What are some good points regarding the speed of advancement between Europe and Asia?
(and please no comments like "whites are better than yellows, etc") Serious introspective answers, please! Also, if Europe advanced quicker than Asia in the ancient times, does that have anything to do with why Asian children score higher on SATS in modern times?
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I don't think Europeans advanced quicker than Asians in any period of time prior to around 1900. For instance, they discovered gun powder long before Europeans, but used them as fireworks instead. In my opinion, much of European innovation was guided by the fact that there were so many various peoples. Most of civilized Asia was fairly homogeneous. They mostly looked the same and had fairly comparable cultures. The climate would only vary in remote mountainous areas. It would not be uncommon for Europeans to encounter another group of people with an entirely different set of values and culture. Not to mention that they may look completely different physically. Picture a Viking meeting a Spaniard for the first time. They would be polar opposites. Such events would lead to a natural rivalry and lead inevitably to war. Also, the history of Europe led to the possibility of large empires. Starting with the Greeks and then Romans, Europeans were accustomed to being part of a vast kingdom and swearing allegiance to a dictator. During such times of general peace, it was easy for societal progression. Without the threat of war, people were free to think and invent. These periods would inevitably be followed by a period of war, when a successor kingdom would eventually rule. These times would often lead to societal degeneration. The people who had been pioneering modern science and literature would be forced to literally run for their lives. In extreme times, their intellect might be seen as a threat to a ruler. They may even be put to death simply for being intelligent. During the same time in Asia, their "kingdoms" were generally much smaller. They would not allow their local hamlet to be ruled by a faraway dictator as the Europeans would and they would fight to defend it. This led to a constant state of stalemate with no local ruler able to conquer more than one or two of his neighbors before losing ground he had just gained. For this reason, most males had no choice but to fight for their village. With women busy caring for the home, nobody was left to advance the overall civilization. The technological and social breakthroughs that were accomplished were usually accidental. However, unlike the Europeans, these advancements would not be lost after their village was overrun. Instead, it would be spread throughout the land. So, perhaps the best way to visualize it would be to picture two pendulums. One is very large and heavy, Europe. The other small and light, Asia. The large pendulum would get great speed and force as it goes down, but when it reaches its zenith, it slows to a stop and gradually reverses course. It can cover a great distance at its fastest speed, but is brought to an abrupt halt by its own weight when it reaches the top. The small pendulum on the other hand quickly darts up and down, up and down. It never gains great momentum and certainly won't come close to the speed of the large pendulum. But, it never comes to a stop. The large pendulum is in a constant state of running, stopping, and catching up. The small one has constant steady slower motion. But in the end, they both cover the same distance. Basically, Europe's history is filled with examples of dramatic advancement followed by dramatic degeneration. Asia's history is filled with a slow steady progression. The reason why I say "prior to 1900" is that technological advancements are a different matter altogether. An invention like, say, a ship or plane is something that we can never regress from and will be immediately replicated. Also, an advancement like a rifle will immediately trump previous weapons. Those inventions combined would change the continent's roles significantly. Whew, that was a long answer. Hope it works...
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