SAPIENS: A brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. (A non-book review).

Sapiens is one of the 5 books I’ve enjoyed the most this year so far. I actually wish there were simpler versions of it that are taught in schools. I think I would buy a copy for my daughter.

It also happens to be the longest I’ve listen to so far at 15 hours (I usually do 5-7 hour books).

I should mention, if you’re a staunch believer, you may not enjoy it very much.

The book will give you a broad spectrum view of what we’ve come to define as reality from a historical perspective.

You will get to appreciate the history and significance of our cultures, religion, beliefs, science and the general world system of economics, politics and social dimensions and how they’ve all evolved over centuries and millennia to shape the world as we know it.

Here are some significant insights from the book, even thought I still have 4 hours to finish it.

The Power of Shared Myths.

I had never thought much of them but this book made me realize that our societies are built on shared beliefs and myths, such as religions, nations, and money. I mean think about it, what is the actual value of paper money, bitcoin or even gold itself? Look how we frame our whole lives around its pursuit, and yet if you think about it critically, you’ll realize that the value of money is based on nothing more than our collective belief in it rather than its intrinsic value.

These shared myths played a vital role in allowing humans to create complex societies. Look the concept of a country, what exactly makes a country and the idea of patriotism to the point that people are willing to lay down their lives for their countries (or religion) on a promise that they will be remembered as heroes or martyrs.

The Cognitive Revolution.

According to the author, about 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens developed advanced cognitive abilities, including language and abstract thinking. This revolution allowed them to outcompete other human species like Neanderthals, spread across the globe, and dominate the planet. This is an important observation because human being like Homo erectus had existed for about 2,000,000 years but they never developed these cognitive abilities which would have helped them thrive and dominate earth, until Homo sapiens did and drove the erectus to extinction.

The Agricultural Revolution.

While often seen as a Great Leap Forward as it enabled growth of civilizations, the Agricultural Revolution of around 12,000 years ago led to more repetitive work, growth of patriarchy and social hierarchies as it bred income inequalities, then conflict and wars as people started fighting for territory and resources. It also led to worse living conditions for the majority. It is argued that agriculture led to overpopulation as people started settling in clusters which came with disease. It also led to increased workload and reduction of leisure time and general loss of autonomy.

The author also makes an interesting observation about how we think we tamed animals and plants but there are strong arguments in support of the theory that plants like wheat actually domesticated us as it transformed our lives from hunter gatherers to its servants of sorts. We came from living free mobile lives feeding on a balanced diet to adapting our lives, behaviors and societies to meet the demands of the crop we serve.

We began concurring new lands for wheat, clearing other plants for our master. We tilled the land for wheat, settled around the wheat to offer it protection from thieves, diseases and pests and this has continued to the point where this one crop occupies 544 million acres of land worldwide. In terms of evolution and continuous struggle for survival for the fittest genes, this is a major win for this crop.

Human Impact on the Planet.

Homo sapiens have had an unprecedented impact on the planet, from the extinction of other human species like Neanderthals, Homo erectus and many more. Then other animals like wooly mammoths in the northern parts of Eurasia that went extinct 4,000 years ago due to over hunting, giant ground sloths in South America, moa birds that disappeared from New Zealand around, the Dodos that disappeared from Mauritius around the 17th century after introduction of non native animals like rats and pigs by Europeans, to the widespread environmental changes caused by agriculture, industry, and modern technology.

Something important to note here is we can’t take anything for granted, what has happened before can happen again. We are a very selfish and destructive species and if left to our own devices, we can easily drive ourselves to extinction.

There is a lot more to learn from this book, this is all I can put together for now, but I like how it helps you think of history and life from a much wider perspective because most times when we think of history, we only go back a few hundred years. It’s interesting to look at life from so many millennia back and see how we have evolved and changes we have made on this planet. It also helps you realize how fleeting life is and how insignificant we are and our dreams and aspirations on the timeline of history. Very very humbling.