Most useful takeaways
The Cognitive Revolution produced imagination, complex language, and the ability to share fictional stories.
Biological differences between Homo sapiens and other humans were small; cultural changes produced large effects.
Flexible cooperation among strangers became possible and crucial to Sapiens' expansion.
Notice how shared stories and narratives enable cooperation and question what imagined orders you accept.
About 70,000 years ago Homo sapiens underwent a Cognitive Revolution that enabled new modes of thought and communication. This shift from biological to cultural evolution allowed small bands of humans to cooperate flexibly and spread across the globe.
Language allowed transmission of information about social relations and reputations (gossip).
Fictional realities (myths, gods, laws, corporations) enable millions to cooperate.
Shared myths are not objectively true but are effective because many people believe them.
Be conscious of which shared narratives shape your decisions and assess their real-world consequences.
Human language evolved not only for practical information but primarily to gossip and to communicate about things that do not exist. This ability to create and believe in shared fictions—religions, nations, laws—made large-scale human cooperation possible.
Hunter
gatherers had diverse diets and flexible subsistence strategies.