Overview
In Sapiens, historian Yuval Noah Harari tells the story of our species. He covers the last 150,000 years with brilliant writing, interweaving history with science. I learned a great deal from Sapiens. It was easily one of my favorite books of the year, and you’ll love it too.
I’ll briefly cover why we – Homo sapiens – went from humble, ordinary ape-like creature to rulers of the Earth.
The Imagination of Man
What predominantly sets us apart from our ancestors – and other animals – is our ability to cooperate on a large scale. Our cooperative tendencies are directly attributable to our remarkable imaginations and use of language.
Indeed, we collaborate because of our ability to tell stories and make people believe in myths such as nations, religions, corporations, human rights, liberty, and more. To be sure: calling something a “myth” doesn’t discredit or demean it; instead, it indicates that it exists in our minds.
“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order is imagined. You always insist that the order sustaining society is an objective reality created by the great gods or the laws of nature… People are equal, not because Thomas Jefferson said so, but because God created them that way.” – Sapiens
Monkeys, cats, dogs, and birds can work together in small groups. But you don’t see Todo forming an organized religion of dogs to advance his chosen cause (bacon from humans for good deeds!).
Recommendation
I absolutely recommend Sapiens. Harari is incredibly knowledgeable about history, economics, nations, religion, and science. Sometimes the book can seem provocative, but it’s always insightful and extremely well thought-out. If you read it, I’m certain you’ll be as captivated as I was, and that you won’t stop raving about it to your fellow Homo sapiens.
IBM’s Director of Research, Arvind Krishna, recommended Sapiens to me, and I’m so glad I took his advice. Thanks, Arvind!
Get your copy of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
