Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky, shocked me right from the get-go. Unless I am mistaken, on page 18, he implied that Adam, Eve, and Noah are all mythical. I've been raised a Christian all my life, and I don't know if I believe this or not. It makes sense, as I have seen plenty of characters with mythical qualities, but these three do not seem fake at all. I guess everybody can interpret what they learn differently.
As much as I hate their culture, traditions, and little superstitions (special thanks to Pearl S. Buck and Amy Tan) , the Chinese do have many significant inventions under their belt. With as old and populated as the country is, it is fairly expected for them to have innovated different fields in their day.
I feel guilty saying this, but before my formal education of different cultures (particularly the ones studied in Honors World History), I was under the assumption that ancient civilizations like Sumerians, Athenians, Spartans, Romans, etc. were composed of inferior beings. This is most likely because of the primitive technology available to them at times. Reading about things like Chinese techniques for extracting salt helped me debunk this assumption. When you think about it, mankind's discoveries are largely dependent on previous advancements. Something is invented or discovered, then the use of that discovery or invention aids in some other discovery or advancement, and so on. It's a stretch; sometimes its not even applicable, but it's definitely a trend.
Kurlansky is insane! His knowledge of world history blends quite seamlessly with his obsession with salt. I can't quite figure out whether it's pure intelligence or unhealthy obsession. At any rate, the first chapter of this book seems to be strangely interesting. The mere concept of tracking the advancements of salt through human history makes the book hard to close. I think it will get old after a while, but for the first few chapters, I'm hopeful.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I read in the chapter somewhere about how the Chinese believed that humans were created from the parasites on Pangu's body. Possibly what you were referring to. I thought that was different, obviously, but it's always cool to see how different cultures view certain things.
I also thought that Kurlansky's knowledge is crazy! All I have to say is that he must be really passionate about history, which is a good thing.
I'm interested in seeing what else he connects to salt, other than the Chinese. Not that I don't like the early Chinese, since they were very important, but I would rather read about a different culture.
Good blog!
Hey there, you old sack of cheese you.
I actually got kind of offended when he said that Adam and Eve and Noah were mythical. But people believe different things, so whatever.
This is gonna sound a bit cheesy, but i'm fascinated by the things that ancient civilizations were able to do. Especially if you take the scale of the things they did, with the limited technology they had, into consideration, its almost unbelievable.
welp, im out.
peas.
Yet another uneducational comment.
I think perhaps you are being too kind about Mr. M. Kurlansky. He is a crazed lunatic. I see more of an obsession with seasonings/FISH SPECIES than with history. He must be found and institutionalized.
Want to write a blog on the next chapter? Perhaps, two?
You are insane.
But that's the only way you have value, so insane on, tim, insane on.
Just kidding, obviously.
KBYE.
Was the Adam and Eve thing in the Intro? I believe that may be one reason I told you to skip it. It's not relevant to what we'll be looking at. I can't seem to remember that passage, but hopefully it didn't offend you.
That's too bad you hate the Chinese, as we'll be takinga bout 3 weeks in the spring to study their culture. Too bad Buck has ruined it for you, hopefully those wounds will heal by next year?
Inferior beings? How might you be viewed 100 years from now? We should not judge men by the times in which they lived, but more we ought to judge the person for who they are? Take Socrates for an example, great mind but limited to the times in which he lived. Imagaine what Einstien could do today with a computer?
You Wrote: "When you think about it, mankind's discoveries are largely dependent on previous advancements." -BINGO Everything you know and have now, is a result of history, or those who have come before you. Cell phones, computers, and all that stuff is a total combination of a techno-tsunami.
Mr. K is using salt as a connection for world history in this book. Yeah he's both intelligent and insane, but he knows his stuff.
Mr. Farrell
Post a Comment