Recontextualizing countries/cultures/geography

[Dingo]

It is quite some time, that I have had a deep appreciation for just how diverse human cultures in the world can be. Some cultural worldviews can be so radically different than what we are used to, that they can appear alien to us (think of living your whole life in an uncontacted tribe deep in the Amazon). This has fueled my passion for travelling and watching various documentaries, coz the insights I get help me to be more appreciative of the life I live and expand my awareness of what's possible.

One thing, that I've become fond of lately is pondering why certain cultures are like they are - what factors (geographical, demographic, climate, language, historical...) have contributed to the beliefs, ideas, customs they currently possess. The factors of geographical location in particularly is very undervalued, as most people in the west are not aware about just how fortunate for a decent region to live in. There are regions, that experience various natural disasters on regular basis... think of a culture, which has adapted over the centuries to living in an area, which gets impacted by a volcano eruption every 100 years. Could it be possible, that a native americans lost to europeans partly to the fact, that they were not living alongside "filthy animals"? More on this perspective here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgMa9WMzRP8

 

Or what about the current geopolitical tactics, that governments apply or problems they are challenged in overcoming? A channel providing a militarist/strategist perspective on countries is this one; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZJFozFsnIU Try to watch a video or two and you will see just how crazy of a role mountains, beaches and other biomes play in impacting the culture!

 

Language is another huge factor... a cultural product, which shapes the cultural worldview (going full circle, tool for homeostasis). There are languages out there, which work in completely different way, have 10x as much words and provide super specific expressions. Examples; "Sami languages of Norway, Sweden and Finland have anywhere from 180 snow- and ice-related words and as many as 300 different words for types of snow, tracks in snow, and conditions of the use of snow." or the Japanese word "Bakku-Shan", which is translated as "a beautiful girl...as log as she is viewed from behind" or the Danish idiom "En sukkergris" - "As a farming country, it’s not surprising that pigs play a quite important role in the Danish language. If you have a sweet tooth, a Dane might describe you as a ‘sugar pig’". Imagine calling your child a sugar pig around your friends... what kind of reactions would you get?

Now to finish it off, I'd like you to see an altered global map https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/490-map-of-the-worlds-countries-rearranged-by-population
Imagine from one day to another the locations of the countries change in this way. Most likely many conflicts would errupt between new neighbors over strategic resources, positions or the radical differences in worldviews. The cultures would evolve along a completely different trajectory - the language would change, the diets and products sold in the shop would change, etc.