This book has turned me into a devout follower of a new religion called Dataism. Iām still unsure whether I value intelligence over cognition, but it is something Iāve been consciously thinking about every day since I started reading this book.
I was hesitant to pick up Homo Deus having found Sapiens slow and repetitive. However, Iām glad to say that this book exceeded my expectation in every single dimension! It is an extremely insightful read that provokes a lot of though and motion regarding the path humanity has followed and where it will lead.
The book touches on most of the “dinner table topics” many of us have probably had ranging from designer babies, to huge corporations controlling our private data, to whether religion has a place in the modern world, or even how the Egyptians managed to build the pyramids. However, rather than discussing these in a fruitless manner, Yuval presents all the evidence and arguments in a very organized and unbiased manner that simply points out the obvious. The reader can naturally only make one conclusion: the right one. My personal opinion is that authors like Malcom Gladwells provide very one sided arguments that bias the reader to agree with a certain point of view, but Yuval somehow finds a way to remain unbiased and lays out the argument in a very clear, intuitive and succinct manner.
There were dozens of different anecdotes and examples presented throughout the book which were entertaining, insightful and education. Here is just a small subset that really stood out to me:
Chekhov’s law states that if a gun appears in the first act of a play, itāll be fired by the last one. This has been observed throughout history many times (guns, canons, chemical weapons, etcā¦). However, Yuval points out that it was not the case for nuclear weapons. This might imply that technology has become so advanced that our traditional understanding of human kind may be changing as well.
Iāve always accepted the presence of clear cut lawns in front of houses, apartments, offices or universities. I never bothered to think of lawns as providing any sort of utility or acting as a symbol of wealth. However, front lawns were previously used for gatherings similar to “tea parties”. The degree to how well a front lawn was kept showed how much of an upkeep the owner of the house could afford. With newer technology advancements, this is no longer the case.
As a paranoid engineer who likes sticking to lists and schedules, I get very upset when expectations donāt meet reality. This is a trait I need to personally work on, but I was very relieved but when Yuval mentioned it as a common part of our nature.
I applaud the entire discussion surrounding designer babies. A lot of people have very irrational reasons against choosing their childrenāsā traits. I am of the opinion that I will do everything I can to make sure my kids are limited as little as possible by their nature. Health, fitness, personality, looks, memory, etcā¦ Upgrade it all!
There was an interesting study mentioned in the book about how scientists used fMRI scans to communicate with completely immobile individuals. The scientists told the individuals to imagine themselves playing tennis when they want to say yes or imagine themselves sitting at home when they want to say no. The fact that this provided successful results was astounding.
There was an interesting discussion when a Jewish child asked his dad why he canāt eat pork. It was compared to a German child asking his Nazi father why jews must be killed, and compared again to a British child asking his father why refugees from 3rd world countries must be protected. There is no right or wrong here, but it does show how individual mindsets change over time. What might seem to be the norm at one point in time might sound completely absurd another.
Yuval discussed a novel approach of using electrodes to stimulate the brain to cure depression. One of the most fascinating parts about this study is that one of the individuals in the study said they started feeling really depressed a couple months after things seem to have improved. It turns out the relapse was a result of the batteries in the electrode stimulator running out! This shows the electrodes provided more than just a placebo effect.
One of the studies discussed showed that humans associate their memory of an experience (traumatic or not) with how they felt towards the end. For example, putting your hand in cold water of temperature T1 for a minute, or putting your hand in really cold water of Temperature T1 that warms up to T2. Individuals tend to favor the latter. The same results were observed for pain levels of surgery.
There was an interesting monologue where Google was deciding on behalf of an individual whom she should date given two choices. This really gave me the chills, but also really excited me for the future!
The book was originally published in 2015, but there was a fair bit of discussion around how Facebook can potentially impact who individuals vote for during public elections. This point provides no further explanation :)
These were just the things that stood out so much and I remember.
I donāt see myself rereading this book, but I really wish I could remember and reference all the examples, studies and anecdotes mentioned. This book is well researched, well written and lays things out in a manner that is easy to absorb. After reading this book, I feel as if my personal opinion regarding most of the topics covered is quite useless. Since I know I wonāt be able to remember most of the point made in the book, I feel as though I have to simply reference the book instead of expression my own opinion moving forward.