MY IMPRESSIONS ON "SAPIENS"

A couple of months ago, a senior colleague I respect a lot recommended a book for me to read. As an introduction, he said, "The simplicity in the book will lure you into it." He read a few lines from the book to me which are as follows: "About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. The story of these fundamental features of our universe is called physics. About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules. The story of atoms, molecules and their interactions is called chemistry. About 3.8. billion years ago, on a planet called Earth, certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms. The story of organisms is called biology. About 70,000 years ago, organisms belonging to the species Homo sapiens started to form even more elaborate structures called cultures. The subsequent development of these human cultures is called history."

Further, my senior colleague pointed out: "Just look at the manner in which the fundamental ideas behind physics, chemistry and biology are expressed in these lines ! The rest of the book is on similar lines."

I was hooked ! The book that my colleague referred is "Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind" (called "Sapiens" henceforth in this blog post) by Professor Yuval Noah Harari. I finished the book on 24-Jun-2019. I have one comment on the book: I prefer reading fiction, but if more books like "Sapiens" are written, I will happily switch to reading only non-fiction ! Prof. Harari's website on the book is available at https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens/ for reference.

There have been many reviews written about the book. I liked the reviews https://medium.com/@Kathrynpoe/book-review-sapiens-a-brief-history-of-humankind-by-yuval-noah-harari-77e22886680c, and Bill Gates' recommendation of the book at  https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Sapiens-A-Brief-History-of-Humankind. These reviews need to be read, to understand the importance of the book.

This blog post contains my impressions on "Sapiens".

One important feature of the book is its flow. The book covers human evolution and the development of cultures, according to the lines quoted above. I never felt that the book is a drag. The chapters and parts progress smoothly.

"Sapiens" introduces uncomfortable ideas. What happens if I am told that the life I lead is unreal ?! This is just what "Sapiens" does, discussing some provocative ideas ! In the course of our education, we learn about concepts like law and human rights. Prof. Harari states that these concepts are unreal ! It is only because most of us believe in these ideas that these concepts are so deeply ingrained among most of us. "Sapiens" says that these concepts have no basis in reality. In effect, we are leading a life based on illusions ! feel a little like Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix" after understanding the idea !

Hindu philosophy has the concept that our life is "Maya", loosely translated as "illusion". The main goal in Hinduism is to go beyond the illusory world of birth, rebirth and life to attain the universal Godhood. Prof. Harari's idea that concepts like human rights are unreal seems to be akin to Hindu philosophy to me, since Maya is an illusory world !

One aspect that I like in "Sapiens" is its understated humour ! For example, there is a passage where our sense of identity is discussed. We identify ourselves as belonging to certain groups or tribes. The outsiders or the "others" are always considered to be evil. Prof. Harari discusses the exclusive nature of different tribes, each believing that they are the true inheritors of Earth ! The humour he uses made me smile ! I feel that the disappointing fact here is that this tendency is present among us even today: the idea in "We are <choose a region/ language/ group>. They are different !" is still prevalent ! It is hardwired into us. One way of overcoming it is to be aware of such tendencies in us, I suppose.

"Sapiens" is mostly a book about history, but Prof. Harari touches upon economics, politics and spirituality too. Economic concepts like the development of currency are introduced using examples and analogies. Colonialism and capitalism are discussed well. The dangers associated with unbridled capitalism are brought out by examining how the slave trade grew because of capitalism.

To me, the insight in some passages and lines made me pause and mull over them. One memorable line in the book states that wheat has domesticated us ! What a role reversal the idea is ! One would normally expect that as humanity evolved, it is humans who domesticated animals like dogs and cows and in a manner, tamed them. Instead, Prof. Harari flips this idea: the cultivation of wheat resulted in humanity changing from its hunter-gatherer nature to a settled nature. Consequently, it is wheat which has tamed us !

Another unique idea expressed in the book is that the "isms" developed in the last couple of centuries are equivalent to religions. "The Communist Manifesto" played a role similar to religious epics, for communists. There is a parallel between religious symbols and rituals and the emphasis on certain concepts in ideologies like communism.

The importance of "credit" in capitalism is brought out well in "Sapiens". We hope for a better future: this is why credit exists for start-ups, entrepreneurs and businesses.

"Sapiens" examines the nature of power. It is rare that the strongest person heads a group, though one would expect that. Often, it is the person who has the best social skills. The remark made in the book in this connection is:

"People in their sixties usually exercise power over people in their twenties, even though twenty-somethings are much stronger than their elders."

During the cognitive revolution, two seemingly less important ideas helped humanity progress: gossip and fiction. I would prefer to call fiction as imagination. The power of collective myths is the basis for religions, ideologies and even nations.

The role of gossip is illustrated in "Sapiens" as follows:

".... gossip helped Homo sapiens to form larger and more stable bands."

I have a circle of around 25 people at work who I feel I know well and my close relatives would be around 50, I suppose. It is far lesser from the maximum of 150 suggested in "Sapiens". Still, I can recognise that knowing 150 persons well would indeed be the upper limit for a typical person. Long before the social networks of today's era, evolution has placed a kind of restraint on the number of people who we can know intimately.

The comparison of religions in "Sapiens" is good to read. The essence of monotheism and polytheism is discussed. The philosophy in Buddhism is explained in some detail. 

I feel that "Sapiens" is full of such thought provoking and stimulating ideas and concepts. Once I finished the book, I sought out the senior colleague who recommended it and thanked him for introducing it to me. His reply was: "I have not completed reading Professor Harari's subsequent book 'Homo Deus' yet, but if you want I can share it with you. I am told that it is better than 'Sapiens' !" I was sorely tempted to say yes, but since I want to give another book my complete attention, I declined.

If "Homo Deus" is better than "Sapiens" I will probably read it at some point of time. I am impressed by the simplicity in "Sapiens", particularly while explaining concepts which could have been complicated. For the sheer joy of mental stimulation caused by the introduction of provocative ideas and concepts, I would strongly recommend that people read Professor Yuval Noah Harari's book "Sapiens".