21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Quick Summary

How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children?

21 lessons for the 21st century tries to provide answers to a lot of the challenges we may face during the actual century.

My Thoughts

Following Sapiens and Homo Deus, the author signs his 3rd opus of the series, just as successful as the other two. And he does not only expose the main issues and problems of the 21st century, but he popularizes them with brio so that anyone can understand, no matter if it is about religion, environment, computer science, etc...

After having developed his thesis on the history of humanity and what is the fundamental structure of Homo Sapiens, namely the belief in a story that allows to weld communities, to aggregate the wills of millions of men, and then present his vision of the future of Homo Sapiens and the dangers that lurk, this time Mr. Harari brings his reflections, ideas of tracks, to avoid these dangers but especially to alert us to the imminence of these dangers.

The author launches a cry of alarm that is meant to be reasoned, posed, but nonetheless an almost desperate call to tell us that we must wake up immediately to the three major catastrophes that threaten the human race: climate and ecological collapse, technological disruption through the fusion of information technology and biotech, and the appearance of a new species of super-human.

Yuval Noah Harari poses more as a thinker and philosopher than as a historian. Like the first two books, the demonstration is clear, pedagogical, positive and intended to underline the urgency of the situation. The text awakens our consciences, but in front of the immensity of the stakes, it left me with a feeling of impotence, thinking that my ballot, my citizen's will, will be very little in front of the interests of the ultra-powerful who will have everything to gain from the technological disruption and the appearance of a super-sapien allowing them to save themselves from the ecological catastrophe.

When we learned in 2019 that the 26 richest people in the world alone hold the equivalent of the wealth held by the 3 billion poorest people on earth, we said to ourselves that the great upheaval has already begun.

To Read or Not to Read

I recommend reading this book. It will bring you a lot and open your eyes to details related to the issues of the 21st century that you may not have seen before.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Quick Summary

My Thoughts

To Read or Not to Read

Related Notes

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