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A review by gillian123
Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl Sagan
4.0
This book is an interesting look into the evolution of the brain, extensive exploration into how it works or at least might work including comparisons to the brains and intelligence of other species, how that evolution shaped behaviour and societies, and a look into the future of the development of human intelligence. Given that it was written in 1977, some of the science is likely dated (I don't know enough about it to say), but a lot of Sagan's commentary is based on studies that had been conducted at the time, many very recently as of its writing. While our understanding of the brain and of conditions affecting it have almost certainly gotten better in the intervening years, that commentary is still interesting to read, and I imagine that some if not most of the science still holds up today.
Where the book really shows its age is in a section about where human intelligence will take us, where he discusses what at the time was modern computer science and even early electronic games. Obviously, we have the benefit of knowing where those things went, but it's still interesting to read his speculations and enthusiasm about them. On the other hand, there are other things discussed in this section that are still relevant today, such as decisions about when to use science and when not to and how society decides what things are objectionable, even delving into the difficult discussion of what stage of development a human is a human in relation to the topic of abortion, an argument which still carries on to this day.
There are certainly more recent books to read if you're looking for information about brain science, but this one is still an interesting read if you want to hear about Sagan's perspective and opinions on the topic. This book was somewhat of an experiment for him and he admits as much, given that his primary expertise is astrophysics, but I think it succeeds in provoking thought nonetheless even today.
Where the book really shows its age is in a section about where human intelligence will take us, where he discusses what at the time was modern computer science and even early electronic games. Obviously, we have the benefit of knowing where those things went, but it's still interesting to read his speculations and enthusiasm about them. On the other hand, there are other things discussed in this section that are still relevant today, such as decisions about when to use science and when not to and how society decides what things are objectionable, even delving into the difficult discussion of what stage of development a human is a human in relation to the topic of abortion, an argument which still carries on to this day.
There are certainly more recent books to read if you're looking for information about brain science, but this one is still an interesting read if you want to hear about Sagan's perspective and opinions on the topic. This book was somewhat of an experiment for him and he admits as much, given that his primary expertise is astrophysics, but I think it succeeds in provoking thought nonetheless even today.