Takeaways:

• Hope is an important part of the human condition.
• Lying to yourself is a part of the human experience.
• Humans are a product of both individuality and social environment.
• Cultural diversity shapes how identities are formed and expressed.
• Childhood is a relatively recent social construct.
• Human brains require a long time to develop compared to other species.
• The role of family is crucial in human development.
• Plastics will be a significant archaeological find in the future.
• Future anthropologists will view our society as a tragic age of ignorance.
• The traditions of past generations influence current societal structures.

Quotes: 

• "Hope is an important part of the human condition."
• "Childhood itself is a fairly recent invention."
• "Plastics will survive in 500 years."

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to People Stuff and Special Questions

01:34 The Nature of Individuality vs. Society

09:22 The Role of Family in Human Development

16:22 Future Anthropological Perspectives on Society

That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people.

If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com

Credits

Produced by Gabe Bullard
Music by The Endless Bummer
Art by Siobhan Henegan
Marketing by Bryan Haut
Legal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle.

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So go to people-stuff.com