India, Productivity, and Tropical Climes

[Peter Trei]

Tim writes:
>Arun Mehta writes:
> 
[huge snip]
> >My prediction is that with the blessings of the Internet, the
> >next generation of multiracial programmers, even those that were
> >born in the USA, will be more likely to be found on the beaches
> >of tropical islands than in the fog of San Francisco. When you
> >can work in the shade of a palm tree, even if you should earn
> >less, it's worth it :-)
 
> As attractive as this sounds, historically this has not happened. And as
> many will tell you, the climate of the Bay Area in particular and
> California in general is extremely benign and delightful. The average
> winter temperature is only about 10C cooler than summer temperatures.
> Evenings are not balmy, but neither are they oppressively hot.

'Oppressive' is a subjective term, and is largely defined by what one is 
used to. Personally, I find the Bay area's climate very boring, too dry, and
usually too hot (and yes, I've been there many times, at all parts of the
year - I'm speaking from experience). Due to the lack of rain, the whole
country side also seems much dirtier than a place where everything,
both natural and artificial, gets a regular washing.

> Interestingly, and not really related to CP themes, the fact is that is
> that most technological developments have come out of cooler climes. Not a
> lot of stuff from tropical and island climes. Maybe they realize life is
> too good eating roast pig at the beach luau, maybe they are too lethargic
> from the heat, maybe tropical diseases and mosquitos have taken their toll,
> maybe....

The last time I heard this argument was in a documentary film
about South African mining and agriculture, produced by South Africans, 
during the height of apartheid 'these great natuaral resources lay 
untapped until the arrival of a more industrious people, tempered by 
a colder climate...'

While there *is* some truth that people living in environments where 
survival does not depend on long-term planning have less pressure to
develop sophisticated industry, to claim that average temperature is the
main determinate is betrays an ignorance of history.

The technological pre-emminence of Northern Europe and derivative
cultures is a very recent phenomenom. Civilization was invented in
hot climates, and for most of history the more sophisticated cultures 
were in locations where you could sweat any time of the year - the
Mediterranean basin, Mesopotamia, India, coastal China, Central
America - in fact, in the classical period you could have mapped
out a 'civilized belt' surrounding the globe in a distinctly sub-tropical
climate.
 
> I know an awful lot of folks who could easily affort to move to almost
> anywhere in the world, and yet they stay in California. (I also know folks
> moving to even cooler climes, in the U.S., especially less-crowded areas.)

In any place you can name, most of the people who can afford to move to
other areas do not do so. By your argument, Kuwait should be totally 
depopulated by now. 
 
> --Tim May

Peter Trei
trei at process.com

Peter Trei
Senior Software Engineer
Purveyor Development Team                                
Process Software Corporation
http://www.process.com
trei at process.com