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sue_ferris's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Fuentes has a good grasp of his subject and provides a fascinating read.
rjstellar's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
"Don't confine what one considers art to "high" and "low" categories. Ballet and street dancing, graffiti and oil paintings, limericks and sonnets, doodles and marble sculptures--one doesn't have to like it all, but it is all art. It maintains humanity."
wellscc's review
5.0
One of the easier to read and digest histories of humanity and how we evolved and used our ingenuity to bend the Earth's resources to our benefit. Highly recommend.
nina_chan01's review
4.0
A deep and very well researched work on the importance of creativity from an anthropological point of view. Fuentes presents the “creative spark” as the element that differentiates us from other creatures and helped humans become the dominant species on Earth.
It is all incredibly interesting, alas; it’s presented in a very dry voice. I’m pretty sure that someone who actually studies Anthropology will find it riveting and will understand all the mentions of topic specific elements. I just read it as gibberish in between the super interesting facts about human evolution.
I would recommend this book even with the slightly college textbook feel. It’s incredibly informative and it does present some very interesting facts. It’s just a book that you have to be willing to dedicate all your attention to; definitely not a beach read.
Mandatory note: Got my copy thru Good Read’s First Reads.
It is all incredibly interesting, alas; it’s presented in a very dry voice. I’m pretty sure that someone who actually studies Anthropology will find it riveting and will understand all the mentions of topic specific elements. I just read it as gibberish in between the super interesting facts about human evolution.
I would recommend this book even with the slightly college textbook feel. It’s incredibly informative and it does present some very interesting facts. It’s just a book that you have to be willing to dedicate all your attention to; definitely not a beach read.
Mandatory note: Got my copy thru Good Read’s First Reads.
bohemianna's review
4.0
I really liked Fuentes' approach. I was religious studies major and anthropology minor so much of what he wrote wasn't new to me but I liked his way of presenting it. It would appeal to those even without an academic background in the subjects.
nzagalo's review
3.0
Não posso dizer que desgostei —do livro "The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional" (2017) — mas no final senti que nada acrescentou, que tudo não passou de um mero relembrar com um redirecionar interpretativo da História. Fuentes faz um levantamento do evolução humana, e apresenta a Criatividade como o elo que tudo fez girar, sem o qual nunca teríamos chegado à espécie dominante que hoje somos. Como premissa é interessante, o problema é que todo o levantamento feito centra-se apenas no elencar dos eventos ocorridos, sem qualquer relação direta ou particular com a criatividade, ou melhor com todo o manancial de teorias e história sobre a Criatividade. No fundo Fuentes limita-se a apresentar a evolução das capacidades cognitivas como fruto dessa suposta criatividade, tendo eu de lhe dar razão, não é algo propriamente novo, podendo ser se este tivesse apresentado variáveis, factores ou qualificativos próprios dessa tal criatividade ao longo da evolução, distintos das meras componentes de inteligência.
Julgo que o maior problema do livro assenta na quantidade de tempo investida a contar histórias sobre a evolução que estamos todos cansados de ler, e eu nem sequer sou especialista em evolucionismo. De certo modo, sofre do problema dos livros académicos que precisam de apresentar todo o lastro de onde partem, tecendo considerações, mas regendo-se especialmente por apresentar e descrever, o que para um livro de divulgação não funciona. Como se não bastasse, a concretização do livro acaba sendo parca, o recontar da evolução do ponto de vista da criatividade pouco ou nada acrescenta ao que hoje sabemos sobre a Criatividade, tendo-se perdido uma premissa que parecia ter bastante para dar.
Publicado no VI: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-centelha-que-faltou-ao-relato.html
Julgo que o maior problema do livro assenta na quantidade de tempo investida a contar histórias sobre a evolução que estamos todos cansados de ler, e eu nem sequer sou especialista em evolucionismo. De certo modo, sofre do problema dos livros académicos que precisam de apresentar todo o lastro de onde partem, tecendo considerações, mas regendo-se especialmente por apresentar e descrever, o que para um livro de divulgação não funciona. Como se não bastasse, a concretização do livro acaba sendo parca, o recontar da evolução do ponto de vista da criatividade pouco ou nada acrescenta ao que hoje sabemos sobre a Criatividade, tendo-se perdido uma premissa que parecia ter bastante para dar.
Publicado no VI: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-centelha-que-faltou-ao-relato.html
sense_of_history's review
It is impossible to discuss the whole scope of this book. I limit myself to the introduction and one of the chapters on human evolution. Agustin Fuentes is not exactly modest to begin with: “The goal of this book is a far more nuanced, complete, and judicious account of our evolution than has previously been possible. This new story is based on a synthesis of the full range of relevant research, old and new, across evolutionary biology, genetics, primate behavior, anthropology, archaeology, psychology, neuroscience, ecology, and even philosophy.” So here we are back to the theory of evolution and the endless debates about it. The author admits that he is a supporter of the EES, the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. It offers a different take on the classical concept of natural selection: “Rather than being a lethal competition for survival in which the biggest, baddest, and “fittest” battle it out on the playing field of life, natural selection is a filtering process that shapes variation in response to constraints and pressures in the environment.” It is therefore not surprising that Fuentes, wherever he can, puts the emphasis on the factor of cooperation in (pre)human evolution. So much so that you wonder if this book should not have been titled 'The cooperation spark', but I must admit that the aspect of creativity is certainly touched upon at least as often.
Many books on prehistorian times indulge in unbridled speculation, which is understandable given the very limited source material available to us, but which really frustrates me when done without scruples. Archaeology has progressed by leaps and bounds in recent decades (with 'ancient DNA research' being the most recent novelty), but it remains an almost impossible task to interpret the finds in a reliable manner. It’s obvious that also Fuentes has to proceed speculatively. But in his case it is done in a prudent, reasoned manner, based on concrete archaeological material and sustained by the most recent theories of the social sciences. That results in a plausible story about human evolution, with the necessary nuances and an eye for the gaps.
Fuentes even succeeds in convincingly knocking one of my admired authors, Steven Pinker, off his pedestal. Referring to [b:The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined|24856335|The Better Angels of Our Nature Why Violence Has Declined|Steven Pinker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423274389l/24856335._SX50_.jpg|16029496], he shows that Pinker’s analysis of violence in prehistoric times is built on quicksand. That critique touches me, of course, but it strengthens my appreciation for Fuentes, without completely undermining Pinker's thesis. In short, this is a book that certainly provides much inspiration to better understand the earliest evolution of man.
Many books on prehistorian times indulge in unbridled speculation, which is understandable given the very limited source material available to us, but which really frustrates me when done without scruples. Archaeology has progressed by leaps and bounds in recent decades (with 'ancient DNA research' being the most recent novelty), but it remains an almost impossible task to interpret the finds in a reliable manner. It’s obvious that also Fuentes has to proceed speculatively. But in his case it is done in a prudent, reasoned manner, based on concrete archaeological material and sustained by the most recent theories of the social sciences. That results in a plausible story about human evolution, with the necessary nuances and an eye for the gaps.
Fuentes even succeeds in convincingly knocking one of my admired authors, Steven Pinker, off his pedestal. Referring to [b:The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined|24856335|The Better Angels of Our Nature Why Violence Has Declined|Steven Pinker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423274389l/24856335._SX50_.jpg|16029496], he shows that Pinker’s analysis of violence in prehistoric times is built on quicksand. That critique touches me, of course, but it strengthens my appreciation for Fuentes, without completely undermining Pinker's thesis. In short, this is a book that certainly provides much inspiration to better understand the earliest evolution of man.
marc129's review
4.0
I admit I am soft on authors that venture into large syntheses, but only if they are based on a really broad point of view ànd on solid (empirical) research. Apparently Agustin Fuentes is such a person. He's an American biological anthropologist associated with Princeton. What particularly charmed me is that he is averse to reductionist approaches: for each domain of human activity he discusses (dexterity, art, sex, religion, …) he has an eye for complexity and context, and he indicates nuances and also gaps in our knowledge.
Of course I am not well versed enough to be able to make a general assessment of this book, but a number of aspects that I do know something about (the evolution from hominids to humans, for instance) allow me to say that this is a very solid, up-to-date book that offers a truly global look at both the uniqueness of humans and their embeddedness in the natural environment. Yes I know, anthropocentrism has ceased to be woke for a long while now, but I think we should certainly dare to face the ways in which our species distinguishes itself – for better and for worse – from others, without proclaiming 'mankind' master of the universe. Fuentes rightly follows the middle ground, here.
In itself, the focus on creativity is not so earth-shattering and unique. As the book shows, behind that notion lies a complex interaction of consciousness, imagination, cognitive abilities, communication skills, cooperation, and so on. As a result, this book offers much more than an investigation into where and how human creativity originated (of course, the question in that formulation is nonsensical).
More in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2386756790
Of course I am not well versed enough to be able to make a general assessment of this book, but a number of aspects that I do know something about (the evolution from hominids to humans, for instance) allow me to say that this is a very solid, up-to-date book that offers a truly global look at both the uniqueness of humans and their embeddedness in the natural environment. Yes I know, anthropocentrism has ceased to be woke for a long while now, but I think we should certainly dare to face the ways in which our species distinguishes itself – for better and for worse – from others, without proclaiming 'mankind' master of the universe. Fuentes rightly follows the middle ground, here.
In itself, the focus on creativity is not so earth-shattering and unique. As the book shows, behind that notion lies a complex interaction of consciousness, imagination, cognitive abilities, communication skills, cooperation, and so on. As a result, this book offers much more than an investigation into where and how human creativity originated (of course, the question in that formulation is nonsensical).
More in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2386756790