Pragma Synesi – interesting bits

Compendium of interesting bits I come across, with an occasional IMHO

Easter Island’s End

One of my favorite essays by Jared Diamond on societal collapse on Easter Island.  From Discover magazine, August 1, 1995:

Easter’s End

In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism. Are we about to follow their lead?

by Jared Diamond

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September 30, 2009 Posted by pragmasynesi | anthropology, environment, history | , , , | No Comments Yet

Jared Diamond on the environment

An essay by Jared Diamond, from Time magazine, August 26, 2oo2:

Lessons from Lost Worlds

By Jared Diamond

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September 30, 2009 Posted by pragmasynesi | anthropology, environment, history, sociology | , , | No Comments Yet

The Oily Americans

Oldie, but a gives a good idea of how the United States meddled in the Middle East.  Things haven’t changed, have they?

From Time magazine, Monday, May. 19, 2003:

The Oily Americans

By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele

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September 30, 2009 Posted by pragmasynesi | history, politics, terrorism | , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Origins of money

10.01.1998

The Cradle of Cash

When money arose in the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, it profoundly and permanently changed civilization.

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January 10, 2008 Posted by pragmasynesi | economics, history | | No Comments Yet

The origin of the word “terrorist”

From the New York Times:

Bush’s Dangerous Liaisons

Very interesting…

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October 29, 2007 Posted by pragmasynesi | history, politics, terrorism | , , , , | 2 Comments