Analysis Of Guns, Germs And Steel By Jared Diamond

The Oxford Dictionary defines perspective as “A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” Everybody has different perspectives, but one of the more unique ones is from Jared Diamond. He created the book “Guns, Germs and Steel,” which was later turned into a TV miniseries. In it, Diamond travels around the world looking for an answer to a question that was asked by a New Guinean. Eventually, he turned to history. He looked at different societies and analyzed what caused them to be the way they were. Finally, he found an answer; geographic luck. In Episode 1 and 2 of “Guns, Germs and Steel,” Jared Diamond addresses an important question that has the ability to broaden a person’s understanding of people living

around the world and change my perspective on societies.
When in New Guinea, Jared Diamond was asked the question, “Why do you, white men, have so much cargo, and we, New Guineans, have so little?” Throughout his videos, this was the big question that he was trying to answer.

To do that, he turned to history. Diamond started by looking at the Fertile Crescent, which, at the time, was geographically blessed. They had a plentiful of crops, such as wheat. Also, they were able to domesticate plants and some animals. The domestication of plants led to them having crops that yielded bigger and tastier harvests. The domestication of animals helped the people living in the Fertile Crescent because it provided them with a steady source of food and animal hair and skin, which was used to make clothing. Consequently, the domestication of plants and animals and the plentiful of food allowed the Fertile Crescent to support more people. This led to the development of more complex societies, which only happened because they had the resources that they had. In New Guinea, the people didn’t have a plentiful of crops and many domesticated animals, only the pig. They needed to rely on hunting and gathering, which wasn’t able to feed many people. Conversely, the New Guinean societies had to stay small and were not able to develop because they did not have the proper resources that allowed them to grow. In his videos, Diamond is able to show how geographic luck was and still is an enormous factor in the development of

countries.
Along with talking about geographic luck, Jared Diamond talks about different human societies around the world, such as those in New Guinea, Asia, and Europe.

Understanding these societies in history can also help us understand the perspective of people living around the world today. In the videos, it talks about how the Incas were conquered by the Spanish. The Spanish was venturing into new land in South America when they ran into the gigantic Inca society. The Incas perceived the Spanish as godlike, except for the Inca emperor. However, the Spanish were afraid of the Inca army, so they attacked and eventually conquered the Inca empire. Knowing the history of a society, like the history of the Incas and the Spanish, can help us understand the perspective of someone living around the world because we know the reason why their society is the way it is. In addition, history can help us understand the perspective of people living around the world because it has impacted the way that people live. For example, there is no Inca empire today because the Spanish had conquered them hundreds of years ago. This affects the way that people live because the outcome of the society would have been different if those things had not happened. Understanding human societies in history and how history has affected present day can help us understand the perspective of people living around the

world.
Diamond’s reasoning about geographic luck and his ability to broaden my understanding of other’s perspectives has caused me to change my perspective on societies. Before watching the videos, I never really gave much thought to why some countries were not as developed as others. I thought the world was the way it was because of strong emperors or impactful wars. After watching the videos, I came to understand that the reason some countries interact with others and are more developed is because of the geography. As was the case with New Guinea, if a society did not have many resources, they would not have been able to develop. This shows that the resources that a society had was critical to its development. Diamond also showed that the geography also affected a country’s interactions. The people living in the Fertile Crescent were forced to move because they overused the land, causing it to become very dry. However, the areas that they moved to had very similar vegetation and climates, so they were still able to develop complex civilizations. Their closeness to other land with similar climate and vegetation, made it easy for them to move and interact with other civilizations. All of this evidence, along with Diamond’s magnificent reasoning, led me to see his point of view and eventually develop my own similar perspective to that of Diamond’s. Now, I believe that a country’s development is mostly due to geographic luck, with other smaller causes.
Jared Diamond’s video series, “Guns, Germs and Steel,” explained geographic luck and how it affected countries, which was able to help people better understand the perspective of others living around the world and change my own perspective. The big question asked by the New Guinean was what set Jared Diamond off on this quest to find out why some countries were more developed. His miniseries was able to help us understand why the world is the way it is and why some countries are the way that they are. It made it easier to understand different people living around the world today. Mostly, it was able to change my perspective on societies. Geographic luck is a part of our daily lives; why we do the things we do. It affects everyone living on the Earth today and will continue to be a vital part in the growth and development of a country. Jared Diamond has taught us an important lesson that is able to completely alter viewpoints and help broaden one's understanding.