Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed this. However, I am wondering if theories are meant to explain realities, we must first ask, whose reality? Theories are generally expected to be universal, applicable across all circumstances and contexts. But if that is the case, then the 'realities' they seek to explain become inherently subjective, which raises a fundamental question about the theory's reach.

It is also worth noting that while you were careful to say you did not want to sound essentialist, the argument as presented seems to fall into that very trap. There could be individuals, even within Africa, who do not engage the fifth burner and are doing perfectly fine. What do we make of those people? Do they fall outside the scope of this theory or does their existence quietly challenge its universality?