earth science

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

The Sex Lives of Cannibals is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Sex Lives of Cannibals rather than just read about it. In short: The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific is a 2004 non-fiction travelog by author J. Maarten Troost describing the two years he and his girlfriend spent living on Tarawa, Kiribati.

Key takeaways

The Sex Lives of Cannibals belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Sex Lives of Cannibals to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Sex Lives of Cannibals from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific is a 2004 non-fiction travelog by author J. Maarten Troost describing the two years he and his girlfriend spent living on Tarawa, Kiribati.

Plot In the book, Troost described how he and his girlfriend, Sylvia, adjusted to life on the remote small island in the South Pacific, and built a life for themselves there. Troost described the unusual people they lived with, and the bizarre and unfamiliar local customs. He also details the islanders' reaction to Troost's own behaviour that they regarded as unusual. In those two years, the author adjusted to an overwhelming fish-based diet, extreme heat, and an ineffective government, which the author describes as "Coconut Stalinism - though Stalin, at least, got something done." He described frequent electrical and water shortages, along with many other idiosyncrasies of living on such a small and remote island. At the same time, Troost also challenges American complacency toward its own history, particularly the inadequate remembrance of the many troops who died in the Battle of Tarawa during World War II. He also criticizes the many foreign aid workers and consultants, who failed to consider the islanders' real needs or local culture.

Sequel This book was followed up by Getting Stoned with Savages (2006), the further adventures of J. Maarten Troost and his wife, Sylvia.

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Sex Lives of Cannibals

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Sex Lives of Cannibals claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Sex Lives of Cannibals before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Sex Lives of Cannibals ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Sex Lives of Cannibals

In research: The Sex Lives of Cannibals appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Sex Lives of Cannibals in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Sex Lives of Cannibals is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2004 non-fiction books, Books about Oceania, Kiribati stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Sex Lives of Cannibals outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Sex Lives of Cannibals in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Sex Lives of Cannibals means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Sex Lives of Cannibals out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Sex Lives of Cannibals in simple terms?

Why does The Sex Lives of Cannibals matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Sex Lives of Cannibals?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Sex Lives of Cannibals.