Wikipedia

Jared Diamond

Jared Mason Diamond(born September 10, 1937)[1]is an American scientist, historian, and author. In 1985 he received aMacArthur Genius Grant,and he has writtenhundreds of scientific and popular articles and books.His best known isGuns, Germs, and Steel(1997), which received multiple awards including the1998 Pulitzer Prizefor general non-fiction. In 2005, Diamond was ranked ninth on a poll byProspectandForeign Policyof the world's top 100 public intellectuals.[2]

Jared Diamond
Diamond in 2013
Born
Jared Mason Diamond

(1937-09-10)September 10, 1937(age 87)
Boston,Massachusetts,U.S.
Education
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsPhysiology,biophysics,ornithology,environmental science,history,ecology,geography,evolutionary biology,andanthropology
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles
ThesisConcentrating activity of the gall-bladder(1961)

Originally trained inbiochemistryandphysiology,[3]Diamond has published in many fields, includinganthropology,ecology,geography,andevolutionary biology.[4][5]In 1999, he received theNational Medal of Science,an honor bestowed by thePresident of the United Statesand theNational Science Foundation.As of 2024, he is a professor of geography atUCLA.[6]

Early life and education

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Diamond was born on September 10, 1937 inBoston,Massachusetts.His parents were bothEastern European Jewishimmigrants. His father,Louis Diamond,was a physician who emigrated fromChișinăuin present-dayMoldova,then known asBessarabia.His mother, FloranéeKaplan,was a teacher, linguist, and concert pianist.[7][8]Diamond began studyingpianoat age six; years later, he would propose to his wife after playingBrahms' Intermezzo in A major for her.[9]

By the age of seven he developed an interest inbirdwatching.[3]This became one of his major life passions and resulted in a number of works published in ornithology.[10]He attended theRoxbury Latin Schooland studiedbiochemical sciencesatHarvard College,graduating in 1958. He later studied atTrinity College, Cambridge,and graduated from Cambridge with a Ph.D. in 1961; his thesis was on the physiology andbiophysics of membranesin thegallbladder.[6][11][12]

Career

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After graduation from Cambridge, Diamond returned to Harvard as aJunior Fellowuntil 1965, and, in 1968, became a professor of physiology atUCLA Medical School.While in his twenties he developed a second, parallel, career in ornithology andecology,specialising inNew Guineaand nearby islands, which he began visiting from 1964.[3]Later, in his fifties, Diamond developed a third career inenvironmental historyand became a professor ofgeographyat UCLA, his currentposition.[12]He also teaches atLUISS Guido Carliin Rome.[13]He is a lecturer on thebiodiversity managementcourse at the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability (EIIS) in Rome.[14]He won theNational Medal of Sciencein 1999.[15]He has been invited to give twoTED talks,"Why do societies collapse" (2008), and "How societies can grow old better (2013).[16]

Diamond originally specialized in salt absorption in thegall bladder.[11][17]He has also published scholarly works in the fields of ecology and ornithology,[18][19]but is arguably best known for authoring a number of popular science and history books combining topics from diverse fields other than those he has formally studied. Because of this academic diversity, Diamond has been described as a polymath.[20][21]

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Diamond has written scores of academic peer-reviewed articles for publications such as the scientific journalNature.He has also written scores ofpopular sciencearticles in publications such asDiscover,as well as several bestselling popular books, notablyThe Third Chimpanzee(1991);Guns, Germs, and Steel(1997, awarded aPulitzer Prize);Collapse(2005),The World Until Yesterday(2012), andUpheaval(2019).For a full list, seeJared Diamond bibliography § Books.

The Third Chimpanzee(1991)

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Diamond's first popular book,The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal(1991), examineshuman evolutionand its relevance to the modern world, incorporating evidence fromanthropology,evolutionary biology,genetics,ecology, andlinguistics.The book traces how humans evolved to be so different from other animals, despite sharing over 98% of our DNA with our closest animal relatives, the chimpanzees. The book also examines the animal origins of language, art, agriculture, smoking and drug use, and other apparently uniquely human attributes. It was well received by critics and won the 1992Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books[22]and theLos Angeles TimesBook Prize.[23]

Guns, Germs, and Steel(1997)

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Jared Diamond in San Francisco, 2007

His second and best known popular science book,Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,was published in 1997. It asks why Eurasian peoples conquered or displacedNative Americans,Australians,and Africans, instead of vice versa. It argues that this outcome was not due to genetic advantages of Eurasian peoples themselves but instead to features of the Eurasian continent, in particular, its high diversity of wild plant and animal species suitable fordomesticationand its east/west major axis that favored the spread of those domesticates, people, technologies—and diseases—for long distances with little change in latitude.[citation needed]

The first part of the book focuses on reasons why only a few species of wild plants and animals proved suitable for domestication. The second part discusses how local food production based on those domesticates led to the development of dense and stratified human populations, writing, centralized political organization, andepidemicinfectious diseases. The third part compares the development of food production and of human societies among different continents and world regions.Guns, Germs, and Steelbecame an international best-seller, was translated into 33 languages, and received several awards, including aPulitzer Prize,anAventis Prize for Science Books[22]and the 1997Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science.[24]A television documentary series based on the book was produced by theNational Geographic Societyin 2005.[25][26]

The book is controversial among anthropologists.[27]

Why is Sex Fun?(1997)

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In his third book,Why is Sex Fun?,also published in 1997, Diamond discusses evolutionary factors underlying features ofhuman sexualitythat are generally taken for granted but that are highly unusual among our animal relatives. Those features include a long-term pair relationship (marriage), coexistence of economically cooperating pairs within a shared communal territory, provision of parental care by fathers as well as by mothers, having sex in private rather than in public,concealed ovulation,female sexual receptivity encompassing most of themenstrual cycle(including days of infertility),female menopause,and distinctive secondary sexual characteristics.[28]

Collapse(2005)

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Diamond's next book,Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,published in 2005, examines a range of past societies in an attempt to identify why they either collapsed or continued to thrive and considers what contemporary societies can learn from these historical examples. As inGuns, Germs, and Steel,he argues against explanations for the failure of past societies based primarily on cultural factors, instead focusing on ecology. Among the societies mentioned in the book are theNorseandInuitofGreenland,theMaya,theAnasazi,the indigenous people ofRapa Nui(Easter Island), Japan, Haiti, theDominican Republic,and modernMontana.

The book concludes by asking why some societies make disastrous decisions, how big businesses affect the environment, what our principal environmental problems are today, and what individuals can do about those problems. LikeGuns, Germs, and Steel,Collapsewas translated into dozens of languages, became an international best-seller, and was the basis of a television documentary produced by the National Geographic Society.[29]Collapsewas also nominated for theRoyal Society Prize for Science Books.[22]When it was nominated, Diamond was the only author to have won the award twice previously,[30]though he did not win a third time.

Fifteen archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and historians from theAmerican Anthropological Associationcriticized Diamond's methods and conclusions, working together with the larger association to publish the bookQuestioning Collapseas a counter to Diamond's claims.[31]In response, Diamond, as an editor at the time for the journalNature,published an official review in the journal negatively covering the book,[32]without mentioning that the book was a critique of his own work. The authors and the publisher,Cambridge University Press,called out Diamond for hisconflict of intereston the subject.[33][34]

"Vengeance is Ours" controversy (2008)

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In 2008, Diamond published an article inThe New Yorkerentitled "Vengeance Is Ours",[35]describing the role of revenge in tribal warfare inPapua New Guinea.A year later, two indigenous people mentioned in the article filed a lawsuit against Diamond andThe New Yorker,claiming the article defamed them.[36][37][38]In 2013,The Observerreported that the lawsuit "was withdrawn by mutual consent after the sudden death of their lawyer."[8]

Natural Experiments of History(2010)

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In 2010, Diamond co-edited (withJames Robinson)Natural Experiments of History,a collection of seven case studies illustrating themultidisciplinaryand comparative approach to the study of history that he advocates. The book's title stems from the fact that it is not possible to study history by the preferred methods of the laboratory sciences, i.e., by controlled experiments comparing replicated human societies as if they were test tubes of bacteria. Instead, one must look at natural experiments in which human societies that are similar in many respects have been historically perturbed. The book's afterword classifies natural experiments, discusses the practical difficulties of studying them, and offers suggestions on how to address those difficulties.[39]

The World Until Yesterday(2012)

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InThe World Until Yesterday,published in 2012, Diamond asks what the western world can learn fromtraditional societies.It surveys 39 traditional small-scale societies of farmers and hunter-gatherers with respect to how they deal with universal human problems. The problems discussed include dividing space, resolving disputes, bringing up children, treatment of elders, dealing with dangers, formulating religions, learning multiple languages, and remaining healthy. The book suggests that some practices of traditional societies could be usefully adopted in the modern industrial world today, either by individuals or else by society as a whole.[citation needed]

Upheaval(2019)

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InUpheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and ChangeDiamond examines whether nations can find lessons during crises in a way like people do. The nations considered are Finland, Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, Australia, and the U.S.[40]Diamond identifies four modern threats: nuclear weapons, climate change, limited resources, and extreme inequality.[41]

Anand Giridharadas,reviewing forThe New York Times,claimed the book contained many factual inaccuracies.[42]Daniel Immerwahr,reviewing forThe New Republic,reports that Diamond has "jettisoned statistical analysis" and the associated rigour, even by the standards of his earlier books, which have themselves sometimes been challenged on this basis.[43]

Personal life

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Diamond is married to Marie Cohen, granddaughter of Polish politicianEdward Werner.They have twin sons, born in 1987.[6]Although Diamond is a non practicing Jew and has described religion as irrational,[44]he and his wife attendHigh Holiday services.[45]

Reception

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While Diamond's writings have received considerable praise,[27]they are controversial among anthropologists, with his argumentation having been described as "shallow", with criticism suggesting that Diamond overemphasises the importance of environmental factors like geography and climate over other influences.[27][46][47]

Selected memberships

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Selected honors

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Eastern long-beaked echidnaZaglossus bartoni diamondiwas named in honor of Jared Diamond,[60]as was the frogAustrochaperina adamantina.[61]

Selected bibliography

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Main article:Jared Diamond bibliography
  • 1992:The Third Chimpanzee:The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal(ISBN0-06-098403-1-)
  • 1993: "Ten Thousand Years of Solitude" Discover Magazine; March 1993
  • 1997:Why Is Sex Fun?(ISBN0-465-03127-7)
  • 1997:Guns, Germs, and Steel:The Fates of Human Societies(ISBN978-0-099-30278-0). Also published with the titleGuns, germs and steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years(ISBN978-0099302780)
  • 2005:Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed(ISBN978-0241958681)
  • 2010:Natural Experiments of History,withJames A. Robinson(ISBN0-674-03557-7)
  • 2012:The World Until Yesterday:What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?(ISBN978-0141024486)
  • 2015:The Third Chimpanzee for Young People: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal(ISBN9781609806118)
  • 2019:Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change(ISBN978-0316409131)

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The Man Who Knows Too Much".
  2. ^"Prospect/FP Top 100 Public Intellectuals Results".Foreign Policy.October 15, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  3. ^abcDiamond, Jared(2005).Collapse.Viking Press.ISBN978-0-14-303655-5.
  4. ^Rothenberg, Randall(July 1, 2001)."Jared Diamond: The Thought Leader Interview".strategy+business.Booz & Company.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  5. ^Anthony, Andrew(April 21, 2019)."Jared Diamond: So how do states recover from crises? Same way as people do".The Observer.ISSN0029-7712.RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  6. ^abcAl-Khalili, Jim(December 4, 2012)."Jared Diamond".The Life Scientific;"Jared Diamond".Discovery.January 12, 2013.
  7. ^"Jared Diamond: 'Humans, 150,000 years ago, wouldn't figure on a list of the five most interesting species on Earth' | Jared Diamond | the Guardian".October 24, 2014.
  8. ^abMcKie, Robin(January 5, 2013)."Jared Diamond: what we can learn from tribal life".The Observer.RetrievedJanuary 5,2013.
  9. ^Berkeley, Michael(March 3, 2013)."Jared Diamond".Private Passions.
  10. ^Mayr, Ernst;Diamond, Jared (2001).The Birds of Northern Melanesia.Color Plates byH. Douglas Pratt.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-514170-2.
  11. ^abDiamond, Jared Mason (1961).Concentrating activity of the gall-bladder(PhD thesis).University of Cambridge.
  12. ^abc"The Prizewinner 1998".International Cosmos Prize.Expo '90 Foundation.RetrievedSeptember 15,2023.
  13. ^"Geografia Politica".LUISS Guido Carli.RetrievedMarch 8,2019.
  14. ^"Manager della Biodiversità".eiis.eu.RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  15. ^"The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details".National Science Foundation.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  16. ^"Jared Diamond, Civilization Scholar".TED.RetrievedApril 15,2024.
  17. ^ "Understanding History With 'Guns, Germs, And Steel'".NPR.September 8, 2011.RetrievedMarch 8,2019.
  18. ^Symes, C. T.; Hughes, J. C.; Mack, A. L.; Marsden, S. J. (January 2006)."Geophagy in birds of Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Papua New Guinea".Journal of Zoology.268(1): 87–96.doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2005.00002.x.ISSN0952-8369.
  19. ^Diamond, Jared;Bishop, K. David; Gilardi, James D. (June 2008)."Geophagy in New Guinea birds".Ibis.141(2): 181–193.doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1999.tb07540.x.
  20. ^ "Human Stars".The Animal Attraction.Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Archived fromthe originalon May 7, 2011.RetrievedMarch 8,2019.
  21. ^"Rapa Nui déjà vu".The Economist.ISSN0013-0613.RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  22. ^abcdef"Prize for Science Books previous winners and shortlists".Royal Society.Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2008.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  23. ^"Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winners: Science & Technology".Los Angeles Times.Archived fromthe originalon December 4, 2002.RetrievedMay 18,2009.
  24. ^"1997 Phi Beta Kappa Science Book Award".The Phi Beta Kappa Society.Archived fromthe originalon April 28, 2009.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  25. ^Lovgren, Stefan (July 6, 2005)."'Guns, Germs and Steel': Jared Diamond on Geography as Power ".Science.National Geographic.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2007.RetrievedDecember 6,2012.
  26. ^"Guns Germs & Steel: The Show. Overview".PBS.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  27. ^abcJaschik, Scott (August 2, 2005)."'Guns, Germs, and Steel' Reconsidered ".Inside Higher Ed.RetrievedJune 17,2024.
  28. ^Diamond, Jared(1997).Why Is Sex Fun?.Basic Books.ISBN978-0-465-03127-6.
  29. ^"Perspectives on Diamond'sCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed".Current Anthropology.46(S5): S91–S99. 2005.doi:10.1086/497663.ISSN0011-3204.JSTOR10.1086/497663.
  30. ^Pauli, Michelle (April 13, 2006)."Diamond in the running for Aventis hat-trick".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  31. ^Flexner, James L. (December 2011)."Asia General, Book Reviews: QUESTIONING COLLAPSE: Human Resilience, Ecological Vulnerability, and the Aftermath of Empire".Pacific Affairs.84(4): 740.RetrievedSeptember 3,2022.
  32. ^Diamond, Jared(February 2010)."Two views of collapse".Nature.463(7283): 880–881.Bibcode:2010Natur.463..880D.doi:10.1038/463880a.S2CID41340630.
  33. ^"Puttin' the Objective in Objectivity".Fifteen Eighty Four.Cambridge University Press.March 8, 2010.RetrievedSeptember 4,2022.
  34. ^Smith, Sydney (March 23, 2010)."Cambridge U Press backs authors against Jared Diamond's Nature review".iMediaEthics.RetrievedSeptember 4,2022.
  35. ^Diamond, Jared(April 14, 2008)."Vengeance Is Ours".The New Yorker.
  36. ^Balter, Michael(May 2009). "'Vengeance' Bites Back at Jared Diamond ".Science.324(5929): 872–874.doi:10.1126/science.324_872.JSTOR20493922.PMID19443760.
  37. ^Maull, Samuel (April 22, 2009)."Author Jared Diamond sued for libel".The Huffington Post.Associated Press.Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  38. ^Smillie, Dirk (October 19, 2009)."Fresh Legal Jab At 'The New Yorker'".Forbes.Archived fromthe originalon November 25, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 8,2013.
  39. ^Diamond, Jared;Robinson, James A.,eds. (2010).Natural Experiments of History.Belknap Press.doi:10.2307/j.ctvjghwf6.ISBN978-0-674-06019-7.JSTORj.ctvjghwf6.
  40. ^Hughes, Ian (May 11, 2019)."Upheaval review: How countries seldom learn from their past".The Irish Times.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  41. ^Martindale, David (May 9, 2019)."Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond to discuss new book, 'Upheaval,' in Dallas".The Dallas Morning News.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  42. ^Giridharadas, Anand(May 17, 2019)."What to Do When You're a Country in Crisis".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 20,2019.
  43. ^Immerwahr, Daniel(June 11, 2019)."All Over the Map".The New Republic.RetrievedJune 12,2019.
  44. ^"Jared Diamond: It's irrational to be religious".January 13, 2013.
  45. ^https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-culture-clash-brings-diamond-into-the-rough/amp/[bare URL]
  46. ^Davis, Wade (January 9, 2013)."The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond – review".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedJune 17,2024.
  47. ^King, Barbara J. (January 17, 2013)."Why Does Jared Diamond Make Anthropologists So Mad?".NPR.
  48. ^"Editorial Board".Skeptic.RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  49. ^"Jared Mason Diamond".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  50. ^"Jared M. Diamond".National Academy of Sciences.RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  51. ^"Jared Mason Diamond".American Philosophical Society(Search results).RetrievedSeptember 29,2023.
  52. ^"Leadership".World Wildlife Fund(WWF).RetrievedSeptember 30,2023.
  53. ^"Tanner lecturer will present on Tuesday".SUU News.Southern Utah University. March 4, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon September 8, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 8,2013.
  54. ^"Jared Diamond, Geographer, Explorer-in-Residence".National Geographic.Archived fromthe originalon December 24, 2011.RetrievedAugust 10,2013.
  55. ^"The 1998 Pulitzer Prize Winners: General Nonfiction".pulitzerprize.org. 1998.RetrievedAugust 10,2013.
  56. ^Schmidt, Elaine (January 30, 2000)."UCLA Physiologist Dr. Jared Diamond Wins National Medal of Science".UCLA Newsroom. Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2013.RetrievedAugust 10,2013.
  57. ^Jared Diamond is awarded by the Academy of Finland,archived fromthe originalon October 5, 2015
  58. ^"Honorary Fellows".Trinity College. 2013.RetrievedSeptember 8,2013.
  59. ^Shmulovich, Michal (January 2, 2013)."Seven scientists and an architect to be awarded Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize".The Times of Israel.RetrievedFebruary 6,2013.
  60. ^Flannery, T.F. & Groves, C.P. (1998)."A revision of the genusZaglossus(Monotremata, Tachyglossidae), with description of new species and subspecies ".Mammalia.62(3): 367–396.doi:10.1515/mamm.1998.62.3.367.S2CID84750399.
  61. ^Zweifel, R. G. (2000)."Partition of the Australopapuan microhylid frog genusSphenophrynewith descriptions of new species ".Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.253:1–130.doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2000)253<0001:POTAMF>2.0.CO;2.hdl:2246/1600.S2CID85621508.
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Library resources
By Jared Diamond
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