Slartibartfast's isolated people theory

During and after climbing Mt Etna, I pieced together some thoughts and musings about the cultures of people that spring from islands. Typically they are homogeneous, tough, tending towards warlike (or having long periods of brutality in their historic past).

The island-nations I thought of most when formulating this theory are:
Japan
Sicily
Iceland
indigenous New Zealand

some other island nations that may or may not fit the theory:
Formosa / Taiwan
Hawaii
Jamaica
Greece

I know Iceland well as my father comes from there & I have visited and lived in the country a few times.

Japan's culture is well-documented but not always well understood. Thanks to U.S. prohibition in the 1930's and the efforts of film directors from Hollywood, the most infamous Sicilian export, organised crime, is known worldwide. Iceland is the most obscure of the four islands singled out by Slartibartfast. It is almost a neutral country nowadays, supporting more chess grand masters per capita than any other nation, and also publishing more books per capita than any country. That is now. In earlier centuries, slavery was a path arrived at when a person got into debt; blood feuds were common between families and villages, and in the earliest days, Christians were hounded from the island, while neighbouring nations friendly to the Church were looted, pillaged and had their women stolen by Vikings from this island and mainland Scandanavia. New Zealand's first inhabitants were proud and fearsome warriors who succumbed less to weapons explosively charged by gunpowder than to European influenza and other illnesses. Their fearsome ways live on at sporting events where Kiwi teams perform the Haka.

These places are all unique by being relatively small, surrounded by water, prone to hardship due to the occasional famine, and having geological activity which leads to earthquakes & the odd volcanic eruption.

To a greater or lesser extent they have all struggled to maintain autonomy and independence at different stages in their history. Though they may be or (have been) part of another larger sovereign nation or empire, their own identity stands out distinctively.

What do these nations all have in common according to Slartibartfast? Aside from the obvious - fjords? (Well Norway has those too).

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, I believe it is the influence that these nations have in trade and world affairs that is remarkable and unites them as having similar qualities springing from their culture.

Each of these nations punches above its weight in one or more economic and/or cultural spheres.
Their inhabitants are all different yet their influence is remarkable. I believe their presence when living and working abroad (or exporting their goods or services) has a multiplier effect within their adopted community. This can be good or bad - such as hard working Maoris making a name for themselves in Australia, or Sicilians striking fear into law abiding Americans as well as fellow criminals as part of the Mafia network in the USA (and many other places).

Is the multiplier effect greater than that created by a migrant from another country setting out to carve their niche in a new society? After all, every nation that has substantial migrant populations almost always has strong economic growth and development along with it. I think that the answer is, yes, these island people are different and their influence can often create exponential growth and change.

The examples Slartibartfast wishes to cite to support his isolated people theory of exponential influence are:

Japan: Manufacturing processes with quality focus (total quality management and continuous improvement - didn't start in Japan - but by golly, they perfected these approaches)
Yakuza - organised crime that is fearsome and powerful domestically, and has some power abroad also

Sicily: hard-working emigrants who have made a strong impact in farming and construction in other countries - Australia is one of these.
Mafia - the most infamous Sicilian export and the strongest & most feared organised crime group in the world

Iceland: with a tiny population (still under 300,000), it has spawned several contemporary bands and solo performers who have not always become household names, but have influenced and inspired many artists in other countries - Björk, Múm, Sigur Ros, the Sugarcubes, Emiliana Torrini, Kukl and others.

New Zealand: though settled by Europeans, the culture and values of Maori and the Pacific Island nations has seen a strong fusion with European ones. New Zealand-owned companies present in Australia and elsewhere are nimble and innovative.
In sport, especially Rugby Union, they present formidable teams.
The first person to climb Mt Everest was a Kiwi.
Examples of influential cultural exports abound - Russell Crowe, the Finn brothers, Peter Jackson etc.

So, is this a good theory or did Slartibartfast deprive his brain of oxygen when he ascended above the 3000m mark on foot? The next night after the climb, I went to a lovely restaurant in Nicolosi that specialised in fungi. Yes, mushrooms.

Yum!!

Marc stayed back at the hostel, tired and unwilling to spend more than 10 euro on a meal. I was dining alone, but Sebastian, a local doctor and part-time tour guide eager to practice his English with me, became my companion at the table. He helped me choose a scrumptious 3-course meal comprised mainly of varieties of local mushrooms. I couldn't wait to explain my theory and gushed it out to Sebastian. I needed to scribble on his notepad a lot to explain myself fully.

Sebastian got it. He didn't agree though - thinking one of my central ideas was not really plausible. This was my notion about volatility in the environment, caused by earthquakes and volcanoes creating a sense of insecurity and greater need to innovate in a climate of greater-than-average risk. Sebastian pointed out that, different parts of each island were exposed to different levels of that risk - some areas none at all.

Sebastian and I talked about young people being bored in their homogeneous island cultures - how Japanese, Icelandic and Sicilian youths were voracious, zealous, almost obssessive pop culture freaks, devouring new ideas from abroad, especially in music and fashion. About the phenomenon in Japan and Sicily where people don't really grow up until their mid or late thirties since they live at home with their parents so much longer (this happens in Iceland too).

Sebastian further suggested that, in all of these nations, purchase of a home or renting from an early age is delayed. The earnings from a first job are instead diverted into getting a shiny new or near-new car. The important feature of these is a back seat for making love away from your folk's house. Not sure about the relationship between these phenomena, in terms of cause and effect. Buying a car must be more attractive than the commitment and discipline needed to run your own household and pay for it.

Many of these zealous consumers seem to mellow when they travel - Japanese who discover surfing in Australia become much more relaxed and less obsessive about career and material gain. Sebastian thanks his time spent living abroad while growing up for giving him insight into not getting on the 'consume, consume, consume!' treadmill.

I explained to Sebastian how the word for 'stupid' in Icelandic, 'heimskúr', literally means 'boxed in' or 'confined to home'. In other words, unless you travel away from the place where you grow up, you'll never have wisdom and will remain dumb.

Sebastian loved this word and its explanation. He wrote it down in his notebook.

Without being insulting (I hoped!) I explained how much I admired the fearlessness and cunning of the Sicilian Mafia, and how it was more powerful and more feared in certain countries abroad than it was within Sicily / Italy.

Sebastian taught Slartibartfast a word too. It was 'volpe', which means 'wolf' and is also an adjective meaning 'cunning'. He explained that, in Sicily it was understood you could plod along at home and eventually inherit some wealth, find a partner and make a living - through noble or not-so-noble means. To go abroad and achieve these things, and achieve them earlier in life, takes some 'volpe' cunning.

So maybe another earth experiment with different shaped islands in different parts of a planet with fewer or more volcanoes and lots of mushrooms or no mushrooms could provide some insight into whether or not there is any substance to Slartibartfast's theory. I must discuss this with the designers back on Magrathea.