[extropy-chat] Hating versus Loving

[Lee Corbin]

Keith had written

>> The mismatch between the EEA and later environments can be an utter 
>> disaster.  One such disaster depopulated almost all of the Colorado plateau 
>> of corn farmers.  (Their response to war was to concentrate and move into 
>> forts, but that put too much of their farm land out of reach, which kept 
>> them in privation, which kept them in wars . . . .)
> 
>> In one case, the southwest corn farmers, it killed almost the entire 
>> population.  See Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest by Steven A. 
>> Leblanc.  Privation put them into war mode, the response they made of 
>> moving into forts forced them to abandon much of their farmland.  That kept 
>> them in war mode till 23 of 27 groups died.  The few who were left were 
>> still in war mode when the Spanish arrived hundreds of years later.

And his point---very well taken---is that it was the *genes* of the corn
farmers that put them in this unfortunately situation.  I failed to credit
this when I noted that there really wasn't anything wonderful or clever
that they could do about their situation (in all likelihood) that they hadn't
already thought of.  Of course, it *would* have been great for them if more
of them could have simultaneously understood their peril, and perhaps
banded together and conquered the rest.  But sometimes it just happens
that at least one party is not willing to compromise.

Speaking of which, it's about time that the Americans tried negotiating
with Iran and Syria, don't you think?   :-)   I wonder why they didn't
try negotiating first!

Lee