Week Commencing 17 July 2023
Blog Post - Blood Diamonds and the Lottery of Earth (Brian Klaas)
Fascinating stuff, I am frequently amazed by how much of human history is shaped by geography and geology. Origins by Lewis Dartnell is an eye-opening book with many similar revelations. My favourite example is how the recurring ‘blue swoosh’ of Democratic voters in the traditionally Republican deep south was a result of the tragedy of slavery combined with millennia of geological processes. The story goes like this:
100 million years ago in the Cretaceous period, North America as we know it today was split up into multiple parts. The ‘blue swoosh’ lines up with where an ancient coastline used to be. Today’s ‘deep-south’ was therefore largely underwater, where trillions of phytoplankton proliferated and photosynthesized. When the phytoplankton died, they sank to the seafloor and were incorporated into the bedrock, creating a layer of chalk. Over subsequent eras, the water receded and this chalk decomposed into a fertile, nutrient-rich soil (the Black Belt).
The soil proved extremely conducive to growing cotton, and the booming cotton trade in modern America was concentrated across the black belt. When slavery took hold, a disproportionate number of African Americans were therefore placed along the black belt in cotton plantations and forced to pick cotton for 18 hour days. This fertile soil combined with free labour meant more and more slaves were brought to this region.
After the 13th amendment in 1865 which emancipated slaves, a large proportion of the black population of the US remained where they were in the southern black belt, even today, partly due to not knowing where else to go nor having the means to go elsewhere. Since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, descendants of slavery who live in the deep south finally got the right to vote, and because black communities on average tend to vote democratically, this results in the recurring ‘blue swoosh’ phenomenon.
Here's a thread from Latif Nasser that explains it much better with pictures...
This article is another brilliant tale of history being written by our environment, here focusing on the proportion of emancipated slaves who moved back to West Africa and became known as ‘Americo-Liberians’, who found themselves the victims of yet another combination of geography, geology, and Western atrocities. It makes me think how many modern parts of life have been influenced by completely unforeseen factors developing over millennia. It also brings home how wide-ranging and long-lasting the impacts of the slave trade are.
Frankly I’m not surprised that the ad agency behind the diamond propaganda campaign was the same one that convinced young, naïve, impressionable men to join the army. Despite almost everyone knowing how entirely awful and bullshit De Beers and the diamond industry is, it is unfortunate that it’s still a deeply ingrained part of life, however I take some solace in seeing how quickly lab-grown diamonds have been taking off as a viable and seemingly ethical alternative.
Video - Why Oppenheimer Deserves His Own Movie (Veritasium)
Veritasium makes some of the most compelling Youtube videos in existence. This one is no exception. Beyond excited to see Oppenheimer at the IMAX.
Article - How Podcaster Andrew Huberman Got America to Care About Science (Time)
Podcast - E138: Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in conversation with the Besties (All In)