We know from our recent history that English did not come to replace U.S. Indian languages merely because English sounded musical to Indians' ears. Instead, the replacement entailed English-speaking immigrants' killing most Indians by war, murder, and introduced diseases, and the surviving Indians' being pressured into adopting English, the new majority language.
Jared DiamondThe King's 28 letters have been described by scholars as the world's best alphabet and the most scientific system of writing.
Jared DiamondAll human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little use or else abandon practices of considerable use.
Jared DiamondNo government is here forever. And there are other forces - the most potent force in our society, in fact, big business - doing good for the environment.
Jared Diamond