my modern conveniences. I grew up with them just like you. What I was getting at is they may not have civilization changing innovations going on but they haven't harmed the Earth in the ways we have either. No way I could go and live in a hut and hunt for my food but I see nothing wrong with their lifestyle.
Click to expand...

agree... i see nothing wrong with the way they live, but i'm glad it's not me... and i wonder which they would choose, if they really had a choice?
 
Originally posted by: Descartes
This fantastic book will answer ALL of your questions in depth. Your questions might as well have served as an introduction to the first chapter! 🙂 Read it, and you'll be glad you did.
Click to expand...

Seeing as you're the second person to recommend it already, I may have to check it out.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: Descartes
This fantastic book will answer ALL of your questions in depth. Your questions might as well have served as an introduction to the first chapter! 🙂 Read it, and you'll be glad you did.
Click to expand...

Seeing as you're the second person to recommend it already, I may have to check it out.
Click to expand...

It's really fantastic, but it's not exactly a casual read. The discussion on the evolution from nomadic hunter-gatherers to food producers was especially heavy, but it's intellectually liberating.

:beer:
 
A very interesting topic indeed I've often meditated upon it myself. I have no idea but is interested in what wise people and fools have to say. My problem is however, I can't really tell the wise from the foolish.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: johnjohn320
Africa is poor. You can't research/invent if you can't afford to.
Click to expand...

What about 500 years ago? How did other places in the world come up with the technology to build the great wall of China and the castles in Europe, while Africans didn't? The land mass in Europe isn't inherently richer than the land in Africa, so why did the people in Europe advance technologically while Africans didn't?
Click to expand...

That was why the european colonials went to Africa and colonized them. Two non-inherently rich land was apparently quite rich for the colonials.





 
Hey Notfred, try reading "Guns Germs and Steel". Make that a 3rd recommendation. It'll provide you with a lot of answers.
 
you know what they say, neccesity is the mother of all innovation. if the african nations didnt have a need to come up with new ideas or technologies, then they didnt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top