A Few Lessons for our Times

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

I have read this book twice now. And, on the second reading I found myself approaching the text with a touch more of a critical eye. However, this may be because I was bringing my own set of beliefs and life experiences to what the author, Yuval Noah Harari had been trying to say. At the end of the book, even he admits that his writing may have been coloured by his own experiences and approach to life, that what has worked for him may not work for you. So, perhaps he would forgive me admitting that some passages made me feel a tad defensive with regards to some of my on points of view. However, having said that, I am aware that any defensiveness I felt arose in myself, not from what was written on the page.

Reading Harari's work can be uncomfortable. He tells of the routes that our nations and societies could take - hypotheses based on historical, political, sociological and technological facts - and warns that we may be heading towards greater disconnect. There may be a disconnect between us as individuals, a disconnect between ourselves and those that sell to us, between ourselves and politics, our nations, our ideals... Really. We could be in for an awful lot of disconnect. We may even be heading towards a greater disconnect from ourselves. Knowing less and less about who we are.

Like I said, it can be an uncomfortable read.

But, Harari hasn't written this book, one feels, so that he can make a few bucks off of people's fears. Within the warnings of a lack of connection is a message. The message is that we should be wary of these disconnects, that we should be aware of what is real and what are merely stories told us to make products, policies, ideals, religions a better sell. Within the pages of this book there is the message that we need not despair over the state of the world - if we can better connect, firstly with ourselves and our reality, we need not fear the hands that might seek to exploit us for their own ends quite so much. Perhaps even, not at all.

So, to conclude, I recommend this book to those that might perhaps wish to try and make sense of the world, though if you do, leave your ego at the door. The author is has shone a light on the holes in many an ideology throughout the course of the book. Perhaps even one or two that you hold, or have held, dear. But, that's kind of the point(ish). No ideology should be above inspection or critique and those that are held up to be so are some of the most dangerous that exist and have ever existed. I recommend you this book, I recommend that you make up your own minds, I recommend that if this all sounds like bullcrap to you that you throw your device to one side in disgust and go do something else.

On a not entirely unrelated note, below is a picture of a rose. I took this picture when out walking not too long ago. The rose looks beautiful in the picture. But the picture does little to represent the feel of the petals or the absolute gorgeousness of it's scent. That rose is perfect. It is what it is and it resists nothing in it's nature and it is beautiful in it's nature. Take this book out on a walk, read it on a bench and if you pass a rose stop and smell it. You will, I believe, feel all the better for it.

(Please note, in my mind, the beauty of the rose and the message in this book are related. To you, however, it may seem that I have descended into gobbledygook. And that's just fine.)

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