Why did homo sapiens become the dominant species? That is the fundamental question Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari seeks to answer.
Don’t let the simplicity of this thesis deceive you. The book talks about much much more than how our species beat out neanderthals.
My biggest learning from Sapiens was how storytelling is what separates us from other species. Animals are bound by their biological wiring, but sapiens were able to transcend that restriction with communication. Communication allows for collaboration on a larger scale than other species. Biologically, Dunbar’s number holds true and humans struggle to maintain tribes of over 150 people. But, with storytelling about governments, and laws, and kingdoms, humans can collaborate with millions of strangers without having ever met them. All that’s required is the humans believe in that shared story that if you do what you’re told, the king will protect your land from barbarians.
That’s the big takeaway. Everything is a story. Money, limited liability corporations, countries, they’re all stories. They work because we all agree upon them. There is nothing biological about patent protection, but since we all believe in rule of law, we can cooperate around this idea.
Human civilization has gone through drastically different phases. From tribal living, to the agricultural revolution, to the first large cities, empire building, the industrial age and more. There is nothing inherently right about how society is set up right now. It feels natural to us because it’s all we’ve ever known, but in the scheme of things, this is just a random little blip on the much longer arc of humanity.
Don’t take it all too seriously. We won’t be here long.