Ntikrst wrote:
Sure thing, my friend, this paragraph here was pretty straight forward, just read it again.
You’re hung up on stereotypical views because like most people, you are indoctrinated to perceive the world through nationalist bias. Cultures that have to deal with winter are more compassionate and generally more technologically savy, including Mongolia, China, Japan, Innuit, U.K., and Northern Europe. Winter wouldn't have to be "snow" per se but winter would be defined as a significant period of time each year where exposure to the elements would be fatal. Cultures that only have to worry about miserable rain and lashing themselves down once in a while don't have the same imperative to be any more advanced or more compassionate than they are at aboriginal levels.
This is what separated Rome and China from other empires of the ancient world and why their influence still endures to this day.
the northernmost portion of china experiences harsh winters. however, the southernmost portion of china is actually very temperate and has more in common with egypt as far as the winters go. should the southern chinese be considered "summer" people messing things up for the more able "winter" people of the north?
in egypt, the deserts become very cold at night. do the egyptians have a "semi-winter" culture because of the harshness of the cold desert nights?
you also singled out northern europe as being special, yet rome itself is located in italy, i.e. in southern europe. how can the culture of the roman people, with a gentler winter, be deemed superior to the survivors of colder winters further north? did the conquered peoples of the north impart culture onto their roman conquerors?
it's the little things like this that keep up me up at night, yet the chilly moonlit air doesn't seem to help me unravel the answers to these mysteries.