Judy Jiang

The book I chose to read is  The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World  by Wade Davis.  In my second post, I will be discussing two chapters that I found particularly interesting, followed by a personal reflection I had during spring break.  Chapter 3: Peoples of the Anacondas  The first chapter that caught my attention is chapter 3 named "Peoples of the Anacondas." The chapter describes the first European descent down the Amazon. The explorers encountered many hostile indigenous communities, including battles led by female tribe members. However, European publications refused to acknowledge the existing indigenous culture and civilizations, shielding most of the explorers' experiences from the general public.  The chapter was interesting because it depicts the concept of "Eurocentrism" very well. The Europeans arrived at an unknown territory not with an open mind to learn, but with an arrogant attitude to conquer. Such mentality caused...

The book I chose to read is The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davis.  Why Did I Choose This Book? I chose this book because I am always curious about what idea of human existence. It amazes me how humans can create so many things in this world using pure imagination. For example, how did we arrive at the use of mathematics to quantify our existence? How did the concept of math even get created? This book captured my attention as it covers indigenous culture, which has a huge impact on defining the origin of civilizations. We often neglect these cultures as our environment becomes more modernized. Yet I believe that our ancestors are a lot smarter than we think, and their wisdom is still embedded in our way of life more than we realize. Additionally, I do believe that at the end of the day, our human experiences are all connected and lead to the same path. So I am curious to see if the different indigenous cultures have any overlaps.  What D...