The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race by : Jared Diamond

to science we owe dramatic changes in our smug-image. Astronomy taught us that our earth isnt the center of the universe, but merely one of billions of heavenly bodies. From biology we learned the we werent specially created by God, but evolved along with millions of their species. Now archaeology is demolishing another sacred belief: that human history over the past millions years has been a long tale of progress. In particular, recent discoveries suggest that the adoption of agriculture, supposedly our most decisive step toward a better life, was in many ways a catastrophe from which we have never recovered. With agriculture came the gross social and sexual inequality, the disease and despotism that curse our existence.

According to Jared Diamond, so far, 'the worst mistake in the history of the

human race' was the start of the agricultural revolution roughly 10,000 years ago. This

belief starkly contrasts popular opinion that humans are 'better off' now than in

prehistoric times; that now life is much less laborious and food more plentiful, whereas, it

was once 'brutish, nasty, and short.However, Diamond argues that there is irrefutable

evidence suggesting otherwise.

First, Diamond addresses the belief that humans have an easier, more relaxed way

of life since the advent of agriculture. After all, with the domestication of animals (and

now machines) to do all the hard work, humans now have more leisure time than our

ancestors who spent all day hunting and gathering...right? As it turns out, by studying

remaining 'primitive' societies around the globe, those whose way of life still revolves

around hunting and gathering have much more free time than their 'civilized' farming

counterparts.

Next, Diamond addresses the argument that we are better nourished than 10,000

years ago; food is plentiful and abundant, and we have more food per person than we

need. However, while there is plenty of easily accessible food, most of this is in the form

of refined grains--namely corn, rice, and wheat. While these crops do supply calories,

they do not supply ample nutrients for a well nourished body. On the other hand, while

hunter-gatherer humans had access to a limited number of foods, these foods were all