"the psychology of a people can change radically without any need to invoke Darwin, surely?"
and Tombo's remark "City living changed something in the human psyche, as did the coming of agriculture, and metal."

I'm not so sure, I tend towards supporting Gordon in all this. I tend to think we're more hard-wired in our psychology, and that our natures are the product of our evolutionary environment and development. It would seem strange to accept that every atom of our bodies was a fossil record of our evolutionary history and yet our psyches are floating and subject to instant change as a result of temporary blips such as industrial revolutions.

That's not to say our behaviour isn't affected by the modern lives we lead, when we're busy leading them, but the old mindsets are still there, and keep popping up. I was out on the hills today, away from the modern crap, and I could feel the difference. What's more, I was a lot more contented. There has to be a reason for that.