Yuval Noah Harari is one author who I'll always read. 21 Lessons splits the difference between Sapiens and Homo Deus. It focuses on our immediate present and the challenges facing us. It frames them as opportunities - things we can solve for everyone's benefit. While there are many challenges, we also do know how to start tackling them. I look forward to Harari's next book too!
Key Takeaways
Memorable Quotes
Rating: 9/10
I never fully grasp everything that Harari discusses in his books. That said, I do come away with a profound sense for today's world and where we're going. I'm optimistic for the future with leaders like Harari. Leaders who have a deep understanding of the challenges will take us forward to the next set of problems.
Key Takeaways
- Question everything.
- We must understand the myths that support our beliefs. We must be able to question those myths.
- Silence does not make change.
- Stories are more persuasive than facts.
Memorable Quotes
- Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.
- Morality doesn’t mean ‘following divine commands’. It means ‘reducing suffering’. Hence in order to act morally, you don’t need to believe in any myth or story. You just need to develop a deep appreciation of suffering.
- In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.
- Silence isn’t neutrality; it is supporting the status-quo.
- One potential remedy for human stupidity is a dose of humility. National, religious and cultural tensions are made worse by the grandiose feeling that my nation, my religion and my culture are the most important in the world – hence my interests should come before the interests of anyone else, or of humankind as a whole. How can we make nations, religions and cultures a bit more realistic and modest about their true place in the world?
- When the faithful are asked whether God really exists, they often begin by talking about the enigmatic mysteries of the universe and the limits of human understanding. ‘Science cannot explain the Big Bang,’ they exclaim, ‘so that must be God’s doing.’ Yet like a magician fooling an audience by imperceptibly replacing one card with another, the faithful quickly replace the cosmic mystery with the worldly lawgiver. After giving the name of ‘God’ to the unknown secrets of the cosmos, they then use this to somehow condemn bikinis and divorces. ‘We do not understand the Big Bang – therefore you must cover your hair in public and vote against gay marriage.’ Not only is there no logical connection between the two, but they are in fact contradictory. The deeper the mysteries of the universe, the less likely it is that whatever is responsible for them gives a damn about female dress codes or human sexual behaviour.
- Humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better.
- Philosophers are very patient people, but engineers are far less patient, and investors are the least patient of all.
- The greatest crimes in modern history resulted not just from hatred and greed, but even more so from ignorance and indifference.
- Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely.
- At present, people are happy to give away their most valuable asset—their personal data—in exchange for free email services and funny cat videos. It’s a bit like African and Native American tribes who unwittingly sold entire countries to European imperialists in exchange for colorful beads and cheap trinkets.
Rating: 9/10
I never fully grasp everything that Harari discusses in his books. That said, I do come away with a profound sense for today's world and where we're going. I'm optimistic for the future with leaders like Harari. Leaders who have a deep understanding of the challenges will take us forward to the next set of problems.
