What makes one culture superior to another? Hm. No, what I mean is, what makes one person superior to another? Is it technology or intelligence? The use of language, or art or song to create? Is it its religious beliefs or how well it controls (or lives in harmony with) the surrounding flora and fauna?

These questions occured to me after reading this article about the Piraha, a tribe of some 150 - 200 people who live on the Maici River in Brazil. The comments section afterward focused some on the weirdness of this "damn interesting" tribe, but much more on why the tribe thinks itself superior to all other people.

Now, I realize, most people think that their culture, city, creed, nati onal ity or genetic makeup is superior to everyone else's . . . I mean, why else would a bunch of wackos be putting up a fence to keep the brown people out? But I wonder what it is, exactly, that actually makes one superior.

For most of my life, I've been "cursed" with a smart brain, that's been often attached to a "smart mouth," and I have to admit, I have a really low tolerance for stupid people . . . or maybe that's not quite it, 'cause most people who really annoy me (and who I then feel morally and intellectually superior to) aren't really stupid so much as narcissistic and ill-mannered. But am I actually superior to them because I'm intelligent, or do I just think I am?

(I know what you're gonna say, hecklers, so don't bother. :-) )

I mean, does anyone have the manual on how this works? Isn't there some numbers crunching we could do to prove one set of people belongs on the highest pedestal, and everyone else can go in descending order? Then we could dispense with Olympics and World Series and Superbowls and such, 'cause we'd already know who would win!

Or maybe it's just a load of bulls**t and we should get over ourselves, learn to live together and stuff.