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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
In Yuval Noah Harari’s previous book, Sapiens, he considered how humanity got to where we are today from a hunter-gatherer culture to a modern industrial farming systems that can support millions. In this latest volume, Home Deus, he contemplates the future; our future, and the events that will shape us in the twenty-first century.
We have reached the apex of our abilities with current technology. Going back only a hundred years our lives were frequently cut short by famine, war and illness. Today, in the Western world at least, we have mostly conquered disease and extended our lifespan, but now we are as likely to suffer from obesity or contemplate suicide, total different challenges for the coming decades. He suggests that these will be met as we embrace the modern age of data, pervasive networks and genetic modification. That is assuming that we have a place to live as our world too is under threat because of our relentless pursuit of extracting the maximum resources for the cheapest price.
So, what does the future hold for humanity?
Harari ponders the possibilities and pitfalls of our future self. He asks and goes some way to answer the questions that we will have to address in the coming years. He proposes that our obsession with information flow may almost become a religion, dataism. How will we deal with the dilemma of choosing between intelligence and consciousness and what is the possibility that we might become part of a wider algorithm or part of the internet of things. These are all interesting questions and whilst he goes some way to answering them, there is a fair amount that is pure speculation and conjecture, but that is what makes this actually quite an interesting book. 3.5 stars overall.
We have reached the apex of our abilities with current technology. Going back only a hundred years our lives were frequently cut short by famine, war and illness. Today, in the Western world at least, we have mostly conquered disease and extended our lifespan, but now we are as likely to suffer from obesity or contemplate suicide, total different challenges for the coming decades. He suggests that these will be met as we embrace the modern age of data, pervasive networks and genetic modification. That is assuming that we have a place to live as our world too is under threat because of our relentless pursuit of extracting the maximum resources for the cheapest price.
So, what does the future hold for humanity?
Harari ponders the possibilities and pitfalls of our future self. He asks and goes some way to answer the questions that we will have to address in the coming years. He proposes that our obsession with information flow may almost become a religion, dataism. How will we deal with the dilemma of choosing between intelligence and consciousness and what is the possibility that we might become part of a wider algorithm or part of the internet of things. These are all interesting questions and whilst he goes some way to answering them, there is a fair amount that is pure speculation and conjecture, but that is what makes this actually quite an interesting book. 3.5 stars overall.
I'm such an intellectual lightweight that I usually feel proud of myself just for finishing these kinds of books. This is especially true when I feel like all the stuff the author says seems obvious and opens up my worldview yet doesn't necessarily change it. I guess I like being stimulated but not challenged.
That's what this book was for me. I know I couldn't have written this, I don't even have the mental stamina to produce a clumsy parody of it. Hell, just writing this blurb took a month to get to. But when I read it I fell like I could have, and I like that feeling.
Would strongly recommend for others like me whose interests run wide and shallow.
Probably good for deep thinkers too-- at least that's what the other reviews seem to indicate.
That's what this book was for me. I know I couldn't have written this, I don't even have the mental stamina to produce a clumsy parody of it. Hell, just writing this blurb took a month to get to. But when I read it I fell like I could have, and I like that feeling.
Would strongly recommend for others like me whose interests run wide and shallow.
Probably good for deep thinkers too-- at least that's what the other reviews seem to indicate.
informative
medium-paced
An interesting book, though not entirely on the advertised topic.
If you agree with the premise then you'll know that a review of this nature is critical.
I don't like the writing style, but it made the book easy to read at least. It felt more like a business presentation than a serious work of art/knowledge.
If you agree with the premise then you'll know that a review of this nature is critical.
I don't like the writing style, but it made the book easy to read at least. It felt more like a business presentation than a serious work of art/knowledge.
I read Homo Deus because Harari's previous book, Sapiens was one of the most interesting books I’ve read in the last decade. Harari actually spends a good portion of Homo Deus summarizing the themes in Sapiens--recounting how Homo Sapiens grew to be the dominant species on earth and the implications of our rise to global domination. After that, the book provides a summary of all the important philosophies to provide some kind of roadmap to the future of human evolution. For me, this was a denser and more difficult read than Sapiens, but I did enjoy the deep philosophical dive. It will be one of those books that I will re-read sections of, but probably will not revisit cover-to-cover again.
This was definitely not a fun, light read, but enlightening indeed. It gives me a lot to think about, and a lot to be afraid of. Thanks Yuval for scaring the data out of me... sharing this and all of my other social media activities is basically contributing to the death of humans. Long live Dadaism.
Harari scaffolds a brilliantly explained argument for possible futures and how we get/got there/here. He rounds us out more gently with a call toward critical analysis of the ideas he laid out and our own opinions on them (how very liberalist of him! Haha).
This is a placeholder review, as I have skimmed this book rather than reading. It was recommended to me by a theologian in the U.K. whose grown children recommended it to him. This "brief history" clocks in at over 420 pages in hardcover and I can't get my brain around it right now. But the recommender assures me that it raises vital questions for humanity going forward: Have we become our own gods? What does it mean and how will it play out as AI knows humans better than we know ourselves? What is more valuable--intelligence or consciousness? ?
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced