1. Yali’s question was “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” (14). One commonly espoused answer is the varying intelligence based on genetics (19). Jared Diamond disputes this by stating that evidence that “human differences in intelligence…parallel human differences in technology is lacking” (19). He also states that, in example, New Guineans who were raised in remote villages and were unschooled may seem stupid to Westerners in large cities. In contrast, when Westerners who visit remote villages in New Guinea seem stupid to the local population (20). The varying definitions and types of intelligent make it unreasonable to compare intelligence of genetically varying people, especially from different environments. Another commonly espoused answer is the differences in climate stimulate human energy and creativity to develop technology. Cold climates encourages one to build a warm home and clothing, while in hotter climates, simpler homes and less clothing(22). Diamond, however, states that, also in example, the people of northern Europe did not create anything important to the Eurasian civilizations until the last couple thousands of years, and simply had the luck to live in an environment that would receive …show more content…
The five continents Diamond refers to is Australia and New Guinea, Eurasia, North America, South America, and Africa. Diamond states that humans first appeared in Africa around seven million B.C, spreading to Eurasia from one million B.C. to two thousand B.C. Australia and New Guinea was occupied in forty thousand B.C. to thirty-three thousand B.C. North America was occupied from twelve thousand B.C. to eleven thousand B.C., and South America by ten thousand B.C. From Africa, early humans traveled to Europe, then from southern Eurasia, traveled to Australia and New Guinea. From northern Eurasia, they traveled to North America, then South America