The King's 28 letters have been described by scholars as the world's best alphabet and the most scientific system of writing.
Jared DiamondMeasles and TB evolved from diseases of our cattle, influenza from a disease of pigs, and smallpox possibly from a disease of camels. The Americas had very few native domesticated animal species from which humans could acquire such diseases.
Jared DiamondA blueprint for disaster in any society is when the elite are capable of insulating themselves.
Jared DiamondWe 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 Diamond