Discover The Book Of Humans: 4 Billion Years, 20,000 Genes, And The New Story Of How We Became Us Engineered By Adam Rutherford Published As Paper Edition

history and evolutionary biology are fascinating subjects, and in his latest book, Humanimal, author Adam Rutherford takes a look at what sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, and asks if we are truly as unique as we have been led to believe.
Broadly speaking he looks at a variety of behaviours that are often regarded as uniquely human , ranging from speech and communication , to art and the use of tools and even sex for pleasure rather than procreation and finds examples from around the globe that show similar behaviours in animal species that will surprise you.
It is fascinating to read about species of birds in Australia who have learned to use fire as a tool to flush out prey, or dolphins who use sea sponges on their snouts as protection when hunting.
Rutherford clearly and simply breaks down how the genetic similarities and differences between humans and other animals may be less than many would expect, but they are enough to make us vastly different.

Although the subject of the book is vast and complex, Rutherford does a wonderful job in breaking it down, and making it not just accessible but also fascinating to the lay reader with no background in the topic.

“We transmit information,” writes the author, “not just via DNA down the generations, but in every direction, to people with whom we have no immediate biological ties.
We log our knowledge and experience, and share them, It is in the teaching of others, the shaping of culture, and the telling of stories, that we created ourselves, ”
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own, This was a very interesting read, There is a lot of science in this book but it is explained in a easy format for a general audience, What the books asks is What Makes Humans different than Animals
If it is not culture then what, The book goes on to explain than what we consider traits of human culture has also been found in different species in different times, Many animals have all the physical equipment to communicate but they dont, . .

then what makes humans communicate, The conclusion of this book is that the main difference between humans and animals is not the lack of culture but the ability to instill that culture to our offspring.
This book is really confusing, The ideas were presented in disorganized and incoherent way, Hence I reached the last page without actually knowing “The Story of How We Became Us” or the heck is going on,

Title does not indicate the content of the book, It gives different vibes and expectations, Some of the topics and titles covered in this book kept reminding me of “Sapiens” with no ground to compare between both of them, One major difference is that the latter got more depth in it than this one this justpages, which just felt like teasing you with some interesting stuff but without details for satisfaction.
However, some parts were enjoyable,

Some interesting ideas he mentioned or kept repeating in this book:
, Could familiar behaviors/traits in us homo sapiens and other animals be interpreted the same As all goes into different evolutionary pathways,
. If the main purpose of sex is procreation, wouldnt we expect genes related to homosexuality to vanish from the gene pool So, why theyre still there,


Maybe there is more, didnt take notes so yeah, I am Udit
I am Homo sapien
I am a great ape
I am simian
I am a primate
I am a mammal
I have a backbone
I am an animal
Yet I am one amongst the paragon of animals.


This book is incredibly insightful and impressive, The author tries to find answer to one of the most complex question we as humans try to understand, The question is we are so similar to our cousins and other animals yet we are so special, I mean as Darwin said with all the exalted powers,man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin, We are capable of beautiful dreams and horrible nightmares, This book drives away this very important point that our culture is very much part of our biological evolution and we should not try to separate them, One of the aspect where we stand alone from other species significantly is in the cultural accumulation and transmission, I mean many animals learn but only humans can teach, We should revel in the complexity of our species and celebrate the fact that we alone are capable of understanding it,
The author admits that the complexity of this puzzle that how we reached where we are will continue to increase and i guess that's what makes it more challenging.
I have no concrete scientific background other than casual readings into science, This book didn't disappoint my 'scientific ignorance', An enjoyable pop science book right from the beginning, Lots of interesting examples from the animal kingdom on various topics, Definitely convinced me to have a look at his other books and his shows! I had yet to check out his show at the BBC but from his writings and his narration being the narrator of the book as well, I can feel how great would be his shows.
The book of Humans was an enjoyable read in my opinion, but it did disappoint me, It was not what I expected, It is suitable for every reader with an interest in evolutionary biology and you do not need to be an expert on the topic to understand it,

This book wants to tell us how we became who we are, Why are humans so unique, Sadly it does not achieve its goal, Adam Rutherford points out that many of our "unique" attributes, those that supposedly make us human, can be found in other animals as well, This includes behavior, but also tool use and use of fire, Most of the book is devoted to this topic,

In the last part of the book, Rutherford elaborates on the fact that the establishment of mankind's rich culture might have to do with sociability and communication.
This is not certain though, The answer is yet to be found, I love how this book as much seeks to bring arrogance about human exceptionalism down a peg or two, as it seeks to reinforce how wildly amazing homo sapiens scientifically, genuinely are from every other creature in existence on the planet.
Of course, this answers no questions, but rather adorns and illuminates longheld speculations over what exactly, if anything, makes humans more special than any other mammal,

The tone and style of Adam Rutherford's books are also just so readable being a presenter, I don't know if there's something maybe in the fact that it's his everyday job to translate the high academia of genetics to laypeople, but he's so, so good at it.
This is a short book, but once I started reading I couldn't put it down even though I found that I actually knew quite a lot of the stuff anyway! I have pretty much listened to every single Radio show he's made and, er, I think a slight weird crush tbh This was an interesting book on what makes human unique and how we have become so successful.
Nothing much new here, but very easy to read if the territory is unfamiliar, O carte despre coevolutia genoculturala: "biologia faciliteaza cultura, cultura modifica biologia",

Agricultura nu este practicata exclusiv de catre oameni, Furnicile taietoare de frunze, dupa cum le spune numele, taie si duc frunzele in subteran unde NU le consuma, In schimb cresc pe frunzele aflate in descompunere ciuperci bogate in glucide si lipide, Mai mult, folosesc si pesticide, bacterii ce produc substante cu care omoara speciile de ciuperci nedoride,

Omul a dus agricultura la un nou nivel, Sa ne gandim putin ce a presupus inventarea agriculturii de catre oameni, E nevoie de planificare si anticipare avansate, de inventarea unor noi unelte, Pe scurt, de un creier si o minte foarte dezvoltate, Biologia faciliteaza cultura.
Cu timpul o mutatie aleatorie in genomul crescatorilor de animale a dat posibilitatea descompunerii lactozei dupa varsta intarcarii, Acum oamenii aveau la dispozitie o noua sursa bogata in nutrimente, Gena sa raspandit in toata Europa, Cultura modifica biologia.
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