The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond

The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? by Jared Diamond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Diamond set out to compare pre-industrialized societies to modern Western society. He especially focuses on New Guinea for his comparisons. He compares legal systems, war, childcare, relationships to the elderly, perception of dangers, religion, number and uses of languages, and diet. I found the childcare part particularly interesting, but since it mostly focuses on babies and young children, the information is mostly superfluous to me now because my kids are older. I think the book is pretty entertaining, and sometimes thought-provoking, but not especially educational.

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The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is primarily a book about linguistics. (I had been hoping that it was more about neurology). It is sometimes boring (mostly the beginning), sometimes interesting (mostly the end), sometimes inscrutable. I particularly liked the part about how impossible it is to visualize the reality of physics, a short section in the middle.

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