If you’d like to know how our species was born, 70,000 years ago and how we evolved through the years and why things are the way they are, now and how did we survive all these years although no other species did, this book by Yuval Noah Harari will enlighten you. He believes we can create and connect ideas that physically do not exist (politics, religion, etc.)
I took a long time to finish this book as it is packed with so much information, that reading, absorbing, and then processing all this information and then questioning it against my logic and beliefs took some time. Just so you know. I decided to listen to this book on Audible. (Audible offers 3 months free trial for Prime Members, get it now)
But after realizing that it’s a powerhouse of information, I read and listened to it, just too thoroughly absorb the information.
The narration in the audiobook is excellent, with very clear pronunciations and speech clarity.
The topic of the history of humankind in itself is quite fascinating. And I loved how Harari made it even more interesting with the story-like format he uses to explain concepts and the progress of the Sapiens. The subject itself is so vast and I quickly realized, it was extensively researched, as was expected.
Packing thousands of years of history in the format of a 500-page book is not an easy task, but the author managed it well. He divides the book into 4 parts taking us through major milestones in the process of evolution. He states that these revelations shaped history and the book discusses how these affected humans and other organisms.
I summarize these 4 parts partly in my own words and partly through excerpts from the book, here.
The Cognitive Revolution
Began 70,000 years ago.
Homo sapiens means wise man.
Humans first evolved in East Africa about 2.5 million years ago and yet might not survive more than 1000 years from now.
The helpless dependency of human babies for many years on their elders for survival and sustenance contributes greatly to the social nature and social problems of humans.
Humans have huge brains for their body size but it uses 25% of the body’s energy.
Man’s jump to the top of the food chain wasn’t gradual so it has consequences. Other animals evolved into that position gradually, which enabled the ecosystem to keep things in check and balance it for them.
The domestication of sapiens began with fire and cooking.
Sapiens may have spread into the world by a combination of two theories – Interbreeding Theory and Replacement Theory.
Homo Sapiens conquered the world thanks to its unique language.
We connect, a limited amount of sounds and signs to produce infinite sentences each with distinct meaning, and so ingest, store and communicates hoards of information about the world.
Also, only sapiens can talk about entities never seen, touched or smelled – a unique feature. (legends, myths, gods and religion)
The instinct to gorge on high-calorie food was hard-wired into our genes, a theory widely accepted.
The Stone Age was more accurately Wood Age.
The dog was the first animal domesticated by us, used for hunting, fighting, and as an alarm system against other wild beasts.
Large numbers of sapiens can collaborate by sharing common myths, norms, and beliefs.
The Agricultural Revolution
Began 12,000 years ago, in Turkey, Iran, and the Levant.
Because the average farmer had to work harder than the average forager and got a worse diet, the author states that this revolution was history’s biggest fraud.
The revolution brought diseases like slip discs, arthritis, and hernias due to the back-breaking work.
It forced us to settle near our fields and thus domesticated Sapiens.
The discrepancy between evolutionary success and individual suffering is the most important lesson of this revolution.
Limitations of the human brain, like its capacity to store limited and selective information and the death of a brain with the death of a human, led to the invention of writing by Sumerians.
Writing and script gradually changed the way humans think and view the world and gave way to compartmentalize and bureaucracy.
Human norms and laws gave rise to social hierarchies and inequality.
Gender inequality: biology enables, culture forbids. The idea of “unnatural” behaviors is a result of Christian theology, not biology.
The Unification of Mankind
The artificial instinct that enables unknown humans to cooperate effectively is called culture.
Three universal orders – monetary, imperial, and religious, appeared in the first millennium BC and the entire human race became a single unit governed by a single set of laws.
Barter exchange had limitations. Money was a mental revolution.
Money is a universal medium of exchange that enables people to covert almost everything into almost anything else.
Money is based on two principles – convertibility and trust.
Empires have played a decisive part in amalgamating many small cultures into fewer big cultures.
But empires can be destructive and exploitative.
It seems that we are moving fast toward a single global empire.
The third humankind unifier - Religions can be defined as a system of human norms and values on a belief in a superhuman order.
Polytheism means many gods. But monotheist ideas played a central role in world history. Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are examples.
The Scientific Revolution
Began 500 years ago.
Revolution because until then humans doubted their ability to obtain new medical, military, and economic powers.
The leading project of this revolution is to give humankind eternal life.
The feedback loop between science, empire, and capital has been history’s chief engine for the past 500 years.
Technological advances and logistical advances played a significant role in the European conquests world over.
The Chinese and Persians did not lack technology, they lacked values, myths, judicial apparatus, and sociopolitical structures that took many years to form and mature.
British conquered Indian through a systematic study of history, culture, Indian soils, and Indian fauna.
Scientists provided the imperial project with practical knowledge, ideological justification, and technological advances.
What enables banks and the economy to survive and flourish is our trust in the future.
Representing goods that do not exist in the present with a special kind of money is called ‘credit’. Credit enables humans to build the present at the expense of the future.
Capitalism distinguishes capital from wealth by including money, goods, and resources invested in production.
The sacred commandment of Capitalism – the profits of production must be reinvested in increasing production.
Human history was dominated by two main cycles – the growth cycles of plants and the changing cycles of solar energy.
Treating living creatures possessing complex emotional worlds as if they were machines is likely to cause them not only physical discomfort but also much social stress and psychological frustration.
Consumerism convinces us that indulgence is good for you, frugality is self-oppression.
Ecological degradation is not the same as resource scarcity.
Most people don’t appreciate the peace of the era we live in.
Happiness – is it external, internal or chemical, or something else entirely?
Buddhism recommends stopping the pursuit of external achievements and inner feelings.
Cyborg engineering might change the laws of life. Many projects in this regard are currently underway.
In the past 1000 years, humans have evolved to take over the world and are on the verge of overcoming natural selection and becoming gods. Yet, we remain unsure of our goals and seem to be discontented as ever. The author ends with the question – is there anything more dangerous than dissatisfied and irresponsible gods who don’t know where they’re going?
He ends the book by seamlessly weaving into the much sought-after topic of human happiness and finding the value and meaning in life.
Final Verdict
The author does offer some of his personal opinions too, but he clearly states when he’s offering them. Take it or leave it.
Full marks for simple language, topic research, and the depth and coverage of the book. It is by no means an easy read due to the nature of the subject itself. But if you are even remotely interested in the topic or the mysteries humankind fascinate you, you shouldn’t miss this book.
Yuval Harari
Professor Harari was born in Haifa, Israel, to Lebanese parents in 1976. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 2002, and is now a lecturer at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He specialized in World History, medieval history and military history. His current research focuses on macro-historical questions: What is the relation between history and biology? What is the essential difference between Homo sapiens and other animals? Is there justice in history? Does history have a direction? Did people become happier as history unfolded?
Prof. Harari also teaches a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) titled A Brief History of Humankind.
Prof. Harari twice won the Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality, in 2009 and 2012. In 2011 he won the Society for Military History’s Moncado Award for outstanding articles in military history.
