Post: #1

Sebastian Junger has written what looks like an interesting new book titled Tribe:

NY Times Wrote:Mr. Junger’s premise is simple: Modern civilization may be swell, giving us unimaginable autonomy and material bounty. But it has also deprived us of the psychologically invaluable sense of community and interdependence that we hominids enjoyed for millions of years. It is only during moments of great adversity that we come together and enjoy that kind of fellowship — which may explain why, paradoxically, we thrive during those moments. (In the six months after Sept. 11, Mr. Junger writes, the murder rate in New York dropped by 40 percent, and the suicide rate by 20 percent.)

War, too, for all of its brutality and ugliness, satisfies some of our deepest evolutionary yearnings for connectedness. Platoons are like tribes. They give soldiers a chance to demonstrate their valor and loyalty, to work cooperatively, to show utter selflessness. Is it any wonder that so many of them say they miss the action when they come home?

As a former anthropology major, Mr. Junger takes a special interest in tribal life. He notes that a striking number of American colonists ran off to join Native American societies, but the reverse was almost never true. He describes the structure and values of hunter-gatherer groups, including the ones that lasted well into the 20th century, like the !Kung in the Kalahari.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/boo...untry.html

Post: #2

You see tribal behavior in many Latina American countries. Individuals are part of a large group, usually large extended family groups. If someone doesn't have food or needs medical care the group responds and helps out. Despite being poor they seem much happier. Many Americans move far away from family and friends for school or work. Most Americans are pretty isolated or have small groups of friends or no friends.

Post: #3

Our monkey brain is hardwired to thrive in small groups co-operating.

Massive populations make us crazy

Post: #4

Quote:As a former anthropology major, Mr. Junger takes a special interest in tribal life.

Modern anthropology denies meaningful physical differences between ethnic groups -- a major in such a discipline is more of a sign of a fool who knows nothing of human nature and has been propagandized, at an impressionable age, by dogma-over-truth authority figures.

Quote:He notes that a striking number of American colonists ran off to join Native American societies, but the reverse was almost never true.

The first, quite false, unless striking means "striking in how few". Ethnic groups don't naturally mix, and even if whitey wanted to go native, the American Indian tribes themselves were not so keen on having aliens "join" their societies. They were quite brutal to outsiders, including the use of torture as entertainment, rape against captured white women, mutilation and mistreatment of prisioners, etc.

Quote:He describes the structure and values of hunter-gatherer groups, including the ones that lasted well into the 20th century, like the !Kung in the Kalahari.

Duplicitious reporting as usual; implies that the !Kung lasted into modern times because of how awesome they are, as opposed to merely escaping and living in a desert that nobody else (i.e., Bantus or settlers) wanted.

Anthropology as reviewed in the New York Times . . .

Post: #5

Just listened to his podcast with Tim Ferris. Made me want to read the book.

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/05/22/s...an-junger/ <---The Podcast


Book description:

From the author of THE PERFECT STORM and WAR comes a book about why men miss war, why Londoners missed the Blitz, and what we can all learn from American Indian captives who refused to go home.

Tribe is a look at post-traumatic stress disorder and the challenges veterans face returning to society. Using his background in anthropology, Sebastian Junger argues that the problem lies not with vets or with the trauma they’ve suffered, but with the society to which they are trying to return.

One of the most puzzling things about veterans who experience PTSD is that the majority never even saw combat—and yet they feel deeply alienated and out of place back home. The reason may lie in our natural inclination, as a species, to live in groups of thirty to fifty people who are entirely reliant on one another for safety, comfort and a sense of meaning: in short, the life of a soldier.

It is one of the ironies of the modern age that as affluence rises in a society, so do rates of suicide, depression and of course PTSD. In a wealthy society people don’t need to cooperate with one another, so they often lead much lonelier lives that lead to psychological distress. There is a way for modern society to reverse this trend, however, and studying how veterans react to coming home may provide a clue to how to do it. But it won’t be easy.

Post: #6

That is why sports, hunting, and communal labor is important to impart to children. All sports derive from either hunting or warfare, and in our modern world this is as close as one can get to the tribal camaraderie enjoined in the aforementioned pursuits.