Italians and Germans are culturally quite different. Why is that? I think it is much more to do with genetics than upbringing, I think more likely it's genetics reinforced by generations of upbringing and tradition. They are not anybody's idea of two different races but they are two populations isolated by the Alps, much like Darwin's finches isolated in the Galapagos. Although stereotypes, like emotional Italians and stoic Germans, are never 100% accurate they are stereotypes for a reason. Many years ago I came back from my first trip to Europe wondering about how much of culture and our idea of aesthetics is driven by genetics. It makes sense to me that if certain birds or insects are drawn to flowers of a certain color then human aesthetics and therefore culture can be a similar mechanism.

The point is that I think genetics influences how people and populations think and feel, what they value. As I said, experimentation and exploration seems like an innately human thing to me, and to many, but maybe not to other populations. As hard as it is for me to comprehend, maybe Native Americans simply had no desire to build a bigger boat, sail it across the Chesapeake, see what was over the horizon.


[Post edited by 81_Hokie at 01/31/2024 2:43PM]