Book Review – Guns, Germs & Steel
I’m currently half way through a great book by Jared Diamond called Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
It delves into 30,000 years of human history and tries to answer the question how some cultures were able to dominate over others and become successful. Its an incredibly interesting book and the author has done a ton of research. If you’re too lazy to read it, its also available on DVD 
It doesn’t have anything to do with investing but I had to recommend it nonetheless. On the other hand, anything you learn can spark a million dollar idea! Check out some really dumb ideas that made millions.
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- Is It Still A Good Time To Invest In Real Estate? Well, it depends on a lot of factors. Like where you're investing. There's a really good site called Housing Tracker that tracks the inventory and median home price for major cities. It has a pretty simple interface and its a great resource. Looking at Los Angeles I saw the inventory......
- Tax Time Again Its that time of year where I really need to file my tax return and get my $2,000 out of the IRS. I really hate doing my taxes and I usually file an extension and postpone it until the very last moment. This year my wife suggested a novel idea.......
- Hogs Pigging Out And An Ethanol Alternative According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the rush to produce ethanol has resulted in sharply higher prices for corn. Corn is used to feed cattle and pigs and as a result of the price increase, farmers are feeding their pigs trail mix, candy and Top Ramen noodles!Besides......
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February 15th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Hello,
Thanks for referring to my post (Dumb Ideas That Succeeded Or Not). I’ll be visiting more often.
This is the first time I’ve seen your site and I really like it!
February 16th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Crazy crazy ideas. Doggles just beats me…
February 16th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
yeah its silly. but people spend outrageous amounts of money on their pets. I knew someone who spent $12k on their dogs surgery!
February 21st, 2008 at 4:39 am
Did you really like this book? I saw the PBS specials with him touting his ideas and it seems to me like the whole thing is an apology for the success of the West.
He repeatedly talks about “my ancestors” and “the accident” of their survival (that they lived in cold climates and therefore near their animals, to share heat and shelter, etc.
I think he overlooks just how impressive it is that the West succeeded in spite of those “accidents”. Moreover, this view doesn’t explain how the West, which was behind in every meaningful economic statistic in 1400 managed within a short period of time to build a global empire.
I think he puts no emphasis behind the very important ideas of Greek Epistemology (and its impact on scientific thinking) or the Englightenment, and the triumph of Reason over superstition.
I’d be interested to get your review of his argument.