The Secret of Our Success
As the historian Yuval Harari spelt out in his seminal book Sapiens, the ability to tell stories was perhaps the major catalyst in our transformation from a relatively vulnerable savannah ape into an organism that would go on to completely rewrite the rules of the food chain. Our creation of both oral and written cultures, and the cooperative team
... See moreJoe Lightfoot • A Collective Blooming: The Rise Of The Mutual Aid Community
Chimpanzees may teach each other how to spear bushbabies with sharpened sticks, and killer whales may teach each other how to snatch sea lions off beaches, but only human beings have the cumulative culture that goes into the design of a loaf of bread or a concerto.
Matt Ridley • The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (P.S.)
“The secret of our species’ success lies not in our raw, innate intelligence or in any specialized mental abilities,” writes Harvard anthropologist Joseph Henrich. Instead, he argues it’s the ability to learn easily from the innovations of others that makes us uniquely capable as a species.