I wonder what life is like for people is such a culture. Obviously, they have some sense of the larger world around them. Because of their location, they don't see many planes or boats, but what about those that they do see in the distant sky and water? Is theirs a happy lifestyle? Is it brutal and short? How would they react if suddenly pulled into our electronic world?
My carpool copilot, who brought this island back to my attention, noted that this is an interesting example of how a culture can stagnate when it is isolated from interactions with others. We also connected this idea to a popular idea in modern historical thinking that hunter-gatherer sorts of societies are happier, longer lasting societies. But neither of those ideas are what have rattled around my brain for the past several days.
Instead, I wonder if our world is its own primitive island in the middle of what is actually a thriving cosmos. What if the numerous alien species that surround us have avoided us like some sort of nature preserve (a type of "prime directive" like the one seen on Star Trek)? I wonder what kind of people, then, act as our protectors, making certain that other outside forces do not exploit us or our resources for their benefit. Along this lines, I can't help but wonder if "fishermen" have landed on our "shores" from time to time and seen the same sort of violent response that those near India did.
I do not believe that we are alone in the universe. Everything that we know will be seriously challenged once my belief is proven. For now, however, we are content to stay on our primitive island.