Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
A fascinating and very readable run through of, well, the entire history of homo sapiens with a bit about our cousins such as Neanderthals thrown in. The premise is that we are wired to be hunter gatherers living in small groups of up to 200 or so (as an aside this is the maximum team size that a lot of progressive companies are implementing even if they have 10,000's of employees). The book charts the progressive revolutions that have taken place over time that on a micro level seem to improve the lot of humankind but at a macro level have led to unsatisfied individuals (who knows whether hunter gatherers were satisfied or not) at best and abhorrently abusive societies at worst (slavery, slums, agro industrial treatment of animals). The conclusion to our advancements may well be the destruction of life as we know it through environmental or nuclear catastrophe. On the other hand we may evolve into a new half bionic life form that is truly satisfied. Or be taken over by our own cyborg inventions. Yes, the latter part of the book does go into sci fi a bit but the possible future scenarios given are all backed up by current scientific research and heavily caveated. But that's the end of the book. The most part is taking us through history starting with the cognitive revolution - possibly our first evolutionary mistake in having awareness of ourselves and how we can significantly effect our environment and actively migrate and populate seemingly inhospitable landscapes. Next comes the benefits and drawbacks of the agricultural revolution (settlements) through to the scientific and industrial revolutions enabling us to significantly change both our environment and ourselves through drastic medical processes. Harari doesn't write as if he knows it all but puts forward his arguments as possibilities with many and varied examples of why he holds his view of history. It's thoroughly thought provoking and, as I said, a fascinating read. I don't agree with everything that is written and to be honest if you read the entire book without disagreeing with any of the content then you're probably one of the future cyborg creatures programmed to not question life as we know it. He steadily dismantles or questions many human "faiths" whether they are religious, economical or political. If you don't disagree with some of that you're unlikely to have bothered to start reading this book in the first place. Despite what seems to be a broad dismissal of why humans do and think what we do Harari always putting forward reasons as to why we've gone down these paths and how they have helped (some) humans at that point in time. I find it very refreshing that he has identified our treatment of animals (who after all are our cousins who didn't (yet) go through the cognitive revolution) as comparable to other abusive regimes we've forced on other humans. Or I should say other sapiens as he constantly reminds us that we had about five other human cousin species (I think that's the right term?) and indeed many of us have a fair bit of the Neanderthal still in us particularly those whose ancestors migrated from Africa in our early pre-history. Great book which is very thought provoking. Highly recommended. With the caveat that I don't agree with all the analysis or conclusions. But there again, as I'm a homo sapien who is a very collective and community based animal, I strive to see all sides of analysis and am open to what others have to say even if I don't expect to agree with them. At the end of the day I know that I'm right. Again, a homo sapien trait of arrogance. Or confidence?
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