Book 2 Post 2

 Although I am not finished with The Wayfinders yet, I have definitely learned about how all humans trend toward the same actions despite cultural differences. As Wade Davis, the author, explores different cultures, he notes how there is a common theme of cultural loss in language, landscape, and communities because of Western industrial revolutions. For example, the Penan peoples of Borneo were displaced by industrial logging and the Tibetan Buddhists were massacred by industrially progressive Maoists. Although I was aware of certain groups that were displaced because of companies looking to profit, I didn't know that the cultural issue was so widespread. This was an eye opening because we often see how companies are damaging the environment, but the cultural destruction is just as bad, if not worse.

Furthermore, Davis comments on the connection of people to nature. For example, the early Polynesian navigators could read the movement of the clouds, the stirring of the ocean currents and celestial movements, which they used to help them on their journeys. As technology has become more developed, humans are losing their ability to accomplish tasks like this. I think this was definitely a valid point, since humans used to use nature to help with their survival, but now it is common for people to never really interact with nature throughout their day. I think that this is definitely a cultural loss, since we can learn so much from nature.

Lastly, even though the book asks "what does it mean to be human and alive?" there was no definitive answer reached. However, after reading parts of the book, I think the answer is finding and preserving a stable culture where people are able to form their own identity without harming others. Davis clearly highlighted the importance of preserving language and cultural thinking practices in the book, and I think that one of the most unique parts about being human is the level of in-depth thinking that we are able to accomplish compared to other animals. Therefore, we shouldn't rely on technology to do the thinking for us.