"Additionally, many people I know with evolutionary or molecular genetics backgrounds privately share this opinion, but virologists generally strongly disagree."
Do you know any good books that explains the societal changes happening in India starting 1st century till "Islamic conquest of India" along the lines of preferably urbanisation, literacy, religion and technology? I'm more interested in knowing reasons why Indian kingdoms lag behind the Europe and middle east, and were unable to counter these conquests?
"Hating the Saxon: The Academic Battle Against The English Origin Story ... I think genetics has at least limited the parameter space of possibilities in terms of what happened in the past, but academic turf wars will never end."
I will lable you as a hopeless romantic about the state of play in the contemporary academy. here is the comment I posted at Grey Goose:
I don't know about what things are like in the UK these days. But, in the US the political atmosphere in the universities is choking and toxic. Genetics has become a real problem for the woke/PC crowd. After all, if trans-women are women as the slogan goes, chromosomes, the raw material of genetics, are irrelevant, and, indeed, inimical to the movement. Any knowledge derived from the study of chromosomes is white supremacist, colonialist, and transphobic. It follows therefore that such knowledge must be suppressed and its purveyors must be persecuted and driven from the sacred groves. So, the lead linked article is interesting if true, but it must never be mentioned again.
From your Unheard review of Peace, Poverty and Betrayal: A New History of British India: "The tragedy of a hasty partition, and the death of millions, can be attributed to these attitudes and policies."
And that Britain was bankrupt after its second World War in 30 years and headed into yet another one, the so called Cold War with the Soviet Union, which has to count as a major distraction.
I read John Keay some years back. I recall not liking it., but no more details than that Also I read the Wendy Doniger book " The Hindus: An Alternative History" and thought it was dreadful. Not for the reasons that professional Hindus assigned, but just because it gave me the impression of having been made up on the basis of texts that simply do not bear the weight of much historical analysis.
one week ban for 'art gallery' for spamming the comments. if you do it again the ban will be permanent
"Additionally, many people I know with evolutionary or molecular genetics backgrounds privately share this opinion, but virologists generally strongly disagree."
Why this difference by background?
A free subscription to Unsupervised Learning *is* a free lunch. It's just not a free multi-course dinner cum aperitif.
Do you know any good books that explains the societal changes happening in India starting 1st century till "Islamic conquest of India" along the lines of preferably urbanisation, literacy, religion and technology? I'm more interested in knowing reasons why Indian kingdoms lag behind the Europe and middle east, and were unable to counter these conquests?
"Hating the Saxon: The Academic Battle Against The English Origin Story ... I think genetics has at least limited the parameter space of possibilities in terms of what happened in the past, but academic turf wars will never end."
I will lable you as a hopeless romantic about the state of play in the contemporary academy. here is the comment I posted at Grey Goose:
I don't know about what things are like in the UK these days. But, in the US the political atmosphere in the universities is choking and toxic. Genetics has become a real problem for the woke/PC crowd. After all, if trans-women are women as the slogan goes, chromosomes, the raw material of genetics, are irrelevant, and, indeed, inimical to the movement. Any knowledge derived from the study of chromosomes is white supremacist, colonialist, and transphobic. It follows therefore that such knowledge must be suppressed and its purveyors must be persecuted and driven from the sacred groves. So, the lead linked article is interesting if true, but it must never be mentioned again.
From your Unheard review of Peace, Poverty and Betrayal: A New History of British India: "The tragedy of a hasty partition, and the death of millions, can be attributed to these attitudes and policies."
And that Britain was bankrupt after its second World War in 30 years and headed into yet another one, the so called Cold War with the Soviet Union, which has to count as a major distraction.
I read John Keay some years back. I recall not liking it., but no more details than that Also I read the Wendy Doniger book " The Hindus: An Alternative History" and thought it was dreadful. Not for the reasons that professional Hindus assigned, but just because it gave me the impression of having been made up on the basis of texts that simply do not bear the weight of much historical analysis.
Thanks Razib. This is a treasure trove and I’m very thankful I stumbled upon your blogs. :)
And this is why I keep paying for your substack (and House of Strauss) no matter how ruthlessly I clear away the chaff
Do you have any thoughts on Autobiography of an Unknown Indian?