Ted Talk: What explains the rise of humans?

Posted By Les Conklin on Jul 30, 2015

I just finished reading three non-fiction books about the struggles of men adapting to life in Latin American jungle environments: “The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870 -1914,” “The River of Doubt,” and “The Lost City of Z.” The indigenous plants, animals, insects, environments and indigenous people they encountered challenged the success of their endeavors and their very survival. The real-life stories in those books are probably the reason that the title of this talk caught my eye. Turns out that “stories” are an important part of his talk. FYI I recommend all three books, but before you start reading, enjoy this speaker. Editor

“Seventy thousand years ago, our human ancestors were insignificant animals, just minding their own business in a corner of Africa with all the other animals. But now, few would disagree that humans dominate planet Earth; we’ve spread to every continent, and our actions determine the fate of other animals (and possibly Earth itself). How did we get from there to here? Historian Yuval Noah Harari suggests a surprising reason for the rise of humanity.”

What explains the rise of humans?

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