Book 2 Post 2

As I have been reading this book, The Wayfinders, I could not help but compare my lifestyle to those that Wade Davis was analyzing. Throughout his novel, Davis follows many native tribes such as desert nomads and Polynesian settlers and analyzes their culture and lifestyle. These indigenous groups lack almost all of the modern innovations that many first-world countries are fortunate enough to have and take for granted.

As an example, many of these tribes still use primitive forms of navigation by following the stars or their noses. Davis becomes relatively worried about the existence of these tribes’ existence due to their primal habits, however, his biggest concern is the loss of their native language. Language serves as a way to protect and keep culture, and as more nations start developing further, these tribes are becoming increasingly behind and their cultures are becoming increasingly forgotten.

Davis’ central question that he discusses throughout his work is “What does it mean to be human and alive?”. Although there is no definitive answer, Davis explains how each culture can provide many different responses, and that no culture is more correct/incorrect than the other. Thus, even though my American culture may be more advanced than the cultures that I have been reading about in this book, that does not mean that my American culture is any “better” than theirs. To close out this summary, I will provide a quote from Davis, that stuck out to me.

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”