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Dwarkesh PodcastSep 14, 2022

Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry on Dwarkesh Podcast.

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Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry mentions Termination Shock by Neil Stevenson, Aztec warfare by Ross Hess, The Dawn of Everything by David Wingro and David Greyber, and The Anarchy by William Del Rimple with timestamps, quotes, and episode context.

3 books from this episode
Termination Shock
Neil Stevenson

A fun novel about a rich person doing geoengineering, exploring the implications of such actions and the legality of firing rockets into the stratosp…

Aztec warfare
Ross Hess

A wonderful book by Ross Hess called Aztec warfare, which is a military history of the Aztecs. It's really quite interesting and discusses why certai…

The Dawn of Everything
David Wingro and David Greyber

The speaker references a chapter in 'The Dawn of Everything' discussing technology and social egalitarianism in ancient societies.

Episode summary
Charles C. Mann is the author of three of my favorite history books: 1491 . 1493 , and The Wizard and the Prophet . We discuss: * why Native American civilizations collapsed and why they failed to make more technological progress * why he disagrees with Will MacAskill about longtermism * why there aren’t any successful slave revolts * how geoengineering can help us solve climate change * why Bitcoin is like the Chinese Silver Trade * and much much more! Timestamps (0:00:00) -Epidemically Alternate Realities (0:00:25) -Weak Points in Empires (0:03:28) -Slave Revolts (0:08:43) -Slavery Ban (0:12:46) - Contingency & The Pyramids (0:18:13) - Teotihuacan (0:20:02) - New Book Thesis (0:25:20) - Gender Ratios and Silicon Valley (0:31:15) - Technological Stupidity in the New World (0:41:24) - Religious Demoralization (0:43:24) - Critiques of Civilization Collapse Theories (0:48:29) - Virginia Company + Hubris (0:52:48) - China’s Silver Trade (1:02:27) - Wizards vs. Prophets (1:07:19) - In Defense of Regulatory Delays (1:11:50) -Geoengineering (1:16:15) -Finding New Wizards (1:18:10) -Agroforestry is Underrated (1:27:00) -Longtermism & Free Markets Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at www.dwarkesh.com/subscribe
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Termination Shock
Neil Stevenson

A fun novel about a rich person doing geoengineering, exploring the implications of such actions and the legality of…

Card
Aztec warfare
Ross Hess

A wonderful book by Ross Hess called Aztec warfare, which is a military history of the Aztecs. It's really quite inte…

Card
The Dawn of Everything
David Wingro and David Greyber

The speaker references a chapter in 'The Dawn of Everything' discussing technology and social egalitarianism in ancie…

Card
The Anarchy
William Del Rimple

The speaker mentions reading 'The Anarchy' and finds it similar to historical events involving the Mughal Empire and…

Card
1491, New Revelations of America Before Columbus
Charles Man

Three of my favorite books, including 1491, New Revelations of America Before Columbus.

Card
1493, Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
Charles Man

Three of my favorite books, including 1493, Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.

Card
against the grain
James Scott

The mention of 'against the grain' by James Scott is in the context of discussing perspectives on societal collapse.

Card
The British Empire
Neil Ferguson

The speaker references Neil Ferguson's book on the British Empire, discussing the efficiency of bureaucracy in India.

Card
Book mentions16
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What is Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry about?

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry on Dwarkesh Podcast.

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  • Referenced books include Termination Shock by Neil Stevenson and Aztec warfare by Ross Hess.
  • Charles C. Mann is the author of three of my favorite history books: 1491 . 1493 , and The Wizard and the Prophet . We discuss: * why Native American civilizations colla…

Which books are mentioned in Charles C. Mann - Americas Before Columbus & Scientific Wizardry?

Termination Shock by Neil Stevenson, Aztec warfare by Ross Hess, and The Dawn of Everything by David Wingro and David Greyber are the clearest linked books in this episode, each tied back to transcript timestamps and quote cards.

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Books Mentioned

The full list below is ranked by how useful each mention is to a listener: stronger recommendation language, clearer quote context, and better timestamp support rise first.

Termination Shock cover
Termination Shock
Neil Stevenson

A fun novel about a rich person doing geoengineering, exploring the implications of such actions and the legality of firing rockets into the stratosphere.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
Aztec warfare cover
Aztec warfare
Ross Hess

A wonderful book by Ross Hess called Aztec warfare, which is a military history of the Aztecs. It's really quite interesting and discusses why certain practices worked for them.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
The Dawn of Everything cover
The Dawn of Everything
David Wingro and David Greyber

The speaker references a chapter in 'The Dawn of Everything' discussing technology and social egalitarianism in ancient societies.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
The Anarchy cover
The Anarchy
William Del Rimple

The speaker mentions reading 'The Anarchy' and finds it similar to historical events involving the Mughal Empire and foreign intervention.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
1491, New Revelations of America Before Columbus cover

Three of my favorite books, including 1491, New Revelations of America Before Columbus.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
1493, Uncovering the New World Columbus Created cover

Three of my favorite books, including 1493, Uncovering the New World Columbus Created.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
against the grain cover

The mention of 'against the grain' by James Scott is in the context of discussing perspectives on societal collapse.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
The British Empire cover
The British Empire
Neil Ferguson

The speaker references Neil Ferguson's book on the British Empire, discussing the efficiency of bureaucracy in India.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
the green revolution cover

there's a Yes, it's Marcy Baransky. Excuse me. M uh B A R ans ki. and she's got a a green forthcoming book about a the history of the green revolution and interesting.

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Civilizations cover
Civilizations
Laurent Bin

There's a wonderful um uh book by Laurent Bin uh called Civilizations that in fact just does that.

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The Wizard and the Prophet cover

The books again that we talked about were 1491 1493 the wizard and the prophet for um for anybody interested.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
C4 rice cover

The discussion revolves around the potential of C4 rice to increase productivity in agriculture, particularly in relation to climate change.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
the humble potato cover

The book discusses the impact of potatoes on the world, particularly in relation to a diet consisting solely of potatoes.

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1491 cover

The books again that we talked about were 1491 1493 the wizard and the prophet for um for anybody interested.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
1493 cover

The books again that we talked about were 1491 1493 the wizard and the prophet for um for anybody interested.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Check price
Adam Smith cover

A passage from Adam Smith is referenced, discussing the health of Irish people who primarily ate potatoes.

Amazon search results · affiliate link
Find on Amazon
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Termination Shock
Dwarkesh Podcast · 1:13:38
A fun novel about a rich person doing geoengineering, exploring the implications of such actions and the legality of firing rockets into the stratosp…
Aztec warfare
Dwarkesh Podcast · 40:55
A wonderful book by Ross Hess called Aztec warfare, which is a military history of the Aztecs. It's really quite interesting and discusses why certai…
The Dawn of Everything
Dwarkesh Podcast · 22:55
The speaker references a chapter in 'The Dawn of Everything' discussing technology and social egalitarianism in ancient societies.
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Pick up the books after you hear them in context.

Termination Shock cover
Mentioned at 1:13:38
Termination Shock
Neil Stevenson

A fun novel about a rich person doing geoengineering, exploring the implications of such actions and the legality of firing rockets into the strato…

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link
Aztec warfare cover
Mentioned at 40:55
Aztec warfare
Ross Hess

A wonderful book by Ross Hess called Aztec warfare, which is a military history of the Aztecs. It's really quite interesting and discusses why cert…

Amazon search results · affiliate link
The Dawn of Everything cover
Mentioned at 22:55
The Dawn of Everything
David Wingro and David Greyber

The speaker references a chapter in 'The Dawn of Everything' discussing technology and social egalitarianism in ancient societies.

Direct Amazon listing · affiliate link

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