186 years ago today. John Muir, who convinced US President Theodore Roosevelt that Yosemite should be protected as a national park, was born in Dunbar in East Lothian on 21 April 1838. Today his birthplace is a museum about him. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunbar/johnmuirbirthplace/index.html
"""
If modern human intelligence evolved 60,000 years ago, why did civilization not develop until 10,000 BC? This question lies at the heart of the sapient paradox, one of the great mysteries of human existence. Potential explanations range from a reconsideration of prehistory to the power of collective learning to early humans getting stuck in "gossip traps."
"""
The connection to social media and "cancel culture" seems like a stretch (as this social pressure has nowhere near the same consequences as institutionalized power), but the idea that big societies with high levels of specialization require a different mechanism for organization than raw social pressure sounds sensible.
The crumbling ruins of Dunbar Castle. Ancient in origin and once one of the mightiest castles in Scotland, the sea is now steadily reclaiming what the builders of the adjacent Victorian harbour left standing. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunbar/dunbarcastle/index.html