Jared Diamond Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions Summary

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It is easy to deny the reality that the state of the environment plays a large role in the survival of society. People who argue to protect and preserve it are seen as “hippies” or “tree huggers” and discarded by society. On the other hand, those who support deforestation are seen as “killing us all.” This conflict that is often portrayed on modern media is actually one that span all the way back to the beginning of civilization. Jared Diamond, recipient of the Lewis Thomas Prize and physiology professor at UCLA School of Medicine, his essay “Why do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions” published by Edge on April 26, 2003, argues exactly how societies can doom themselves. Diamond creates his own roadmap as to how and why problems occur. He shows the various ways of how a problem may arise and be …show more content…

One way this type of problem my arise is with “wide up-and-down fluctuations.” Diamond addresses the problems from global warming because for years after it had started, people noticed little change. The earth’s climate naturally fluctuates: “It is difficult to recognize that this year is worse than last year, and each successive year is only slightly worse than the year before, so that one’s baseline standard for what constitutes ‘normalcy’ shifts only gradually and almost imperceptibly.” A common saying is ‘seeing is believing’ without a quick and drastic change; it takes years for even climatologists to recognize the approaching problem. With almost all of the warning signs hidden, failing to anticipate is incredibly easy. I believe that this is one of Diamond’s more persuasive examples, unlike some of the other issues outlined within the text, global warming is something that affects all societies and is impossible to

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