This is another remarkable book from the author of Sapiens and Homo Deus. But the reader need not know either of them to appreciate these 21 Lessons. Harari takes a very long view of the history of mankind and the driving forces that shape the world as we know it. Given the pent-up forces for change (especially infotech and biotech) that make bewilderment a normal state of mind, he attempts to offer our children (and us) some ways of preparing for our collective futures.
Recognizing and exploding many of the narratives that have allowed the human ape to dominate the planet, he suggests that our children’s education should be characterized by greater humility, respect for the “other” and for the biosphere that we are rapidly destroying. Skills will become obsolete in a decade and therefore in need of constant renewal. The ability to adapt to whatever the world needs will therefore become the vital learning required by the whole of humanity. But “what should we wish to become?” remains the unanswerable question. Identity and philosophy therefore become vital subjects.
While the progress of science enables mankind to design and create modified forms of humans, our ethical and philosophical understanding has not kept up the pace of change offered by the sciences. Science fiction allows us to imagine plausible futures, but we should be wary of taking any of them literally, says Harari. But the reality is that any future we will face by 2050 or 2100 is likely to be a future that in 2018 seems like science fiction.
This book should be mandatory reading for everybody involved in education and in preparing for the future. That means all of us! Harari’s grasp of historic reality and his wide fields of knowledge are here presented in a manner accessible to us all. As a primer to change management, there can be no better text book. I happen to agree with 99% of his views. But even when I am not convinced, I am driven to consider carefully why not. It is therefore a compulsive read!