Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
A sweeping history of Homo sapiens from the cognitive revolution to the present
"Large numbers of strangers can cooperate successfully by believing in common myths."
— Yuval Noah Harari
My Review
Harari's sweep through human history provides context for why we cooperate, create fictions, and build organizations. His concept of 'imagined orders' - shared fictions that enable large-scale cooperation - maps to organizational culture and institutions.
Why It Matters
Harari explains how humans became the dominant species through cooperation at scale. His insights on shared fictions and imagined orders illuminate how organizations create and maintain culture.
Key Ideas
- Cognitive revolution enabled humans to cooperate in large numbers through shared fictions
- Imagined orders (nations, corporations, religions) exist only in collective belief
- Agriculture was history's biggest fraud - more work, worse nutrition, new diseases
- Science, empire, and capital have driven recent human history
How It Connects to This Framework
The framework's treatment of organizational culture and institutional structures draws on Harari's concept of imagined orders.
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