Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think

by Byron Reese

What makes the human mind so unique? And how did we get this way?

This fascinating tale explores the three leaps in our history that made us what we are—and will change how you think about our future.

Look around. Clearly, we humans are radically different from the other creatures on this planet. But why? Where are the Bronze Age beavers? The Iron Age iguanas? In Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think, Byron Reese argues that we owe our special status to our ability to imagine the future and recall the past, escaping the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in.

Envisioning human history as the development of a societal superorganism he names Agora, Reese shows us how this escape enabled us to share knowledge on an unprecedented scale, and predict—and eventually master—the future.

Thoughtful, witty, and compulsively readable, Reese unravels our history as an intelligent species in three acts:
• Act I: Ancient humans undergo “the awakening,” developing the cognitive ability to mentally time-travel using language
• Act II: In 17th century France, the mathematical framework known as 'probability theory' is born—a science for seeing into the future that we used to build the modern world
• Act III: Beginning with the invention of the computer chip, humanity creates machines to gaze into the future with even more precision, overcoming the limits of our brains

A fresh new look at the history and destiny of humanity, readers will come away from Stories, Dice, and Rocks that Think with a new understanding of what they are—not just another animal, but a creature with a mastery of time itself.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

Published August 16, 2022

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly]

Just the book for non-fiction readers like me who do not want to pick up a very "serious" non-fiction book but also want to read a fun, informative one.

And this is the one for me. For the life of me, I couldn't finish up read Sapiens, but this one grabbed my attention right from the very first page (I forgot! The blurb got me first!).

I find the contents very accessible for everyone young and old. The presentation of the contents is very easy to the eyes and so it gives the "oh I can read this book very easily" kind of vibes. And so it did too!

I find the division of the main contents into three main sections under fun headings a clever way of keeping the attention of the readers. They deal with the past, the present and the futuristic concepts/ideas what we would most possibly make happen in the very near future.

A good read which is informative, fun and unique.

Thank you, BenBella Books, for the advance reading copy.

[Christina]

A lighthearted and thoughtful study of how humanity got to where we are. I'm a big fan of Byron Reese's style, and this is another great.

[Joel Duncan]

"What does it mean to be present, when we are constantly predicting the future based on what we have faced in the past?"

Man this guy knows how to tell a story. I've never read non-fiction that is so easy to enjoy, rather than it be a challenge.

What an amazing book, it really made me think about what it means to be human. It delves into the fascinating history of consciousness and what separates us from animals. It provides theories of why art and the ability to tell stories emerged. I learned that you can't really live in the present because we are constantly thinking about the future, and the future is but a story. Even something as simple as thinking about walking from A to B, you probably imagine the journey or picture what the place will look like when you arrive - even that is predicting the future, you a guessing at something you do not yet know. Unless you are laying in bed not doing anything, you are probably predicting the future. There's so many interesting thought experiments and interesting facts in this book that I guarantee, even if you have read about the whole history of humanity, you will find something new here.

My only criticism was the maths section all about probability. Some parts took a massive tangent and didn't need so many examples of probabilities. That part was very tedious.

Didn't take away the shine from this incredibly fascinating and mind boggling book.

[Steve]

I loved this book. The writing is conversational with some cute wording and puns, making this a fun read. The story-telling is great and the section on statistics is well explained with very little math. The footnotes are also well worth reading. I also loved the pop culture references. It helps create a relationship between the author and the reader. Indeed, Byron Reese is the type of writer I would like to have coffee with. Overall this is a great read. Thank you to Netgalley and BenBella Books for the digital review copy. .

[Jenn Adams]

3.5
An enlightening look at the development of human thought in the past, present, and potentially even future. Conversational and accessible.

[Y]

It was a pleasant read! I first read The Fourth Age and wanted to read more! I liked that the book started with the role and history of story and language, information and statistics, then gradually moved to the history of tools, technology, computers, cognitive biases and heuristics. Last but not least, the great story telling with indyosynciracutc humour! I laughed out loud hard multiples times while reading this book. One example is to draw from the famous line of Gandalf from The Lord of the rings, “You shall not pass!” This book is informative with educational values as well!

[Andrea Wenger]

In this book, the author shows how the ability to imagine the future helped human society to transform the world. Storytelling, probability theory, and computers have helped us escape the limitations of our individual minds. It's a fascinating, informative, and entertaining read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Sujit Nathan]

To me this book felt all over the place, like 3 distinct section clumsily linked together. The section of probability seemed to drag on for me and the section of rock that think seemed to brief. It was an okay read but certainly one I would not read again.

[Jan Bloxham]

A bit simple.