Wondershare EdrawMind
MindMap Gallery A Brief History of Humanity Reading Notes
- 4
A Brief History of Humanity Reading Notes
The book "A Brief History of Humankind" not only writes a macroscopic brief history of humankind, but also constantly writes from small to large, using small letters to make big ones, impacting our thinking and changing the way we think. We must break the stereotypes and achieve continuous innovation. It also provides a historical perspective and an overall perspective, allowing us to clarify the major threads in the process of human development and re-examine ourselves!
Edited at 2021-06-25 09:46:47
- One Hundred Years of Solitude Character Relationship Chart
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude Character Relationship Chart
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
- Project Management Process Template
Project management is the process of applying specialized knowledge, skills, tools, and methods to project activities so that the project can achieve or exceed the set needs and expectations within the constraints of limited resources. This diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the 8 components of the project management process and can be used as a generic template for direct application.
A Brief History of Humanity Reading Notes
- One Hundred Years of Solitude Character Relationship Chart
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude Character Relationship Chart
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
- Project Management Process Template
Project management is the process of applying specialized knowledge, skills, tools, and methods to project activities so that the project can achieve or exceed the set needs and expectations within the constraints of limited resources. This diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the 8 components of the project management process and can be used as a generic template for direct application.
- Recommended to you
- Outline
"A Brief History of Humanity" Reading Notes
Summarize
"A Brief History of Humankind" uses the perspective of species research to survey world history and outline the essence of human progress and development.
The more developed human imagination is, the more severe the suffering each individual faces.
To put it bluntly, our species is a species that lives in imagination and reality at the same time. This ability to live in "dual reality" has allowed us to achieve great achievements, but it has also made most of us fall into more miserable situations. The situation is the same from the peasants who were oppressed by theocratic and royal power in ancient times to the workers who are exploited by capitalism and consumerism today.
Each round of revolution and leap has not fundamentally changed this model, but has pushed the pros and cons of this model to more extreme levels.
Harari came to this conclusion not to be alarmist or to gain fame.
He has no interest in arousing your recognition of him by arousing your anxiety. His purpose is to look forward to the future for all mankind. Why do you say that?
Because today's technological progress has reached a point where it is possible for humans to cross the boundaries of biology, use technological means to transform themselves, and complete the next step of evolution.
In other words, the way species evolve has progressed from genetic evolution to division of labor evolution in the past, and may continue to progress from division of labor evolution to technological evolution in the future.
From a traditional perspective, this doesn't seem like a bad thing. But now that you understand "A Brief History of Humanity", you will know that there are deeper crises and changes hidden behind it. Harari’s point of view is that behind every revolution and leap, there is great suffering suffered by individual human beings, and this time will be no exception.
Harari’s 2016 speech at Tsinghua University extended the conclusions in his book
If a minority group of humans can really use technology to transform their bodies and minds and become immortal or supermen with computer-like memories, then class inequality will expand into inequality between species, and then the suffering of most people may The suffering is more profound than that experienced during several periods of change in history.
As said at the end of "A Brief History of Humanity", "The only thing we can do now is to influence the direction they take.
Since we may soon be able to reshape our desires, perhaps the real question to ask is not "what do we really want to be" but "what do we really want to want?" If we still take this question for granted, Maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet. "
Part 4: Extension of the Scientific Revolution
The so-called science is essentially a system of knowledge
However, why can this knowledge system create huge productivity and destructive power, detonate atomic bombs, and send humans to the moon? Harari said that this is because the scientific knowledge system is different from all previous knowledge systems in three major ways:
The first is to be willing to admit your ignorance
Harari said a very classic saying: The scientific revolution is not a "revolution of knowledge", but a "revolution of ignorance."
In the old days, whether it was Christianity, Buddhism or Confucianism, they all assumed that all important things in the world were already contained in the Bible, Buddhist scriptures and the Four Books and Five Classics.
Issues that are not mentioned in the classics are unimportant. For example, the Four Books and Five Classics do not mention how to build a ship, so building a ship must be unimportant and is a "strange and obscene art."
If you want to understand the world, you don’t need to do anything else, just read these classics thoroughly.
Modern science is just the opposite. It first admits that it knows nothing about important issues, so it encourages the confrontation and collision of opinions.
The second is centered on observation and mathematics
This is also a major difference between modern science and past knowledge systems
Harari gave an example. For example, there is a religion called Manichaeism. Manichaeism believes that everything in this world is a struggle between good and evil. Evil creates matter, and good creates spirit.
In fact, if you think about it, this kind of religion can basically be said to be omnipotent. It can explain everything.
For example, my computer is broken, why is it broken? Because evil has affected my computer. I found a kind-hearted programmer to help me fix my computer. Good conquered evil.
The question is, does it tell you how to repair your computer? Absolutely not. So although it can explain everything, it means nothing
Modern science is centered on observation and mathematics.
The so-called "observation" is actually verification. You said your computer broke because of evil, can you verify it? If you can't verify it, you can only fall into a circular argument.
But I said that the computer is broken because the motherboard is burned out. Just replace the motherboard and it will be fine. This is knowledge that can be verified.
Of course, modern science can continue to use mathematical tools to calculate the extent to which electric current will burn out the motherboard, thereby establishing general laws and theories about computer damage.
The third is to use existing theories to acquire new capabilities
Innovations in ancient society were basically random innovations, that is, during the labor process, occasionally craftsmen discovered that it was more efficient to improve the tool this way, and then it was recorded as a set of experiences passed down by word of mouth.
But modern science can start from existing theories, summarize laws, and point us to the direction of innovation, rather than relying on the inspiration of craftsmen.
But the scientific revolution has also brought new ways of imagining to people, that is, everyone believes that science and technology can continue to progress, and human society can continue to move forward. In fact, this belief has become the cornerstone of the operation of human society
In 2016, the United States had a debt of US$22.8 trillion. To put it bluntly, it was borrowing money to develop. But why do you still believe that the United States can afford to pay back this money and will not go bankrupt?
The reason is that you believe that the United States' technological and economic strength will continue to advance, and as long as it can continue to grow in the future, it can continue to play this debt game. This is also the essence of all modern states and modern finance
Disadvantages of scientific leaps
However, Harari also pointed out that the scientific revolution, like all revolutions in history, is the product of continuous leaps of human imagination and will also bring huge material benefits.
However, this leap is not necessarily a good thing for individual humans.
First of all, European countries took advantage of technological advantages to expand rapidly, which brought serious disasters to the world.
Conservative estimates show that in the more than 20 years from 1885 to 1908, 6 million people died in the Congo due to colonial rule.
Secondly, the rapid development of science and technology has caused a rapid increase in the gap between rich and poor around the world, and it is increasingly difficult for backward countries to catch up with advanced countries.
According to estimates, workers in Africa and Indonesia today do not earn as much food as they did 500 years ago.
Therefore, global economic growth may also be a huge trap, which actually makes more people live in hunger and poverty.
Part Three: The Integration and Unified Extension of Humanity
Harari believes that starting from 1000 BC, there have been three orders that may really allow "all mankind to imagine being together", making people believe that it is possible for compatriots around the world to be together and governed by the same set of rules. These three orders are the money order, the empire order and the faith order.
money order
Why is money so magical?
Harari said that because the money system has two major characteristics: everything is exchangeable and everyone believes it, and the former ultimately depends on the latter
You may still remember the political economics point of view taught in middle school politics textbooks. Money is essentially a general equivalent, but Harari will tell you that this understanding is not essential enough.
The essence of money is as follows
It is the most common and effective mutual trust system in history
The biggest difference between it and religion is that only you believe in religion, while everyone believes in money.
You believe it can be exchanged for material wealth, and so do I.
Even if we don’t know each other and don’t know each other’s character, just based on this trust, that is, you paid money, we can cooperate
imperial order, or order of violence
This is easy to understand. Everyone understands the logic of money, and everyone understands the logic of swords.
But empires don't just rule by violence. It also spreads unified laws, writing, language and currency, and even a common culture. Moreover, most of the empire’s elites themselves believe that they are working for the overall benefit of all the empire’s subjects.
Harari specifically mentioned China. In ancient times, China believed that it should benefit all directions and spread Chinese culture. The so-called destiny is not to exploit the entire world, but to educate all peoples
It is precisely because of this belief that no matter how divided China was in history, it would be unified
In the 21st century, Harari believes that a new "global empire" concept is emerging, which may further break the boundaries of past nation-states, bring people around the world under its banner, and solve some common problems, such as environmental protection and development issues, etc.
religious order, or belief order
In fact, belief has been around since ancient times. We have said before that our ancestors Homo sapiens have the ability to imagine virtual things. They will naturally use this ability to imagine things that do not exist in the real world, such as ghosts and gods, such as God. From this, polytheism, monotheism, Different types of religions such as nature worship or ancestor worship
But what Harari wants to point out is that in fact many of the ideas and values in modern society are essentially beliefs.
For example, European humanistic thought in early modern times actually worshiped human nature and sanctified it.
Harari said that modern society is against torture, which means giving so-called "humanitarian care" to criminals. There is no way to prove whether this is good or bad, but we believe that only in this way can human dignity be maintained, so we do this
So is social humanism. They believe that equality is the most important value, so they oppose privileges for the rich because it means that money is valued more than humanity.
In the same way, modern society’s values and admiration for human rights, freedom, etc. are essentially part of the order of faith.
At this point, you may have questions. According to Harari’s explanation, are all the achievements of human civilization imaginary? Don’t these high-rise buildings, smart computers, and satellite rockets we build have any real foundation?
Harari’s answer is: not at all. This brings us to the last part: the Scientific Revolution
Part Two: The Agricultural Revolution Extended
Harari said, there really is, and this evidence is the second revolution he is going to talk about, which is the agricultural revolution. Listen to me tell you in detail
Humans in the Age of Collecting
Before humans entered the agricultural age, which was the so-called gathering age, you can imagine
In this era, men hunted and women gathered fruits. There was no such thing as "slash and burn" farming, and productivity was extremely backward.
Then you may think that people in this era must have lived very miserable lives, often not having enough to eat, and not as smart as the humans who later entered the agricultural society, right?
But Harari tells you that your idea is exactly wrong. Archaeologists have proven that the nutritional status of ordinary people who lived in the gathering era was much better than that of ordinary people who later entered agricultural society. Their brain capacity was even larger than that of ordinary people who later entered agricultural society. In other words, from an evolutionary perspective, humans have experienced species degradation from the age of collecting to agricultural society. Why is this so
Let me first explain why people in the collecting era have more developed bodies and brains than people in early agricultural societies.
They are in good health. The reason is that people in the foraging era ate a variety of foods with well-balanced nutrition. They had some mushrooms in the morning, some fruits at noon, and caught a rabbit at night.
On the contrary, the diet structure of ancient people who entered agricultural society was relatively simple most of the time.
For example, farmers in ancient China basically had three meals a day of dry food, and they were protected from pests and diseases and excessive taxes, otherwise they would suffer from malnutrition.
Scientists have also confirmed that the brain capacity of people in the collecting era was larger than that of people in agricultural societies.
This is because the natural environment that the collector has to face is very complex. He must be familiar with animals and plants, and know what can and cannot be eaten.
He has to be keenly aware of the surrounding environment. If there are rustlings in the grass, there may be a snake, and if he steps on it, he will die.
He must be good at sports. He can dig out bird's nests in trees and catch fish in rivers.
All this requires his brain to process very complex information
On the contrary, many people in agricultural societies live in a small area all their lives, growing a small wheat field. Their life is simple and boring, their activities are narrow, and they never interact with each other even if they are dozens of miles apart. Their brains actually process less and less information.
Advantages and Pitfalls of the Agricultural Era
So since human beings are actually experiencing degradation from the age of collecting to agricultural society, why do humans continue to evolve in this direction?
The answer is that agricultural society greatly increased the possibility of Homo sapiens reproducing offspring.
Because in the age of collecting, people had to move around, and they would go wherever there was prey.
When relocating, children become a big problem. But once they entered an agricultural society and humans became sedentary animals, they could have children every year, and the population growth rate suddenly soared.
Although agricultural societies have high infant mortality, malnutrition, and smaller brain sizes, the total population has indeed increased.
This involves a fundamental issue of values
From a biological point of view, the standard for evaluating evolution is not how strong or fast an individual is, but how far the genes of this species have spread.
Harari made an analogy. It’s like today, whether a company is good or not depends mainly on how much money it makes, rather than whether its employees are happy or not.
Entering agricultural society, everyone's physical fitness has declined, but the transmission efficiency of ethnic genes has greatly improved. This is the true meaning of evolution.
Therefore, Harari said, the agricultural revolution seems to be a progress, but for individual human beings, it is actually a huge trap.
The Agricultural Revolution looks like humans successfully domesticated certain crops and livestock. In fact, conversely, it can also be said that these crops and livestock domesticated humans. They forced humans to serve their growth every day, plowing fields. Loose soil, water and fertilize, take good care of
Moreover, the development of agriculture enabled humans to create societies, countries, classes and religions, which led to class oppression and religious wars.
Humanity as a whole has indeed made rapid progress through division of labor and cooperation, but the suffering of each individual has increased
If you don’t believe me, look at ancient civilizations. Egypt has the pyramids, Rome has the Colosseum, and China has the Great Wall. Aren’t these majestic world wonders all accomplished by the enslavement and oppression of ordinary people by pharaohs and emperors?
To put it bluntly, the agricultural revolution exchanged the miserable conditions of the majority of people for a small number of people to become the supreme ruling class, and enslaved the majority of people to create civilization.
summary
This involves what Harari said, the second leap of human imagination brought about by the agricultural revolution.
first leap
It is the so-called "cognitive revolution". Human beings have developed the ability to imagine virtual things through "gossip", so they can surpass the "150 people" threshold of tribal groups.
So what does the second leap mean?
It refers to the fact that humans can construct a virtual political order through imagination.
Just like the reason why the ancient Egyptians obeyed the Pharaoh's order to build the pyramids, it was not only because they were afraid of the Pharaoh's authority, but also because they truly believed that the Pharaoh was the spokesperson of God in the world. Building the pyramids for the Pharaoh was part of obeying the order of God's will.
Everything comes from imagination
Harari said that the social order we live in is ultimately derived from imagination. This theory has three important manifestations:
First, the order constructed by imagination is closely integrated with the real world, so it is difficult for you to discover
For example, if a child lives in a medieval castle, he does not have his own room, and his every move is exposed to the eyes of others, so he is particularly concerned about his social status and sense of honor.
But in modern society, children all have their own rooms, so they will develop a belief in individualism. They feel that they don’t need to care about other people’s eyes and just live out their own values.
This kind of values and beliefs are actually closely tied to people's arrangements for their living environment. It's hard to say who caused which.
Second, the order of imagination shapes people’s desires
For example, many people today want to travel abroad and buy a big villa. You think doing these things is a reflection of your free personality. In fact, they are all instilled in you by consumerism. You see movies, TV, advertisements, and Weibo every day. , Moments all tell you that you should give these things to your girlfriend
So what should you give in ancient times? Give her a big pyramid to keep her heart blooming. In fact, whether it's a trip abroad or a burial, it's all very funny. These are all instilled in you by your imagination.
Third, the imaginary order connects people together
For example, why is the dollar piece of paper valuable? In the final analysis, it is also because of imagination
But it is the existence of this kind of imagination that enables us to establish a transnational economy and establish international trade rules, so that capital, goods and labor around the world can be exchanged.
Without this, human beings might return to their original state in an instant.
They are all derivatives of imagination
So Harari finally concluded that as human beings, we cannot break away from the order established by imagination.
Every time we think we have broken down the prison wall and are heading towards freedom, we are actually just arriving at another bigger prison, slightly expanding the scope of our activities.
Throughout history, when humans imagine order, they are particularly good at imagining the differences between higher and lower classes. For example, white people are higher than black people, men are higher than women, and they have given countless arguments.
In fact, none of these arguments have anything to do with justice; they are merely derivatives of imagination.
You may ask, since the order is imaginary, then theoretically speaking, different people should imagine very different orders.
For example, Westerners imagine that God created all things, and Chinese imagine that Pangu created the world. This was indeed the case in ancient society. But how to explain the era of globalization we are facing today? Is it because all mankind happened to imagine it together?
Part One: Extended Cognitive Revolution
Humans are not that special
From a physical and chemical perspective, it is nothing more than the combination of atoms and molecules. From a biological classification perspective, it is nothing more than a family of primate mammals called Hominidae.
In fact, higher animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are very close to us in a biological sense
As the book says, 60,000 years ago, a female ape gave birth to two children. One child became the grandfather of all chimpanzees, and the other became the grandmother of all humans.
Homo sapiens and other species
In middle school biology, species are divided into phyla, order, family, genus and species. Today's human beings belong to the species "Homo sapiens" under the genus "Human" and are the only species under this family and genus.
But in history, there have actually been other “human” races.
Neanderthals of the Middle East and Europe
Denisovans of Oceania
Archaeological and genetic studies have proven that a small number of these races other than "Homo sapiens" interbred with our ancestors, and a little bit of their genes remain in some peoples today, but the vast majority of ancient humans were between 70,000 and 30,000 They were wiped out by our ancestors years ago, or at least their living space was squeezed out by our ancestors, just like the dodo was hunted to extinction
But why can "Homo sapiens" defeat other ancient human races and win? You have to know that our ancestors were inferior to other races in terms of size, mobility and agility.
gossip theory
The most fundamental answer is that our ancestors had a more developed ability, which is language ability
He introduced a very vivid and interesting theory: the gossip theory
What does that mean
Biologists believe that animals like "Homo sapiens" can make a lot of sounds, which can be combined into many sentences to develop complex meanings.
But in fact, this ability is not uncommon in other animals. For example, monkeys also have different calls. They can use a special call to say, "There is a lion by the river, please don't drink the water!" This kind of cry can also convey information. Is there any difference between "Homo sapiens" and them?
There are differences: Homo sapiens is an animal whose brain and language can express its own ideas about itself, that is, it can "gossip" about its own people.
This ability is amazing: if people in a tribe can gossip about members of their own tribe for several hours every day, then they can clearly know who in their tribe is more trustworthy and reliable. In the long run, everyone will be more trustworthy. If we work closely together, the tribe will grow rapidly.
This gossip theory sounds strange, but it has been confirmed by many studies and experiments.
Harari believes that it is the key to our understanding of the progress and development of human civilization.
Because if you think about it carefully, information such as "There is a lion by the river" still describes a real object.
But who in a tribe is good and who is bad, who is trustworthy and who has moral issues, is described by virtual objects, such as "good", "bad", "trust", "moral", etc.
And if a species can talk about virtual objects, it will have the possibility of dividing labor, cooperating, and forming a complex society.
"Dunbar's Number", also known as the Law of 150
According to this law, if a group only relies on "gossip" communication between individuals, then the maximum size of the group is 150 people
As long as it is within this scope, you do not need any institutional regulations. You can maintain normal operations by relying on interpersonal relationships alone, such as a small company, a small village, etc.
But if an organization wants to exceed this threshold of 150 people, it must have a premise, that is, everyone can imagine and believe a fictional story
For example, in Catholicism, everyone believes in the crucifixion of Jesus, so even believers who don’t know each other have a common topic.
The same is true for a company, a society, and a country
So what is the basis of this ability? It’s what I just introduced to you, the ability to describe virtual objects.
language skills
This is the first crucial revolution Harari talks about: the cognitive revolution
The so-called cognitive revolution means that animals like "Homo sapiens" have developed language abilities, which exceed the expression level of ordinary animals like "there is a lion by the river". They can gossip about themselves.
And through the power of Bagua, Homo sapiens developed the ability to describe virtual objects.
The ability to describe virtual objects allowed our ancestors to believe in one thing together, which made it possible for them to cross the threshold of 150 people, form a complex society, and develop a high degree of civilization.
changes in the way species evolve
Harari pointed out that this is a huge breakthrough even from the perspective of biological evolution.
Evolution based on genetic mutations
Because the evolution of species in the past was ultimately based on genetic mutations, such as monkeys turning into orangutans, and orangutans turning into humans.
What's wrong with this way of evolution? It's too long. How long did it take for genetic evolution from apes to humans? For 2 million years, the way of life of apes has not changed fundamentally.
An evolutionary approach based on division of labor and cooperation
However, it has only been 70,000 years since the emergence of Homo sapiens, and human lifestyles have undergone earth-shaking changes. In the final analysis, it is because this species no longer relies on genetic mutations to move forward, but relies on division of labor and cooperation.
You may be surprised by this conclusion. After all, Darwin's evolutionary theory of species evolution and survival of the fittest is so famous, and the discovery of genes was one of the biggest breakthroughs in science in the 20th century. Now you tell me that biological evolution does not rely on genes, but on division of labor and cooperation? Is there any evidence?
core content
"A Brief History of Humankind" is divided into four parts: cognitive revolution, agricultural revolution, human integration and unity, and scientific and technological revolution
This book believes that the unique language ability of Homo sapiens allows us to imagine virtual things, thereby organizing complex societies and achieving higher evolutionary efficiency through division of labor and cooperation.
But at the same time, this ability also puts most of us in more miserable situations
This is true from the peasants who were oppressed by theocratic and royal power in ancient times to the workers who are exploited by capitalism and consumerism today.
Each round of revolution and leap has not fundamentally changed this model. Instead, it has pushed the pros and cons of this model to a more extreme level: the more developed human imagination is, the more severe the suffering each individual faces.
Book introduction
"A Brief History of Humanity" attempts to answer some questions
The history of human development from the beginning of signs of life one hundred thousand years ago to the intertwining of capital and technology in the 21st century. One hundred thousand years ago, there were at least six human races on the earth. Why are we the only one left today?
We were once just an inconspicuous group in a corner of Africa, and our impact on the ecology of the earth was no different than that of fireflies, orangutans or jellyfish. Why can we reach the top of the biological chain and eventually become the masters of the earth?
Answers given in this book
The deepest and most fundamental driving force behind the brilliant civilization created by mankind from ancient times to today lies in the cognitive revolution driven by imagination.
And the way it uses the "species" of human beings as a clue to outline the history of human civilization from ancient times to high-tech modern society is also the most innovative thing.
illustrate
The right side of the map is an outline of the extracted content.
The content on the left side of the map is extended
complement each other
Summary of the trilogy of "A Brief History of Mankind"
"A Brief History of Humanity"
Summarizing the past of mankind, how Homo sapiens became the ruler of the earth
"A Brief History of the Future"
Focusing on thinking about the next few thousand years, how humans will eventually become gods, and what fate will eventually lead to intelligence and consciousness
"A Brief History of Today"
It is a book that reflects on the major global issues facing mankind today.
Yuval Harari "A Brief History of Mankind"
Book information
Author: [Israel] Yuval Harari
Young geek, a new historian attracting global attention
Publisher: CITIC Publishing Group
Publication year: 2014-11
Part One: 🧠Cognitive Revolution
time
About 13.5 billion years ago, the matter, energy, time, and space of the universe became what they are today, forming the foundation of physics.
About 3.8 billion years ago, molecules joined together to form a fine structure - the organism, which made biology possible
2.5 million years ago, humanoid creatures appeared
About 2 million years ago, different human species existed in the entire world, including Homo Rudolfus in East Africa, Homo erectus in East Asia, and Neanderthals in Europe and West Asia. However, it is only known that about 10,000 years ago, only Homo sapiens remained. A sort of
About 70,000 years ago, "Homo sapiens" began to create more complex structures, forming "culture", and culture continued to develop, forming history
There are three kinds of revolutions on the road of history
The “cognitive revolution” 70,000 years ago
The “Agricultural Revolution” 10,000 years ago
The “Scientific Revolution” about 500 years ago
reason
Natural genetic mutation
There is a lion by the river
Can convey more and more information about the environment around Homo sapiens, and plan and execute complex plans
Like running from a lion or hunting a buffalo
Gossip
Ability to convey greater amounts of information about Homo sapiens social relationships and organize larger, more cohesive groups of up to 150 people
Communities, companies, social networks, military units and other groups are still affected by this
fictional story
Ability to convey information about fictional concepts such as tribal patron saints, nations, limited companies, and human rights
In modern society, businessmen and lawyers are wizards, setting rules and building communities.
The company is a collective imagination
Homo sapiens
time
1 million years ago
Features
Big brain
Occupies volume and consumes a lot of money
cost
Muscle atrophy
Spend more time looking for food
Walk upright
Evolution in a shorter time period has prompted humans to be born prematurely
Outstanding social skills
Strong plasticity
use tools
middle of food chain
More than 1 million years ago, despite having large brains and stone tools, they were still in the middle of the food chain and relied on collecting to survive.
The main purpose of early stone tools was to allow humans to finish their meals on large animals, approach the few remaining prey carcasses, crack open the bones, and eat the only edible marrow to sustain themselves.
Top of the food chain
400,000 years ago, several human species began to hunt large animals. It was not until the rise of Homo sapiens 100,000 years ago that humans jumped to the top of the food chain.
Humanity has reached the top in a blink of an eye, catching the entire ecosystem off guard. Many ecological disasters are caused by this too hasty historical jump.
Evolution at the top
Between 70,000 and 30,000 years ago, Homo sapiens invented boats, oil lamps, bows and arrows, needles, and the first sculptures that could be called works of art, as well as religion, commerce, and social stratification
Key Achievements of the Cognitive Revolution
form different languages and cultures
Part 2: 🌽Agricultural Revolution
collecting society
The formation of the gluttonous gene
Ancient collectors, if they encountered high-calorie sweets, in order to survive, the best choice would be to eat them until they could no longer eat them.
Even today, despite the abundance of material resources, humans are still unable to quit high-energy diets, leading to widespread obesity.
monogamy
Evolutionary psychologists believe that ancient tribes had no monogamy and no concept of fatherhood. A group of people jointly raised tribal children.
Supporters of "ancient communes" believe that monogamy is the cause of interpersonal alienation and high divorce rates in post-industrial society.
Life
A gathering society hunted about once every three days, and 3 to 6 hours each time was enough to feed the tribe, which was shorter than modern people's working hours.
Most live to be 60 or even 80 years old
Omnivorous habits, no malnutrition
War is a social phenomenon that has appeared in collecting societies. Human beings are closely related but they still kill the old and the weak
Agricultural Society
Domestication
animal domestication
Park 9000 BC, goats
Park 4000 BC, horse
Park 3500 BC, camels
plant domestication
Park 9000 BC, wheat
Park 8000 BC, peas and lentils
5000 years ago, olive trees in front of the park
3,500 years ago in the park, grapes
3,500 years ago in the park, cashew nuts
From 9500 B.C. to 3500 B.C., wheat, rice, corn, and potatoes
Influence
Food increases, human survival crisis weakens, population surges, and pampered elites emerge
generate various meanings
The concept of home and territory emerges
After the awareness of the private domain of "home" has been strengthened, "hamster syndrome" has become more and more serious, and people are willing to hoard property.
The importance of “the future” has become increasingly prominent
Learning to look at the weather and predict the future affects the survival of Homo sapiens
Word
reason
The brain has limited capacity
Human beings are bound to die
The human brain has gradually become accustomed to storing and processing only specific types of information, and its ability to accurately store numbers has weakened.
definition
Text is a way of storing information using physical symbols #notes
type
Sumerian writing
Andes
ancient egyptian hieroglyphs
China and Mesoamerica: 1200 BC in China, complete ideograms produced in Mesoamerica between 1000 BC and 500 BC
In the post-agricultural revolution era, human beings have developed rapidly through writing and shared fictional stories, which has resulted in different classifications of social groups.
free man/slave
rich/poor
white/black
Part Three: 🌐The Integration and Unification of Humanity
direction of history
What lasts a long time will inevitably separate. It is just a temporary situation. What will last a long time will inevitably merge. This is the general trend.
10,000 years before the park, collectors only knew their own island
Before arriving in Europe in the 19th century, no one knew Tasmania existed for 12,000 years
In 2000 BC, there were only two to three thousand human civilizations left.
Four worlds of considerable size and complexity
mesoamerican world
andean world
australian world
atlantic world
Today's world
The same geopolitical system
same economic system
same legal system
same scientific system
currency
The condition for all humans to become “us” (the basis for cooperation between sapiens and strangers)
economic monetary order
political imperial order
global religion
Gatherers have no concept of money at all
Self-sufficiency, forming an economic system based on favors and obligations
Unable to obtain rare items, so exchange them from strangers
agricultural revolution period
Each village is self-sufficient and requires only certain services
After the rise of cities and kingdoms
Improvements in transportation infrastructure finally gave rise to opportunities for specialization
Dense cities begin to support professional workers
Specialized occupation
shoemaker
doctor
carpenter
lawyer
Exchange goods and protect basic life
How goods made by different experts are traded
Money works on trust
The human world exists in the common imagination and is made up
principles of money system
Everything is replaceable
Believed by all
Using money as a medium, any two people can cooperate on various plans
One of the most important decisive factors in the rapid development of human society
empire
Conditions: The empire must have rulers of different ethnic groups, with different cultures and independent territories
Features: The territory can be flexibly adjusted and can be expanded almost infinitely.
common criticism
The imperial system has its own shortcomings, which makes it difficult to rule different ethnic groups efficiently in the long run.
Even if it can be governed, it must be done immorally. Empire is the engine of all kinds of evil and exploitation
religion
law
The transhuman order it believes in must be universal and true regardless of time and space.
It must firmly spread this belief to the masses
development path
From the pantheism of the gatherer society to the religious revolution that followed the agricultural revolution
In the values of collectors, humans and animals are equal, and every animal must be respected
The original religious significance of the Agricultural Revolution: turning animals and plants from beings equal to humans to belongings of humans
The emergence of "gods", gods can be kind to humans and negotiate with these silent animals and plants
Part 4: 💻Scientific Revolution
discover one's ignorance
Time: Human power has grown unprecedentedly in the past 500 years. In 1500 AD, the population was approximately 500 million, and now the population is 7 billion.
The difference between modern scientific system and previous knowledge system
Previous knowledge systems were based on omniscience, while modern science admits its own ignorance #notes
Centered on observation and mathematics
Use existing capabilities to develop new technologies
The criterion for value judgment of “knowledge” lies in its practicality, which is based on whether it allows humans to create new substances, gain power or rights.
Nationalism is the only modern ideology in which death remains central
The impact of ideology on science
One of the conditions for the development of scientific research is to join forces with certain religions or ideologies, which may then influence or even influence research results.
The marriage of science and empire
Common mentality and starting point: admit one’s ignorance
European imperial expeditions changed the course of the world: national cultures transformed from independent development to the gradual integration into a single human society
The relationship between science and empire
Scientists provide the empire with practical knowledge, ideological foundations, and technological tools
The Empire provided scientists with material funding, information, and protection, and ensured the widespread dissemination of research results
capitalist dogma
The role of credit: Capitalism uses human credit to realize the rules of small capital operating big capital
Conditions for the rise of capitalism: “Trust” underpins money transactions
The role of capitalism: Promoting the rise of modern science and also influencing the emergence of European imperialism
The relationship between government and capital markets: reduce intervention and allow the market to operate freely
giant ship of industry
finite theory
Are energy and raw materials limited?
Limited stages: When energy is almost exhausted, new replacements can always be found.
Optimistically speaking, energy is inexhaustible
a permanent revolution
After the Industrial Revolution, animals faced a survival crisis and Homo sapiens became the global hegemon.
Homo sapiens isolated themselves from nature and created a set of standards to live by
The state and market are replacing the old ways of family and community
Nuclear power becomes the only check and balance standard and means in the new world
happy happy days
Money is not everything, the happiness that money brings has its limits
The biological explanation of “happiness”: producing enough serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin #notes
Projected future: The end of Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens maintain their lives by connecting to machines and other biological creations, and the future of sapiens will become the existence of non-homo sapiens.
Crisis awareness: Intelligent robots develop independent consciousness and rise up to resist their human masters
Two possibilities: Homo sapiens evolved or was completely wiped out, and the development of history is still unknown.