Sapiens summary

Sapiens first evolved about 150,000 years ago. For many millennia, they were mostly minding their own business in East Africa. They weren’t producing any extraordinary art or complex tools. At one point, they tried to migrate north and warred with Neanderthals. The Sapiens lost and retreated home, and Neanderthals remained masters of the Middle East for another 30,000 years.

But then, around 70,000 years ago, something really incredible happened. There was a huge leap in what Sapiens started accomplishing. They started building boats, oil lamps, and bows and arrows. They formed larger and more sophisticated communities, and established trade networks. And as Sapiens improved their hunting techniques, they left a long trail of extinctions in their path. 

To be sure, we’re not the only creatures with language. Bees buzz to inform their comrades of the whereabouts of food. Chimpanzees have specific calls that mean “Careful! An eagle!” that sound slightly different from calls that mean “Careful! A lion!” And the Neanderthals most likely had some kind of language more meaningful than mere grunting.  

But our capacity for language is different. Human language is incredibly complex and intricate, especially when compared to the communication methods of other species. That’s why Sapiens rule the world— while bees are endangered, chimps are locked up in zoos, and the Neanderthals are long gone.

Now we’re onto Blink 4, which is all about the Agricultural Revolution, and how we transformed from foragers into farmers.

Homo sapiens have lived a nomadic lifestyle for most of our history, with the vast majority of our ancestors having spent their lives hunting prey and gathering vegetation. Rather than settling in one area, they traveled to wherever food was plentiful.

Life before the Agricultural Revolution was relatively simple. If you were low on meat, you could simply ask your neighbors to share their surpluses with you. More often than not, they’d help you out, safe in the knowledge that, if they had a problem in the future, you’d return the favor.

But with the development of agriculture, this economy of favors developed into a barter system. 

As we have just seen, the invention of writing and money made it easier to conduct economic transactions and harder to commit economic fraud. And yet this, of course, didn’t mean that economies suddenly started behaving smoothly and efficiently. In fact, as societies and economies grew, they became more difficult to control and regulate.

So what did human societies do? 

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, humanity underwent another sea change. A scientific revolution swept through Europe and, rather than let progress depend on the gods alone, humans started thinking how they themselves could use science to improve society.

By applying the scientific principles of exploration, experimentation, and observation, people made substantial leaps in areas such as medicine, astronomy and physics – each development helping to make society a better place to live.

Alright, we’ve made it to Blink 8. At this point in our journey, we’ll get into how our global society’s central belief in capitalism is a legacy of European imperialism. 

So, by now we know that the scientific method was used by many European governments to enlarge their empires and increase their profits – and it certainly worked. By the nineteenth century, the British Empire alone covered more than a quarter the globe.

Globalization is decidedly on the march, but not everybody is happy about this. Critics of globalization claim, among other things, that it erodes cultural diversity, turning the entire world into one dull, homogenous unity.

Despite criticisms such as these, globalization has one major benefit: it is helping to make the world a more peaceful place.

OK, we’re now on Blink 10. Our journey through the 300,000- year-history of Homo sapiens is nearly complete. 

We now understand, more or less, the general trends behind human history, but we haven’t really talked about how this has affected us as individuals. Our health, wealth and knowledge have vastly improved— but are we happier?

We’re now at the last blink, everybody. And we’ve learned a lot about our past... but what about our future? Where will advances in science and prosperity lead us in the decades to come? Scientists are already working to answer these questions, making considerable strides in fields such as bionic technology and anti-aging.

Within the field of bionics – the merging of human with machine – scientists have made impressive advances. For example, when Jesse Sullivan, an American electrician, lost both his arms, scientists were able to provide him new bionic ones— arms that can be operated by thought alone!