Geography is destiny
So here's a question I was noodling about last night. If you reset human history to 10,000 years ago and let events run their course, which 5 modern cities would you bet on to be the most populous/prosperous/significant in whatever world resulted?
Mine (in no particular order): Istanbul, Shanghai, Singapore, Cairo, Hong Kong. I know I'm probably short-changing India there, and I also think the answer depends a lot on your acceptance of latitude-based theories of development and whether tropical places can really be early adopters of industry.
Anyway, I'd love to hear others' thoughts or commentary on my picks.
Mine (in no particular order): Istanbul, Shanghai, Singapore, Cairo, Hong Kong. I know I'm probably short-changing India there, and I also think the answer depends a lot on your acceptance of latitude-based theories of development and whether tropical places can really be early adopters of industry.
Anyway, I'd love to hear others' thoughts or commentary on my picks.