The best Evolution books: Reddit reviews

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I too enjoyed reading Sapiens.

The book goes in-depth how much of the world is a "fiction" around us - LLCs aren't real, baseball's rules aren't real, capitalism isn't real. But if the reader's takeaway means that "fiction" == "not real and therefore meaningless", they've hugely missed the point.

It should be mandatory that everyone either read or watch the documentary Guns Germs and Steel. Because on the face of it it wouldnt be a unfair question to ask why did Europeans become the most advanced and dominated other cultures. Guns Germs and Steel lays out a rock solid case on and to sum up the answer comes down to Geography and timing not because of superiority of any race. But the answer is even more complicated then that... andv to sit there and argue with these knuckleheads with this long complicated arguments is pointless. It would be better if kids learn young about why these discrepancies exist so we can shut down those questions early on.

You should read Sapiens, the author explains how the agricultural revolution was a horrible thing for mankind.

tl;dr : We stopped eating diverse foods, which were then more prone to parasites, began to live together and spread diseases among us, stopped running like our bodies are supposed to and began working with our backs curved, which gave us hernias and stuff, etc.

The book isn't just about the agricultural revolution, it's about the history of our species from the first homo sapiens to right now. Amazing book, very trippy.

There have been thousands of reports from reliable and reputable people within the military, NASA, astronomers, scientists, pilots and lay people from around the world over the past few decades that have no reason to lie (in most cases they report the incidents despite ridicule and potentially damaging their careers), backed up by evidence

NY Times reporter Leslie Kean, who broke the most read story on NY times last year about the 2004 incident that the pentagon were looking in to, has written an incredibly well-researched book about the phenomenon with exhaustive details featuring first person reports from across the globe. It is worth reading before you make up your mind about the occurance https://www.amazon.co.uk/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307717089

True the field attracts cracked types and more often than not videos that we see on youtube are hoaxes and poor ones at that, but look beyond the bullshit and read actual articles from the French and Chilean government who research such incidents and it will astound you.

The Americans shape the global attitude to the phenomenon - possibly because it shows their incapacity to handle and understand at - and that attitude is one of dismissiveness and ridicule. Fair enough too, if you are the global superpower with complete autonomy over the skies, you don't want to admit you've got a situation you cannot explain. Better to investigate it privately and publicly ridicule it

Ultimately we have no idea what it is, could they be a modern myth as CJ Jung hypothesised in his book "Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies", similar to religious visitations through the years but seen through the prism of our scientific world view, or could they be interdimensional beings as French computer scientist Jacques Valle posits.

fuck knows, but it is interesting just a pity you can't talk about it without being seen as a lunatic.

Nope... Dehumanizing people and feeding tribalism with fear have been scientifically proven to incite violent behaviour

Here is one of the many books on the subject (the one I happened to have read)

Also, I am not trying to "score partisan points"... I am not registered or affiliated with any political party and have very often explained how, in my personal view, all politicians are to be distrusted... It does happen I have a particularly high level of dislike of the type of rhetoric the far-right is absolutely pushing

Good for you! It's funny that what you're saying can even be understood as a joke, when reading those books should be utterly unremarkable.

BTW, since you seem to be interested in reading about evolution you should definitely check out Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne. It's the single best popular book I've read on evolution -- clear and well-written, and really makes the case in an irrefutable way. It's worthwhile on its own, but if you're dealing with skeptics it'll also give you plenty of ammunition.

If you like this then you'll really like a book by Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, highly recommended. Anything by Bryson, really.

Robert Sapolsky's new book Behave shits on Peterson's new book. Robert's book is probably the best book I've bought in my entire life. Seriously, I open it and learn something new everyday. If Robert and Jordan ever "debated" I guarantee that Robert would make Jordan look like Kathy Newman.

Nope!
Far far less often.
Immediacy, more comprehensive reporting, and the complete lack of any kind of geographic filtration just make it seem like things are getting worse, when it is in fact the exact opposite. There's plenty of good statistical analysis to back it up, but the easier solution is to just pick up a copy of 'Better angels of our nature' by Stephen Pinker. It does a good job of breaking down the trends on different comparative perspectives, analyzing different interpretations of the data, and highlighting the most compelling conclusions we can draw from it: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Angels-Our-Nature-Violence/dp/0143122010

When I was growing up, we didn't really hear much about most murders or other violent crimes any further away than the next town over...

I started reading the book "Sapiens: a brief history of humankind" per my boss' recommendation. Now our department has two cynical persons facing an existential crisis and constantly discussing how transient and seemingly meaningless humankind is to the earth. And we agree that, as humankind, we are committing a very slow suicide.

That aside, it makes a good read. Not too much of an academic paper but deep enough to make you think.

Se está interessado em se aprofundar no assunto de por que violência aumenta ou diminui. Sugiro ler esse livro do Steven Pinker que é referência mundial no assunto.

O livro foca mais no cenário global como um todo. Aonde a violência está diminuindo na média. Mas reconhece que em alguns focos na América latina violência está indo em direção contrária.

O livro é extremamente extenso, a explicação não é simples, são diversos fatores diferentes. Mas uma das teclas que ele bate bastante e nos parece bem familiar no Brasil, é um Estado ineficiente na área de segurança. Apesar de alguns políticos populistas estarem apelando pra sugestão de que deveria ser responsabilidade de cada indivíduo se defender sozinho. O que o livro mostra é que historicamente a evidência é bem forte de que quem faz segurança é a polícia. Os estados brasileiros aonde a polícia está mal paga, com greves, paralisações, é justamente aonde estão os piores focos de violência.

I read,”Why Evolution Is True “ by Jerry Coyne.

It’s an easy read and lays out an argument that I can’t find flaw with.

Only the most obtuse could peruse this scientific aggregate and still try to deny the age of the earth and evolution.

Congrats on finding relief for your painful feet and freeing yourself of expensive conventional treatments that may or may not actually work.

Please keep in mind that sufficient strengthening of your lower legs (muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones) for successful long term transition to zero drop shoes can take a long time. For some it can take several months. For some it can take years.

So be careful not to push yourself too hard too fast. Because if the usual pattern holds true, the next step in your evolution could be metatarsal stress fractures and chronic Achilles pain.

Edit: You might also check out Born to Run by Christopher McDougall is you haven't yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189

As someone left of center and an environmentalist.... Free markets and enlightenment values have lifted humanity out of squalor and superstition into modern day lives of plenty and comfort. Check out Steven Pinker's works if you don't believe me.

As long as we bring both to Mars with us, we'll be fine.

I don't think so.

I took an online class based on this book and it has a good theory in it. It's been a few years but, IIRC, Harari says that the followers of monotheistic religions are almost required to suppress or eliminate other religions and their deities. If your god is the only true god, all other gods must be false gods or your entire religion is false. Nobody likes their religion being called a false religion, especially when they're deeply emotionally invested in the religion.

Basically, IMO, calling pagan gods "demons" is the result of a smear campaign against those gods and religions tied to them by monotheistic religions. Polytheistic/pagan religions are much older than monotheistic religions, but one of the results of this drive to prove that YHWH is the one "true god" is that some of the other deities became "demons". And the Bible, of course, has to reflect this bias.

Yes, you have some people who believe in monotheistic religions and are more secular. But this smear campaign was run by the church and people who were/are deeply religious and fundamentalist.

I'm sorry? Wars in the past were way more horrific and casualties were significantly higher than they are now, we are living in one of the most peaceful eras in history.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Better-Angels-Our-Nature/dp/0143122010

Here is a good book that discusses this exact subject.

In Sapolsky's new book Behave, Robert talks about hormones and how much of what we think of serotonin and testosterone is misleading. It is contradictory to what Jordan thinks or argues.

For example, many people think increasing testosterone leads to increasing aggression. This is false. Increasing testosterone leads to behavior that is needed to maintain your place in the social-hierarchy, regardless of if it's violence, empathy, etc. This means that if your society rewards pacifism, you rise up the social hierarchy because of your generosity. Increasing testosterone will increase your altruism, not aggression. Give a community of pacifist monks a shot of testosterone and you will have them running around trying to out-do each other by being the nicest monk in the community.

This is antithetical to Jordan's view that social hierarchy is inevitable and a product of human nature. Since humans have historically fought nature, having the strength to overcome and master nature was the historical modus operandi. However, since we have now evolved as a species with urbanization, the industrial revolution, and the division of labor, our battle is no longer against nature, but against ourselves. Therefore, we are no longer in a battle for dominance against nature, but against ourselves, which does not need to happen anymore if we as a species decided we would no longer reward dominant, aggressive, social-hierarchy-enhancing behavior.

IMHO this is a semantics issue that stems from American political culture. Many words/phrases have been co-opted by one of the two major political movements (right or left) in the United States. Using these words triggers a Pavlovian (often hostile) response from people with politically indoctrinated minds. A majority of American TBMs are deeply entrenched in this world of confrontational political ideology.

Recognize the subconscious emotional responses that are triggered when you hear/read the following words:

Patriotism, Climate, Defense, Feminism, Drugs, Immigrant, Ground Zero, Fascist, Handouts, Abortion, Safety Net, Civil Rights, Preemptive, Guns, Black, White, Extremist.

Remember, these are just words. People's ideas give them meaning. Pointing out this phenomenon isn't a value statement by me on anyone's personally held moral values (which should hopefully be able to endure rational analysis and modification).

I've seen many exmos retain their exact same political stance after leaving TSCC. Just because a person has become self-aware of a strongly held and harmful myth-belief called "religion" doesn't mean they will automatically become self-aware of another strongly held and often harmful myth-belief called "politics".

Let us all just be good humans to each other.

Oh...and read Sapiens. That book clears up a LOT of this stuff.

Having armies and defence forces that can destroy entire nations is a big deterrent, in Sapiens Harare attributes our declining major international conflict rates to this.

I'm not sure about those "poor results"?

Violence is lower than ever. Unless you count exceptions like Baltimore, which we are not allowed to talk about.

I think abortion should be legal and widely available. But it's at an all time low. Birth control is getting better.

It's not a study so much as a thesis that analyzes many different studies, but I would highly recommend Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature as a jumping off point.

It's actually fascinating because it's a Global Phenomenon and once you read books that have actual testimony and in 2 instances radar data of cases it's clear that something is going on. Objects that can travel over 13,000 MPH since 1940s. Objects that seem to be originating from the Ocean and not space.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594205078/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_KF84ZA0W1MCP8D7AGQ7E

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679763996/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_P9W9MW7NRHAJ0ZBVZH7W

Some light reading for you. You can feel however you wish.

I’m reading the book, Sapiens, at the moment. It contains a long chapter about this specific topic. I would recommend this book to anyone from beginning to the end.

The story of the Nimitz is weird as hell and once you read the book from Leslie kean who released the 2017 NYT ufo article it becomes even more clearer that every single country on this planet has had their own military encounter. This book has 2 instances of military pilots shooting at the objects

But really, if you are interested in learning more these two are absolutely where to start:

• [Book] UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record

• [Documentary] The Phenomenon

Both of these highlight some of the most compelling and still unexplained cases in modern UFO history from around the world. Everywhere from Iran to Zimbabwe to Alaska to Chicago O'Hare Airport.

This atheist thinks free will is a vague term that serves as a poor, outdated model of human behavior that is not only poorly defined (what is the will? how is it separated from non-will? from what exactly is it free?), but it defies certain known facts, such as the brain prepares for action before a person decides what action to take.

Biology explains explain behavior, even complex human behaviors. Dr. Robert Sapolsky provides a magnificent resource explaining this for the average non-scientist: Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

Ofc here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Behave-Biology-Humans-Best-Worst/dp/1594205078

It’s a big fucking book, but so so worth it to understand why we do, think and act the way we do.

There’s a summaryBehave (a summary) I found too if you want to read that first to get a sense of the book

When you read Leslie Keans book it becomes clear that it’s simply impossible for it to be Russian and Chinese.

https://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307717089/ref=nodl_

That is an excellent question.

You might like to look up this excellent book on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Queen-Evolution-Human-Nature/dp/0060556579