I believe the harsh winter with it's long nights and very cold temperatures have bred a culture that absolutely values organization and long-term thinking.
In the old days(and really not that long ago, when you think about it), you really had to prepare for winter. Not only storing away food, but making warm clothes(from both plants and animals, which means cultivating the plants and animals to make them); ensuring that your home is winterproof; that you have plenty of wood stacked up and ready to keep you and your family alive through the months of darkness and cold.
The obvious byproduct is a culture that values preparedness above all other things, which requires people to think and envision the future and act to deal with it here in the present...which encourages a certain development of abstract thought.
Modern society is based largely on money, which actually is an abstract concept in and of itself.
It's therefore no wonder to me that cultures that have evolved a preparedness for the future and tendency for abstract thought do well.
No comments:
Post a Comment