Play Book Tag discussion

[Thanks to NancyJ for helping me to find a book that fit the tag so well!]

I might not have enjoyed this so much if I hadn’t been jetlagged when I read it. If I’d been more awake, I might have felt that the complex and intractable problems discussed, such as the crisis of liberal democracy or the social changes caused by new developments in biotechnology and artificial intelligence, deserved more nuanced, deeper exploration. As presented here, each issue is summarized in just enough detail to give an overview and raise some intriguing questions before moving on to the next topic. However, this was just the right amount of information for my tired brain, and I hugely appreciated the clear simplicity of Harari’s writing style and the way that it turned ‘obvious’ (in hindsight) observations into genuine light-bulb moments for me. An example:

“Perhaps in the twenty-first century populist revolts will be staged not against an economic elite that exploits people but against an economic elite that does not need them anymore. This may well be a losing battle. It is much harder to struggle against irrelevance than against exploitation.”

Similarly, when I discussed it with my husband (who is typically more aware of technological trends than me) he was unsurprised by the prediction that bioengineering could lead to “the divergence of humankind into different biological castes or even different species”, but this was new and eye-opening for me.

Despite the title, most of the book was given to explorations of the issues rather than concrete lessons, but it did include one piece of advice that I consider very useful and will try to keep in mind:

“The first step is to tone down the prophecies of doom and switch from panic mode to bewilderment. Panic is a form of hubris. It comes from the smug feeling that one knows exactly where the world is heading: down. Bewilderment is more humble and therefore more clear-sighted.”

This is a great review Nikki! That first quote is very powerful and pertinent to the US. The economic elite seem to be saying "thanks for the tax cut windfall, but we're still taking our jobs elsewhere." The last quote is interesting too. Panic can help us focus on one action (or a knee jerk reaction), but curiosity helps us to discover better solutions.

My copy is "in-transit" so I hope that means I'll get it by Tuesday. I have a feeling that bioengineering is going to be just as eye opening (and scary) for me. Thanks for the warning about the level of detail. An introduction to each issue might be enough to get started, because "I don't know what I don't know." I hope to be surprised by something new.

Thanks! I'll be interested to see what you think of it...

Most of the sections are very interesting. I liked the topic on work, though it's a topic I know well, so I wanted more. I'm pessimistic about his expectations of equality (he focused on economic equality, not racism). I see the divide getting bigger. I'm up to nationalism which is a hot topic right now. After I read a couple chapters, I reward myself with dessert by reading a little more of This Is How You Lose the Time War. It's delicious and completely unlike anything I've read this year. I'm trying to finish them both by tomorrow.