Sapiens, A brief history of mankind by Yuval Noah Harari

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I was planning to read this heavy book before the year ends but because we were on forced homestay, I got the chance to start and finish it. I am happy that I chose this book over my stack of titles because it is a timely book to read given the pandemic that we are experiencing right now.  

The author warmed up by explaining how we as Sapiens remained as the only homo in the story of our evolution. It is not physical strength but or language that made us through. I mentioned that this is a heavy book but of course, I judged it by its title but as I went through the chapters, actually this book is very readable and tinged with wit, or maybe it just cannot be helped that our lives since time immemorial is filled with irony. For example, we survived because we tend to gossip and believe in myths. hahahaha!   


Using biology as the basis of explaining our history, the author has made good and interesting points all throughout that you won't believe that a very serious topic could be that interestng. Well, thanks to the author's clear language and relevant citations of many researches.

How Sapiens came to live life in constant worries with their mortality and afterlife. So we started worshippng  by trusting gods found in the trees, rocks and mountains, then it evolved to building structures of tombs and places of worship, then it became multi-gods to one god, then another god was created because we trusted credts and gold and then money, then it became science and then science and technology. 

Alongside this, the author presented why we ended up trusting the government and believing as individual since we first survived as a family then as herd of men in the community. 

The book ended with our collective trust in science and technology. Since there are experiments of artificial limbs controlled by brain, there are exprimnts on gene alteration so we can tailor prevention or treatment of diseases based on the genetic make up of an individuals, there are many questions on economic and ethical implications of this to our established society. And the important question: Do all progress in or society translates to happiness? We cannot say for sure that our ancestors, the first Sapiens, are not happy or less happy than we do. 

Lastly, in contemplation with the recent pandemic and what this book enlightened me with, I can say that (with the development of synthetic biology (Synbio) like creating a virus may become a biological weapon or artificial limbs and brains may extend life), the important question to the leaders of every country, which direction do we really want to go in pursuit of Sapien's happiness?      

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