Guns, Germs, and Steel

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1. 01

   Some peoples ended up dominating others not because they were smarter, but because they got lucky with geography — plants, animals, and diseases available locally.

   Guns, Germs, and Steel · 1997

   Historical inequalities stem from geographical advantages, not intellectual superiority.

   Diamond shows places with many easily farmed plants and easily tamed animals developed cities, metal tools, and diseases their people grew resistant to, much faster. When these groups met others without that geographic head start, the gap in technology and immunity turned out to be enormous, not genetic.

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