Potty Training Gone Terribly Wrong

Abstract

Broadcast Transcript: Historians discussing the causes of Japanese imperialism usually mention things like resource scarcity or the pathologies of modernization. In 1942, however, Western explanations of Japan's international aggression were less hifalutin and more high colonic. Back then, the anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer advanced the theory that Japanese brutality on the battlefield was caused by traumatic childhood experiences, namely (quote) "the learning associated with the control of the gastro-intestinal tract," that is, "drastic toilet training". Happily, Western understanding of Japan has improved over the years and today no one would suggest that Pearl Harbor was the result of potty training gone terribly wrong. At least not in public... #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui