Silicon Valley loves 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' by Yuval Noah Harari so much, it's become almost a punchline.
, a satirical website, sells a $500 package that includes a Patagonia vest, Allbirds sneakers — and copies of Peter Thiel's"Zero to One" and, of course,"Sapiens."Every single person in Silicon Valley loves the same 400+ page anthropological deep-dive into the history of humankind? It was hard to wrap my head around.And after finally slogging through it, the tech industry's fascination with the book made a whole lot more sense.
But if we create myths and tell stories, we can form connections with people outside of our core group because we have a shared interest or knowledge in something, and trust can be formed.This is how nation-states were built and world religions were formed, according to Harari. It is also why people believe in economies and a paper money system.
Farming increased the amount of available food, increased the human population, and allowed people to specialize in a wide variety of trades. But, he argues, it's questionable whether or not it was actually worth it. Harari's 200,000-year history of humankind comes down to the main question of whether our progression as a species has made us any happier in the end.
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