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By Daniel Quinn. Concerning a great, telepathic ape who dispenses ecological wisdom about the possible doom of humankind. Gets you to think.

Around 10,000 years ago people gave up the foraging life and settled down to become farmers.

The lie in this is in the word people, Julie. It wasn’t people who did this, it was the people of your culture – one of tens of thousands cultures. The lie is that your actions are humanity’s actions. The lie is that you are humanity itself and that your history is human history. The truth is that 10,000 years ago on people gave up the foraging life and settled down to become farmers.

Erratic Retaliation: Give as good as you get, but don’t be too predictable. If another tribe isn’t bothering you, don’t bother them. but if they do, be sure to return the favor. Also, if another tribe isn’t bothering you, it will be no bad thing if you make a hostile move against them from time to time. They will retaliate, but this is the price to be paid for letting them know that you’re there and haven’t gotten soft. Then, once the score is even between you, you can get together for a reconciliation party to celebrate your undying friendship and do some matchmaking (because, of course, it doesn’t do to breed endlessly within a single tribe).