Dr. Jared Diamond's talk, "Why Do Societies Make Some Disastrous Decisions?" relates to the Decade themes of "prosperity" and "democracy." Dr. Diamond has been a pioneer in the field of conservation biology; as a scientist and citizen, he has made distinguished contributions to fundamental ecological research as well as public understanding of biodiversity and conservation practice. 

Dr. Diamond's work is truly interdisciplinary in nature.  He simultaneously applies his expertise in the disparate fields of physiology, ecology, conservation biology, and human history to understanding environmental problems.  As a biologist and physiologist, his work challenges existing theories of differences among human groups. His impact on psychology has already been considerable, and with the recent increases in evolutionary models of personality and social behavior, his perspective is particularly relevant.

Speaker Biography:

Jared Diamond, Professor of Physiology at the UCLA School of Medicine, is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the widely acclaimed Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies.  He is also the author of  the books Why is Sex Fun? and the award-winning The Third Chimpanzee. Dr. Diamond began his scientific career in physiology and expanded into evolutionary biology and biogeography.  His field experience includes 17 expeditions to New Guinea and neighboring islands to study ecology and evolution of birds; rediscovery of New Guinea's long-lost goldenfronted bowerbird; and other field projects in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. As a conservationist, he devised a comprehensive plan for Indonesian New Guinea's national park system and participated in numerous field projects for the Indonesian government and World Wildlife Fund.  He is also a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology; a member of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund/USA; and has been elected as a member to the three leading national scientific/academic honorary societies (National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society). Dr. Diamond is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship ("Genius Award"); research prizes of the American Physiological Society, National Geographic Society, and Zoological Society of San Diego; and many teaching awards and endowed public lectureships

Presentation Summary:

An intelligent non-human extraterrestrial visiting the Earth for the first time might be puzzled to see our political leaders, often with the support of our citizens, adopting policies that lead to disaster. Why do we do it? History offers us rich material for study, because many past societies ultimately destroyed themselves. The long list of past victims include the Greenland Norse Anasazi.