Jared Diamond Keynote Speaker

Dr. Jared Diamond is a scientist and public intellectual in the best sense of the term. His ground-breaking research and best-selling books have focused around some of the biggest questions facing mankind, such as why do some societies prosper while others die? What can we learn from the collective history of every human society? Jared’s illuminating speeches show us how we got here, and where we’re going.

Jared is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Guns, Germs and Steel” (Vintage, 1997) and “Collapse” (Penguin, 2005). In his latest book, “The World Until Yesterday” (Penguin, 2013), he compares life in modern, industrialised societies with traditional ways of life and argues that traditional societies have much to teach us about conflict resolution, care of elders and children, risk management, multilingualism, and nutrition. It debuted in the top three of the New York Times best-seller list.

With a unique blend of anthropology, sociology, and evolutionary biology, “The World Until Yesterday” depicts a way of life that is startlingly different from the way we live today. Focusing on how we can improve contemporary society by learning lessons from the past, his message is both urgent and persuasive: with some thought and effort, we can have the best of both worlds. The New York Times calls Diamond’s writing “one of the most significant projects embarked upon by any intellectual of our generation.”