Jared Diamond 106082 223762212 2008-07-05T17:49:37Z 77.250.203.198 /* Miscellaneous */ <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer]] --> {{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] --> | name = Jared Diamond | image = Jared_diamond.jpg | imagesize = 200px | caption = | pseudonym = | birthdate = {{Birth date and age|1937|9|10|df=y}} | birthplace = [[Boston]] | deathdate = | deathplace = | occupation = Professor of [[Geography]] at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], [[Nonfiction]] writer | nationality = [[United States|American]] | period = [[1972]]- | genre = | subject = [[Evolutionary Biology]]<br>[[Environmentalism]]<br>[[Geography]]<br>[[Anthropology]]<br>[[Ornithology]]<br>[[Linguistics]] | movement = | influences = | influenced = | signature = | website = }} '''Jared Mason Diamond''' (b. [[10 September]], [[1937]]) is an American [[evolutionary biologist]], [[physiologist]], [[biogeography|biogeographer]], [[lecturer]], and [[nonfiction]] [[author]]. Diamond works as a [[professor]] of [[geography]] and [[physiology]] at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]]. He is best known for the [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning book ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel]]'' (1998), which also won the [[Phi Beta Kappa]] Award in Science. He received the [[National Medal of Science]] in 1999. ==Biography== Diamond was born in [[Boston]] of [[Polish-Jewish]] heritage, to a [[physician]] father and a teacher/musician/linguist mother. After attending the [[Roxbury Latin School]], he earned an AB degree from [[Harvard]] in 1958 and his [[Ph.D.]] in [[physiology]] and membrane [[biophysics]] from [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] in 1961. During 1962-1966, he returned to Harvard as a [[Harvard Society of Fellows#Junior Fellows|Junior Fellow]]. He became a professor of physiology at [[UCLA|UCLA Medical School]] in 1966. While in his twenties, he also developed a second, parallel, career in the ecology and evolution of [[New Guinea]] birds, and has since led numerous trips to explore New Guinea and nearby islands. In his fifties, Diamond gradually developed a third career in environmental history, becoming a professor of geography and of environmental health sciences at UCLA, his current position. ==Works== Diamond is the author of a number of [[popular science]] works that combine [[anthropology]], [[biology]], [[ecology]], [[linguistics]], [[genetics]], and [[history]]. His best-known work is the non-fiction, [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel]]'' (1998), which asserts that the main international issues of our time are legacies of processes that began during the early-modern period, in which civilizations that had experienced an extensive amount of "human development" began to intrude upon technologically less advanced civilizations around the world. Diamond's quest is to explain why [[Eurasia]]n civilizations, as a whole, have survived and conquered others, while refuting the belief that Eurasian [[hegemony]] is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual, genetic, or moral superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies do not reflect cultural or racial differences, but rather originate in environmental differences powerfully amplified by various [[positive feedback|positive feedback loops]], and fills the book with examples throughout history. He identifies the main processes and factors of civilizational development that were present in Eurasia, from the origin of human beings in Africa to the proliferation of agriculture and technology. In his following book, ''[[Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed]]'' (2005), Diamond examines a range of past civilizations and societies, attempting to identify why they collapsed into ruins or survived only in a massively reduced form. He considers what contemporary societies can learn from these societal collapses. As in ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'', he dismantles previous ethnocentric explanations for the collapses which he discusses, and focuses instead on ecological factors. He contends that most plants and animals cannot be domesticated and that the movement of people which succeeded has tended to be in an east-west direction at nearly the same latitude. He pays particular attention to the [[Norse colonization of the Americas|Norse settlements in Greenland]], which vanished as the climate got colder, while the surrounding [[Inuit]] culture thrived. He also has chapters on the collapse of the [[Maya civilization|Maya]], [[Anasazi]], and [[Easter Island]] civilizations, among others. He cites five factors that often contribute to a collapse, but shows how the one factor that all had in common was mismanagement of natural resources. He follows this with chapters on prospering civilizations that managed their resources very well, such as [[Tikopia|Tikopia Island]] and [[Japan]] under the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]]. In ''Collapse'', Diamond distances himself from the charges of "ecological or environmental determinism" that were leveled against him in ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'' [http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/collapse.html]. This is particularly evident in his chapter comparing [[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]], two nations that share the same island (and similar environments) but which pursued notably different futures, primarily on the strength of their differing histories, cultures, and leaders. ===Books=== * 1972 ''Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea'', Publications of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. 12, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 438.[http://www.expo-cosmos.or.jp/jusyou/1998_e.html] * 1975 M. L. Cody and J. M. Diamond, eds. [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/CODECO.html ''Ecology and Evolution of Communities'']. Belknap Press, [[Harvard University Press]], Cambridge, Mass. * 1979 J. M. Diamond and M. LeCroy. ''Birds of Karkar and Bagabag Islands, New Guinea''. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 164:469-531 * 1984 J. M. Diamond. ''The Avifaunas of Rennell and Bellona Islands. The Natural History of Rennell Islands, British Solomon Islands'' 8:127-168 * 1986 J. M. Diamond and T. J. Case. eds. ''Community Ecology''. Harper and Row, New York * 1986 B. Beehler, T. Pratt, D. Zimmerman, H. Bell, B. Finch, J. M. Diamond, and J. Coe. ''Birds of New Guinea''. Princeton University Press,Princeton * 1992 ''[[The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal]]'', ISBN 0-060-98403-1 * 1997 ''[[Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality]]'', ISBN 0-465-03127-7 * 1997 ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel|Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies]].'' W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-06131-0 * 2001 ''The Birds of Northern Melanesia: Speciation, Ecology, & Biogeography'' (with [[Ernst Mayr]]), ISBN 0-195-14170-9 * 2003 ''Guns, Germs, and Steel Reader's Companion'', ISBN 1-586-63863-7. * 2005 ''[[Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed]]''. New York: Viking Books. ISBN 1-586-63863-7. * 2006 [re-release] ''[[The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal]]''. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-060-84550-3. ===Selected Articles=== * ''Island Biogeography and the Design of Natural Reserves'' ([[1976]]), in Robert M. May's ''Theoretical Ecology: Principles and Applications'', Blackwell Scientific Publications, pp. 163-186. * ''Ethnic differences. Variation in human testis size.'' (April [[1986]]) ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 320(6062):488-489 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3083267&dopt=Abstract PubMed]. * [http://www.environnement.ens.fr/perso/claessen/agriculture/mistake_jared_diamond.pdf ''The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race''] (May [[1987]]) ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' pp. 64-66 * ''Curse and Blessing of the Ghetto'' (March [[1991]]) ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'', pp.60-66 * [http://discovermagazine.com/1994/nov/racewithoutcolor444 ''Race Without Color''] (November [[1994]]) ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' * [http://discovermagazine.com/1997/apr/thecurseofqwerty1099 ''The Curse of QWERTY''] (April [[1997]]) ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' * ''Japanese Roots'' (June [[1998]]) ''[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]]'' ===Television=== * A three part, three hour 2005 PBS documentary called ''Guns, Germs and Steel'' based on his 1997 book of the same name originally aired between July 11-25, 2005.[http://www.pbs.org/previews/gunsgermssteel/] ==Boards== * Editorial board, ''Skeptic Magazine'', a publication of [[The Skeptics Society]] * Member, the [[American Philosophical Society]] * Member, the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] * Member, the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] * US regional director of the [[World Wildlife Fund]]. ==Awards & Honors== * 1961-1965 Prize Fellowship in Physiology, [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], England * 1968-1971 [[Lederle Medical Faculty Award]] * 1972 Distinguished Teaching Award, UCLA Medical Class * 1973 Distinguished Teaching Award, UCLA Medical Class * 1975 Distinguished Achievement Award, [[American Gastroenterological Association]] * 1976 [[Kaiser Permanente]]/Golden Apple Teaching Award * 1976 Nathaniel [[Bowditch Prize]], [[American Physiological Society]] * 1978 [[American Ornithologists Union]], elected fellow * 1979 [[Franklin L. Burr Award]], [[National Geographic Society]] * 1985 [[MacArthur Foundation]] “Genius” Grant * 1990 [[MacArthur Foundation Fellow]] * 1989 [[Archie Carr]] Medal * 1992 [[Tanner Lecturer]], [[University of Utah]] and many other endowed lectureships * 1992 [[Royal Society Prizes for Science Books]] (Rhone-Poulenc Prize) * 1992 [[Los Angeles Times]] Science Book Prize * 1993 [[Zoological Society of San Diego]] Conservation Medal * 1994 [[Skeptics Society]], [[Randi Award]] * 1995 Honorary doctor of literature, [[Sejong University]], [[Korea]] * 1996 Faculty Research Lecturer, UCLA * 1997 [[Phi Beta Kappa]] Science Book Prize * 1998 [[Pulitzer Prize]] * 1998 [[Elliott Coues Award]], [[American Ornithologists' Union]] * 1998 [[California Book Awards]], Gold Medal in nonfiction * 1998 [[Royal Society Prizes for Science Books]] (Rhone-Poulenc Prize) * 1999 [[Lannan Literary Awards#Lannan Literary Award for Non-Fiction|Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction]] * 2001 [[Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement]] * 2002 [[Lewis Thomas Prize|Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science]] * 2006 [[Dickson Prize in Science]] ==Family== * Diamond's wife, Marie (nee Marie Nabel Cohen), is a granddaughter of [[Edward Werner]], Polish vice-Finance Minister (pre-[[World War II]]). She is also a great-grandniece of Saint [[Raphael Kalinowski]]. [http://www.elonka.com/family/saint/genealogy.html] * Diamond has twin sons, Josh and Max Diamond, who attend [[Duke University]][http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/02/diamond.html] and [[Northwestern University]] respectively. == Miscellaneous == * Diamond speaks a dozen languages, listed in the order learned: [[English language|English]], [[Latin]], [[French language|French]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[German language|German]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[fore (people)|Fore]] (a New Guinea language), [[Tok Pisin|New Melanesian]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], and [[Italian language|Italian]]. * Diamond's books rely on fields as diverse as [[molecular biology]], [[linguistics]], [[physiology]], and [[archeology]], as well as knowledge about [[typewriter]] design and [[feudal Japan]]. Because of his broad expertise and the large number of articles credited to him, [[Mark Ridley (zoologist)|Mark Ridley]] has suggested jokingly that Jared Diamond is not a single person, but instead "is really a committee." ==References== * [http://www.richmondforum.org/bio_JaredDiamond.asp Richard Forum] * [http://www.rivers2006.org/html/diamond.htm Rivers 2006] * [http://www.expo-cosmos.or.jp/jusyou/1998_e.html Expos Cosmos] ==See also== * [[Assembly rules]] == External links == {{Commons}} {{Wikiquote}} * [http://www.geog.ucla.edu/people/faculty.php?lid=3078&display_one=1&modify=1 Diamond's page at UCLA department of geography] * [http://149.142.237.180/faculty/diamond.htm Diamond's page at the UCLA school of medicine] * [http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/diamond.html Diamond biography at ''The Edge''] * [http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/lifeways/hg_ag/worst_mistake.html The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race"] * [http://www.dkv.columbia.edu/video/ei/jared_diamond.html Jared Diamond Video Presentation of Collapse] - Video of a talk given at [[The Earth Institute]] at [[Columbia University]] in April 2007 * [http://spotlight.ucla.edu/faculty/jared-diamond/ Jared Diamond, linguist, molecular physiologist, bio-geographer, etc. / UCLA Spotlight] ===Interviews=== * [http://www.charlierose.com/guests/jared-diamond Jared Diamond] ''[[Charlie Rose (talk show)|Charlie Rose]]'', 24 Jan. 2005 <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Diamond, Jared Mason |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= American [[nonfiction]] writer |DATE OF BIRTH= [[10 September]], [[1937]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Boston]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Jared}} [[Category:1937 births]] [[Category:Members of the National Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American biologists]] [[Category:American geographers]] [[Category:American science writers]] [[Category:California writers]] [[Category:Jewish American writers]] [[Category:Polish-American Jews]] [[Category:Jewish American scientists]] [[Category:MacArthur Fellows]] [[Category:National Medal of Science laureates]] [[Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction winners]] [[Category:Race and intelligence controversy]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty]] [[Category:Evolutionary biologists]] [[br:Jared Diamond]] [[bg:Джаред Даймънд]] [[ca:Jared Diamond]] [[da:Jared Diamond]] [[de:Jared Diamond]] [[es:Jared Diamond]] [[eu:Jared Diamond]] [[fr:Jared Diamond]] [[hr:Jared Diamond]] [[it:Jared Diamond]] [[he:ג'ארד דיימונד]] [[hu:Jared Diamond]] [[nl:Jared Diamond]] [[ja:ジャレド・ダイアモンド]] [[no:Jared Diamond]] [[pl:Jared Diamond]] [[pt:Jared Diamond]] [[simple:Jared Diamond]] [[fi:Jared Diamond]] [[sv:Jared Diamond]] [[uk:Джаред Даймонд]] [[zh:賈德·戴蒙]]