Ingenious: The Unintended Consequences of Human Innovation

by Peter Gluckman, Mark Hanson

As humans evolved, we developed technologies to modify our environment, yet these innovations are increasingly affecting our behavior, biology, and society. Now we must figure out how to function in the world we’ve created.

Over thousands of years, humans have invented ingenious ways to gain mastery over our environment. The ability to communicate, accumulate knowledge collectively, and build on previous innovations has enabled us to change nature. Innovation has allowed us to thrive.

The trouble with innovation is that we can seldom go back and undo it. We invent, embrace, and exploit new technologies to modify our environment. Then we modify those technologies to cope with the resulting impacts. Gluckman and Hanson explore what happens when we innovate in a way that leads nature to bite back. To provide nourishment for a growing population, humans developed methods to process and preserve food; but easy access to these energy-dense foods results in obesity. To protect ourselves from dangerous pathogens we embraced cleanliness and invented antibiotics, which has led to rising rates of autoimmune diseases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More recently, our growing dependence on the internet and social media has been linked to mental health concerns and declining social cohesion. And we are only at the beginning of the digital transformation that will influence every part of our existence. Our ingenuity has not only changed our world―it has changed us.

Focusing on immediate benefits, we rarely pause to consider the longer-term costs of innovation. Yet we are now starting to see how our choices affect the way our brains develop and our bodies function. The implications are profound. Ingenious opens our eyes to the dangers we face and offers solutions we cannot ignore.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Sir Peter Gluckman is University Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Science in Policy, Diplomacy and Society at the University of Auckland and Chief Scientific Officer for the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences. He is president of the International Network for Government Science Advice. He was the chief science advisor to the prime minister of New Zealand from 2009 to 2018.

Reviews

[Nadia]

عمل يقدم تأثير الابتكار سواء على مستوى التطور البيولوجي أو على مستوى التقدم الثقافي و تكلفة و تأثير ذلك على مستقبل الانسان

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed "Sapiens" you might like this one which takes a slightly more scientific viewpoint but is still quite readable. It explores how human ingenuity has lead us to where we are now - and then delves into the potential impact the current technological advances could have coupled with the population explosion and short sightedness of human nature. Basically, it's a cautionary exploration of the development of the human race and how our biological evolution has not kept up with our technological discoveries which can lead to unforeseen consequences like the dismantling of democracies, obesity and increased mental distress.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little out of my level, While I believe this is a decent book, it was not so much a fun or easy read. The book is jam packed with information about how animals evolve and solve problems focusing on the human species and their innovations and consequences from those innovations. I believe this book would be best for those who enjoy taking notes while they are reading. I regret not taking notes whilst reading this book as I felt there was tons of useful information that was lost due to the concentrated nature of the book making smaller points hard to remember

[Armen Shirvanian]

My interview with Sir Peter Gluckman about "Ingenious" on The Armen Show Podcast

http://www.armenshirvanian.com/podcas...

[Leigh Headley · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of page stuffing and very little turkey.

[ليلى · Rating 2 out of 5]

الإنسان حينما جعل نفسه هو المحور في هذا الكون ، و أنه المستحق لكل الخيرات و المزايا بغض النظر عن كل الموجودات الأخرى . كتاب سيجعلك تتفكر كثيرا عن مصير الإنسان في السنوات القادمة .