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thams

@[email protected]

FinTech founder, builder of payment systems, Glider Pilot. CEO of http://ShoreCrypto.io. Retired CTO of http://PayNearMe.com Economics enthusiast. Meteorology geek.

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@thams@infosec.exchange avatar thams , to random

All in the Family Tree


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The Graduate has Better Lifetime Earnings Potential


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I shot the Sheriff
With my Nikon F3.


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The Viziers of Swing


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Romeo, oh Romeo. Turn on location sharing Romeo.


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Quote the Raven: Whatever. Whenever. If you get around to it.


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Ode to a Grecian Formula


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The 8:30pm ride of Paul Revere


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When I saw her face
Now I’m somewhat convinced


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Groundhog saw droids that someone had been looking for.

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Groundhog saw the dress was white and gold and half the internet lost its damn mind.


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Secundia Arithmeticia


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Waiting for The Bus


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The Fall of the Rap Empire of Usher


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A Streetcar Named Hey Cute Stuff


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Apprehension and Mild Pique in Las Vegas


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One Hundred Years of Socially Appropriate Distancing


@mgorny@treehouse.systems avatar mgorny , to bookstodon group

Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that when I keep choosing books to read based on bibliography and references, I keep reading iconoclastic works. This time:

James C. Scott — Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States

The author is confronting the traditional historical narration, according to which the civilizational progress is a natural goal of humankind, and domestication of grains and animals enabled it to finally achieve sedentary lifestyle it craved, and the formation of state followed. In fact, the archeological evidence proves that both developed agriculture and sedentary lifestyle (which wasn't primarily based on grains) occurred periodically long before the first state. Instead, states were created where newly established elites tried to coerce people into producing a surplus for their use. Even the first states were tools of exploitation and slavery. And grain-based agriculture wasn't some kind of ultimate sustenance method, but rather one that enabled easy concentration and taxing of population. Civilization meant captivity, unhealthy diet, and impending ecological and epidemiological catastrophes. States collapsed as quickly as they rose, and people easily switched between sedentary and nomadic lifestyles, between "civilization" and "barbarism" — and for a long time, the latter had many advantages over being a subject.

The book's written in a language that's not exactly easy. The author often uses technical terms and loves creating extremely complex sentences. Still, it reads pretty well, and you learn a lot in a surprisingly short reading. The text is often accompanied with examples from Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China.

Quotes:
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113277938111330025
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113278462851867907
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113278638580788334
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113278851432485673
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113278994143200501
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113284150705012581
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113284354164224848
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113284525396627888
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113284900691091150
https://social.treehouse.systems/@mgorny/113295179048265304

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

thams ,
@thams@infosec.exchange avatar

@mgorny bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group if you liked that suggest these as well:

The Dawn of Everything https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56269264

Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9526993

And parts of Suicide of the West https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34272701