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The Secrets of Life #2
How Did We Get To Be So Different?
How is it we humans only arrived after 99.995% of the time there’s been life on earth - and yet we’re now so dominant? If mutations take generations to have an effect, how did we manage to change so completely in just a blink in time? And why were our rulers and societies always so horrible - yet we endlessly put up with them?
Book One of The Secrets of Life quartet began the long narrative of existence by showing how the forces that Big Bang unleashed drove the Earth’s evolutionary developments, and how it after 3.8 billion years of life and the extinction of many billions of species, our obscure forest-dwelling ancestors emerged in East Africa. Yet what, Book Two asks, were the steps that led to us humans becoming so totally different to anything that had appeared before? If we really were just another kind of animal off the production line of life, then what were the revolutions that turbo-charged our unique abilities?
How did we evolve so that we could alter ourselves in an instant, and avoid being stuck in an evolutionary niche like every other organism? How did we manage to create the intelligence and insights that allowed us to make our own decisions in life? And where did the free will come from that would let us override the drives of our animal pasts? We alone of all the world’s species have ever been able to predict the future, and then change our behaviour so that it suited our ambitions. But how did we grow our brains and imaginations so greatly that we could achieve this? And only we have evolved the capacity to reject the genetic instructions that shaped us. But why do we think this helps - and how has it affected our lives? Now, using the same easy-going conversational style of the other books in the series, O'Connor answers these and other questions to explain how we evolved to break away from everything that had existed before us. And yet why the effects of our heritage so often still emerge in how we exist.
Book One of The Secrets of Life quartet began the long narrative of existence by showing how the forces that Big Bang unleashed drove the Earth’s evolutionary developments, and how it after 3.8 billion years of life and the extinction of many billions of species, our obscure forest-dwelling ancestors emerged in East Africa. Yet what, Book Two asks, were the steps that led to us humans becoming so totally different to anything that had appeared before? If we really were just another kind of animal off the production line of life, then what were the revolutions that turbo-charged our unique abilities?
How did we evolve so that we could alter ourselves in an instant, and avoid being stuck in an evolutionary niche like every other organism? How did we manage to create the intelligence and insights that allowed us to make our own decisions in life? And where did the free will come from that would let us override the drives of our animal pasts? We alone of all the world’s species have ever been able to predict the future, and then change our behaviour so that it suited our ambitions. But how did we grow our brains and imaginations so greatly that we could achieve this? And only we have evolved the capacity to reject the genetic instructions that shaped us. But why do we think this helps - and how has it affected our lives? Now, using the same easy-going conversational style of the other books in the series, O'Connor answers these and other questions to explain how we evolved to break away from everything that had existed before us. And yet why the effects of our heritage so often still emerge in how we exist.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 5, 2023
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 10, 2023
Thank you to Literally Pr for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.After reading the first one i was excited to see what SS O Connor had in store next.I learnt a lot throughout this book and it really gave me a insight.I liked the way their was lots of humour as well thrown in which made it more engaging and less like a fact book sort of idea. Looking forward to reading book 3/4
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May 8, 2023
How did humankind get to be so different since our less than auspicious arrival as a form of micro-organism, around 3.8 billion years ago, to a race or many races of peoples living vastly sophisticated lives?
In Book Two of The Secrets of Life series from SS O’Connor, How Did We Get To Be So Different, O’Connor sets out to present his take on the process of evolution that has occurred over what is considered by academics, as a relatively short period of time.
In a wry, witty and very informative style, O’Connor leads us down the pathway of what happened to create the place we are in today. This becomes more and more intriguing as the various stages of development are in some cases immense and take place over relatively short time spans, whereas others take so long the change in the development at the time would have been less than remarkable or perhaps noticeable.
Moving along from speechless entities slowly learning to walk in an upright manner, no small challenge at all, as the physical body had to change immensely, to a grunt thought to be the earliest form of communication, to a fully-fledged language which, over time moved through the phases of thinking, bartering, the development of the ‘Big Man’ in the smaller groups or villages of up to approximately 150 people, to the urban sprawl we live with today.
An interesting concept, amongst the many is where do we go, or how far can we go next in our development or have we almost come full circle. Another interesting fact is that ever since man learned to hunt with tools, they set about destroying many species which have been extinct for hundreds of years, which then, along with a few other salient points, puts forward the really intriguing theory that the ‘meme’ is now considered to be almost hardwired into the human from conception.
Each series of questions which head up the various chapters leads on to further questions with gusto. This creates immensely exciting reading, as although people are aware of the ‘theory of evolution’ which has been and still is a hotly debated area of science and religion, it has often been presented as a dry, uninteresting subject, which it certainly is not, when delivered in SS O’Connor’s engaging style.
While a part of a series How Did We Get To Be So Different, can also be read as a stand-alone. Are life’s many questions being answered along the way or are more points for consideration being raised?
Will book Three Why Do We All Behave The Way We Do hold more answers: that is yet to be discovered!
In Book Two of The Secrets of Life series from SS O’Connor, How Did We Get To Be So Different, O’Connor sets out to present his take on the process of evolution that has occurred over what is considered by academics, as a relatively short period of time.
In a wry, witty and very informative style, O’Connor leads us down the pathway of what happened to create the place we are in today. This becomes more and more intriguing as the various stages of development are in some cases immense and take place over relatively short time spans, whereas others take so long the change in the development at the time would have been less than remarkable or perhaps noticeable.
Moving along from speechless entities slowly learning to walk in an upright manner, no small challenge at all, as the physical body had to change immensely, to a grunt thought to be the earliest form of communication, to a fully-fledged language which, over time moved through the phases of thinking, bartering, the development of the ‘Big Man’ in the smaller groups or villages of up to approximately 150 people, to the urban sprawl we live with today.
An interesting concept, amongst the many is where do we go, or how far can we go next in our development or have we almost come full circle. Another interesting fact is that ever since man learned to hunt with tools, they set about destroying many species which have been extinct for hundreds of years, which then, along with a few other salient points, puts forward the really intriguing theory that the ‘meme’ is now considered to be almost hardwired into the human from conception.
Each series of questions which head up the various chapters leads on to further questions with gusto. This creates immensely exciting reading, as although people are aware of the ‘theory of evolution’ which has been and still is a hotly debated area of science and religion, it has often been presented as a dry, uninteresting subject, which it certainly is not, when delivered in SS O’Connor’s engaging style.
While a part of a series How Did We Get To Be So Different, can also be read as a stand-alone. Are life’s many questions being answered along the way or are more points for consideration being raised?
Will book Three Why Do We All Behave The Way We Do hold more answers: that is yet to be discovered!
May 16, 2023
Once again, SS O'Connor takes the reader down a path of enlightenment and knowledge. There are so many questions discussed in this book and written in a way that is easily absorbed and processed.
Many of the questions I'd sought answers to in the past were always dealt with in clumsy, confusing language, which, to be honest, I gave up on reading. A lot of the literature on these subjects needed a glossary to explain the terminology used! But this is not the case with SS O'Connor's The Secrets of Life Series. Finally, I've got the answers, and it's left me wanting to find out more!
Since reading How Did We Get To Be So Different? I've researched people which, up until reading this book, I knew nothing about. These people are fascinating! How did I not know about them before? Here's an example:
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679). An English Philosopher and mathematician. He lived in France during the English Civil War and had many influential contacts, including none other than the Stuarts - the exiled Royals. Hobbes' most popular work was the book, Leviathan. His works and teachings were a highly regarded influence on how the world - during the tumultuous years of the English Civil War - was being shaped.
And here is another nugget of information I learned from reading How Did We Get To Be So DIfferent?
FOXP2 is a protein-coding gene in our brains. Following a mutation some 50,000 years ago, this is why we humans have the ability to speak and other mammals do not - fascinating, right?
Every chapter in this book contains enthralling facts like these, which makes it a compelling page-turner.
Many of the questions I'd sought answers to in the past were always dealt with in clumsy, confusing language, which, to be honest, I gave up on reading. A lot of the literature on these subjects needed a glossary to explain the terminology used! But this is not the case with SS O'Connor's The Secrets of Life Series. Finally, I've got the answers, and it's left me wanting to find out more!
Since reading How Did We Get To Be So Different? I've researched people which, up until reading this book, I knew nothing about. These people are fascinating! How did I not know about them before? Here's an example:
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679). An English Philosopher and mathematician. He lived in France during the English Civil War and had many influential contacts, including none other than the Stuarts - the exiled Royals. Hobbes' most popular work was the book, Leviathan. His works and teachings were a highly regarded influence on how the world - during the tumultuous years of the English Civil War - was being shaped.
And here is another nugget of information I learned from reading How Did We Get To Be So DIfferent?
FOXP2 is a protein-coding gene in our brains. Following a mutation some 50,000 years ago, this is why we humans have the ability to speak and other mammals do not - fascinating, right?
Every chapter in this book contains enthralling facts like these, which makes it a compelling page-turner.
May 18, 2023
This book delivers a pacy panoramic sweep through human evolution and societal development, from hominins and Homo Sapiens to the brink of the modern world.
It's great if you want a fastfoward trip starting from the real processes that might underlie tales of a lost hunter-gatherer 'Eden', all the way to a modern Adam: the early economist Adam Smith.
It's book two of an ambitious four-book project, so there's more to come. The first explored the emergence of our universe and this planet as we now know them. In this one, 'How did We Get to be So Different?' (i.e from earth's other creatures) author SS O'Connor breezes through the recent - and also extremely fast, cosmically speaking - emergence of the human race, the pros and cons of moving from hunter gathering to farming, the emergence of ‘Big Man’ systems of leadership, war, trade, empires, religious upheavals, and revolution.
All that, in just 237 pages split into 17 lively chapters. Could be a good read for anyone from a teen seeking a turbo-charged spin through the big vista, to a reader favouring a run of chatty catch-ups.
But where’s the ‘Big Woman’? Africa’s diverse matriarchal societies don't appear, for instance. In using the writing convention of ‘he’ to absorb ‘she’ and all points in between, the author risks missing - or skipping over - some interesting ground. I realise that I'd like a few more paragraphs on which differences certain gender skills, ideas and innovations might have made to humanbeings evolving so fast and differently from earth's other species.
It's still a lively read, even with that caveat. I've put an expanded review of it onto www.cathygunn.co.uk/news-blog.
It's great if you want a fastfoward trip starting from the real processes that might underlie tales of a lost hunter-gatherer 'Eden', all the way to a modern Adam: the early economist Adam Smith.
It's book two of an ambitious four-book project, so there's more to come. The first explored the emergence of our universe and this planet as we now know them. In this one, 'How did We Get to be So Different?' (i.e from earth's other creatures) author SS O'Connor breezes through the recent - and also extremely fast, cosmically speaking - emergence of the human race, the pros and cons of moving from hunter gathering to farming, the emergence of ‘Big Man’ systems of leadership, war, trade, empires, religious upheavals, and revolution.
All that, in just 237 pages split into 17 lively chapters. Could be a good read for anyone from a teen seeking a turbo-charged spin through the big vista, to a reader favouring a run of chatty catch-ups.
But where’s the ‘Big Woman’? Africa’s diverse matriarchal societies don't appear, for instance. In using the writing convention of ‘he’ to absorb ‘she’ and all points in between, the author risks missing - or skipping over - some interesting ground. I realise that I'd like a few more paragraphs on which differences certain gender skills, ideas and innovations might have made to humanbeings evolving so fast and differently from earth's other species.
It's still a lively read, even with that caveat. I've put an expanded review of it onto www.cathygunn.co.uk/news-blog.
May 4, 2023
I have just finished the second book in S S O’Connor’s Secrets of Life series: How Did We Get To Be So Different and, as with the first book: How Did Life End Up With Us, I am not disappointed.
Presented by way of the social, societal, economic, and political developments humankind has advanced through since the day and hour we descended from the trees – O’Connor takes us through hundreds of thousands of years of human progress; via the dawn of bartering, cooperation, the advent of the ‘Big Man’, religion, organised trade, politics, through to the Enlightenment and inviting the big question: how did we diverge so much in thinking and outlook, and where do the great influencers come into the equation.
Superbly written and often humorous, I was pleased to see that – even though the author was covering the vastness of human development – the book (as with the first in the series) didn’t become stodgy or belaboured by expounding facts at the expense of readability. It references history's greatest thinkers. Plucks and pulls at their theories. Reveals insights, and also contradictions in different outlooks, addressing the influence of freewill and the role of investigative thought.
This is very much a book for everyone – providing an excellent lens for anyone wishing to ponder the whys and wherefores behind modern political, religious, social, etc. viewpoints.
I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading number three.
Presented by way of the social, societal, economic, and political developments humankind has advanced through since the day and hour we descended from the trees – O’Connor takes us through hundreds of thousands of years of human progress; via the dawn of bartering, cooperation, the advent of the ‘Big Man’, religion, organised trade, politics, through to the Enlightenment and inviting the big question: how did we diverge so much in thinking and outlook, and where do the great influencers come into the equation.
Superbly written and often humorous, I was pleased to see that – even though the author was covering the vastness of human development – the book (as with the first in the series) didn’t become stodgy or belaboured by expounding facts at the expense of readability. It references history's greatest thinkers. Plucks and pulls at their theories. Reveals insights, and also contradictions in different outlooks, addressing the influence of freewill and the role of investigative thought.
This is very much a book for everyone – providing an excellent lens for anyone wishing to ponder the whys and wherefores behind modern political, religious, social, etc. viewpoints.
I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading number three.
May 2, 2023
This has been one of the most interesting books I have read so far this year. Like the first book in The Secrets of Life quartet titled ‘How Did Life End Up With Us?’ This one is packed full of information and humor.
This addition focuses on what led to us humans becoming so different to anything that had ever appeared before. How did the human race evolve into a species with such unique characteristics and abilities?
The author explains, analyses and answers a variety of life’s questions in a very unique easy-going conversational style which will keep your eyes glued to the pages and your brain absorbing for hours!
The way that the book has been written makes it very easy for your brain to soak up, store and consider the information that is being given, it makes one ask their own questions and provides a basis for some great discussions!
If this kind of thing was taught in schools in this particular context then I may have paid more attention when I was a nipper having to listen to my teachers incoherent ramblings about I don’t know what! This series is all about learning with a difference, the author takes all of the complicated and boring stuff out and replaces it with humor, enthusiasm and pure enjoyment! I simply cannot wait to start book 3 in the series!
This addition focuses on what led to us humans becoming so different to anything that had ever appeared before. How did the human race evolve into a species with such unique characteristics and abilities?
The author explains, analyses and answers a variety of life’s questions in a very unique easy-going conversational style which will keep your eyes glued to the pages and your brain absorbing for hours!
The way that the book has been written makes it very easy for your brain to soak up, store and consider the information that is being given, it makes one ask their own questions and provides a basis for some great discussions!
If this kind of thing was taught in schools in this particular context then I may have paid more attention when I was a nipper having to listen to my teachers incoherent ramblings about I don’t know what! This series is all about learning with a difference, the author takes all of the complicated and boring stuff out and replaces it with humor, enthusiasm and pure enjoyment! I simply cannot wait to start book 3 in the series!
May 6, 2023
How did we get to be so different.
This book looks at how we as the human race have arrived after such a long time and how now we are the most dominant species on the planet. The book is part of ‘the secrets of life’ series. The series is perfect for people who have lots of questions and are naturally very inquisitive about evolution and how we the human race have evolved, complete with theories. Book one How did life end up with us was an interesting read, raising many questions and discussions in our house. Here book two follows that same thread. It will set your mind thinking for sure.
How did we evolve as human beings? Why are we dominant as a human race? How did we grow our brains? where did free will come from ? Why are we so different from other organisms on the planet?
The author answers these questions here, in a simple easy to understand writing style, which you can take on board and think about. All together an eye opening and thought provoking book. I am looking forward to the nex book in the series.
Many thanks to Team @literallyPR for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book looks at how we as the human race have arrived after such a long time and how now we are the most dominant species on the planet. The book is part of ‘the secrets of life’ series. The series is perfect for people who have lots of questions and are naturally very inquisitive about evolution and how we the human race have evolved, complete with theories. Book one How did life end up with us was an interesting read, raising many questions and discussions in our house. Here book two follows that same thread. It will set your mind thinking for sure.
How did we evolve as human beings? Why are we dominant as a human race? How did we grow our brains? where did free will come from ? Why are we so different from other organisms on the planet?
The author answers these questions here, in a simple easy to understand writing style, which you can take on board and think about. All together an eye opening and thought provoking book. I am looking forward to the nex book in the series.
Many thanks to Team @literallyPR for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2023
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent voluntary review. Thank you to SS O'Connor and Literally PR for my copy.
'How did we get to be so different?' is the second in the four-part non-fiction series 'The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang to Trump', answering all the big science questions.
The first book covered The Big Bang, DNA, and thermodynamics. The second book, on the other hand, delves into what sets humans apart from anything that has ever existed before. It addresses questions like how the discovery of fire makes us different, how language developed, and why gossip played a crucial role.
As before, SS O'Connor explains everything in a clear, witty, yet informative style. He clearly analyses the theories and views of the theories and views of the great evolutionary theorists, biologists and anthropologists, before adding opinions of his own, to answer various questions about life.
The book is divided into 17 manageable chapters, with each chapter presenting a single question that leads smoothly into the next.
Definitely an eye-opener. I'm looking forward to Book 3!
'How did we get to be so different?' is the second in the four-part non-fiction series 'The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang to Trump', answering all the big science questions.
The first book covered The Big Bang, DNA, and thermodynamics. The second book, on the other hand, delves into what sets humans apart from anything that has ever existed before. It addresses questions like how the discovery of fire makes us different, how language developed, and why gossip played a crucial role.
As before, SS O'Connor explains everything in a clear, witty, yet informative style. He clearly analyses the theories and views of the theories and views of the great evolutionary theorists, biologists and anthropologists, before adding opinions of his own, to answer various questions about life.
The book is divided into 17 manageable chapters, with each chapter presenting a single question that leads smoothly into the next.
Definitely an eye-opener. I'm looking forward to Book 3!
May 15, 2023
How Did We Get To Be So Different by @ssoconnorauthor is the second book in the series charting for secrets of life from the Big Bang to Trump. This part tells the story of human evolution from mere creatures to the advanced thinking beings that are capable of fantastic and catastrophic ideas and actions. The clear writing highlights different viewpoints and helps engage the reader in the fascinating anthropological story and debate. I cannot wait until I read the third insert the third and fourth in the series and learn more about our fascinating history and speculate on the future. Thanks @literallypr for the opportunity to be apart of this tour!
September 4, 2023
How Did We Get To Be So Different?
The Secrets of Life Series: From Big Bang To Trump (BOOK 2)
I am on a journey with SS O’Connor’s new series. I have never read anything so comprehensive, fascinating, eye-opening in a series like this. I’m enjoying reading one by one. The first book was a real scene setter – taking us right back to consider The Big Bang, evolution and DNA, among other topics. This one really delves into what sets humans apart from other creatures that existed previously. I was particularly interested, as a linguist and lover of words, in the section about how language developed (and the role of the hyoid bone that anthropologists believe came from when we were marine creatures!) and why gossip played such a crucial role.
“And it’s from language that our appreciation of life flows, our moral purpose and the riches of civilisation: art, religion and philosophy, science and literature. It’s our superpower, something that when we’d perfected it became a game changer of such importance that it separated us from everything else in Nature.”
Witty, informative, not preachy, interesting, insightful… roll on books 3 and 3!
Food recommendation: A delicious pasta carbonara with friends… to discuss the book!
Drinks recommendation: A G&T with friends of course!
The Secrets of Life Series: From Big Bang To Trump (BOOK 2)
I am on a journey with SS O’Connor’s new series. I have never read anything so comprehensive, fascinating, eye-opening in a series like this. I’m enjoying reading one by one. The first book was a real scene setter – taking us right back to consider The Big Bang, evolution and DNA, among other topics. This one really delves into what sets humans apart from other creatures that existed previously. I was particularly interested, as a linguist and lover of words, in the section about how language developed (and the role of the hyoid bone that anthropologists believe came from when we were marine creatures!) and why gossip played such a crucial role.
“And it’s from language that our appreciation of life flows, our moral purpose and the riches of civilisation: art, religion and philosophy, science and literature. It’s our superpower, something that when we’d perfected it became a game changer of such importance that it separated us from everything else in Nature.”
Witty, informative, not preachy, interesting, insightful… roll on books 3 and 3!
Food recommendation: A delicious pasta carbonara with friends… to discuss the book!
Drinks recommendation: A G&T with friends of course!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews