Hey all,

Recently, I've been reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. In it, Harai describes human history as it has progressed from the pre-agricultural Cognitive Revolution through the ages to the modern world while using the macro-trends he analyzes to project humanity's future.

I think it's a pretty good book, and I'd recommend reading it if you find it interesting, but I'm not here to give you a book report. Instead, I'd like to analyze a point Harai makes that I resonate with:

The homo-sapien superpower is not in our bigger brains but in our ability to tell stories about things that do not exist.

Throughout Earth's history, many animals have had large brains, communal tendencies, and the capacity for communication, but none (as Harai points out) have evolved the capacity for complex language. This Cognitive Revolution allowed humans to communicate in more ways than the inflexible, reactive grunts, growls, and chirps of other animals.

But at face value, that change isn't very impactful. Sure, language enables people to tell stories and gossip about each other, but what's the difference between an ancient human saying "there's a lion over there" in English and a bird saying it with a series of chirps? And is storytelling, mythmaking, and gossip really that important to a species' survival?

Well, apparently, yes.

For example, imagine you're an ancient-era wolf trying to outcompete a homo-sapien band hunting bison in North America. First, let's list some of your advantages versus the humans:

You and your band (if you have one) are killing machines. You were born to hunt and have the instincts, speed, and power to kill bison.

Now let's list some of the human advantages:

Their band all believe in the same gods and spirits and have gossiped with each other, expelling the untrustworthy members of the group. They trust each other.
As a result of this trust, they can band together in large groups without trust fracturing. Against your wolf pack of 15, they've got a band of 150. At least 35 can hunt.
Their band is allied with another tribe that speaks the same language and believes in the same gods and spirits. That builds enough trust to create a joint hunting expedition.
With their shared language, both bands can coordinate to corral a bison herd into a valley where they are easy to kill. Your wolf pack will be lucky to take out one target.
Their band has passed down the ability to use fire and domesticate wolves without evolutionary intervention. Now, your distant cousins are working against you.

So, maybe you'll catch that bison and live today. But on that same day, the humans caught enough to live on for a month. You'll get by, but the sapiens are thriving. And as the years pass on, no matter if you're a wolf, Neanderthal, or any other apex predator, you'll watch as the homo-sapien population explodes while yours stagnates or dwindles.

Now, this comparison was intentionally a bit lopsided. But it just puts into perspective how dominant humans were after the Cognitive Revolution. In learning to speak complex languages, hunter-gatherer bands could tell stories, gossip, become friends, and share gods, enabling them to find ways to work together where other organisms were constantly competing.

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Storytelling became the superpower of the human race by creating trust. It allowed many people to work towards the same goal and for innovations in hunting techniques, technology, and domestication to develop separately from evolution. Each year, as their physical attributes stayed the same, their collective strength and intelligence rose. Natural selection couldn't keep up.

Incredibly, storytelling is still the most effective skill people have today. If you think about it, the most influential humans are still the ones who can tell the best stories and the ones that convince the most people to support their cause.

For example, Albert Einstein is revered not just because he's smart, but because he told a better, more accurate story of how the world worked, driving scientists and engineers to work with his proofs in mind.
Similarly, the best businesspeople are the best at telling the story of how their product, working environment, and company are the best for consumers, workers, and investors.
And, of course, the best politicians are the ones with the most sway over the populous, whether or not that comes through inspiring stories or manipulative ones.

Directly or indirectly, the best storytellers and their ideas heavily impact how we live our lives.

So, in the end, here's the so-what: Storytelling is an inherent superpower of humans, and you should lean into it:

Taking leadership or public speaking courses trains you to be a better storyteller and be able to influence people positively.
Both your actions and words cultivate your reputation - your personal story, so be good and let people know about your work so they can tell positive stories about you.
Finally, perhaps you should change the stories surrounding your peers into a collaborative one (looking at you, Berkeley).
- Because the only human resources you'll ever have are the ones right around you, and to compete with the best of the best, you have to climb with them and not always against them.

Or at least, that's my story.

Have a great week!

Ethan

(P.S. Sorry for the long email this week, I got a little excited explaining the topic because it is pretty exciting. But, if you did, thank you for reading all the way through!)

Things I'm Enjoying:

📚 Books - Both Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon and The Psychology of Morgan Housel were big influences on me during the last month, and I especially gained a lot from their ideas around risk-taking and trying new things. If that sounds interesting to you, check them out!

👨‍💻 Tech - I've had a Kindle Paperwhite for around 3 months now and I would say it's been one of the best recent investments I've made. For one, it's lightweight, has discounts for books, and streamlines the book-buying process which helps reduce the bar of effort for me to read. Funnily enough, I also think I focus better reading on my Kindle because it kind of looks like my iPhone, just without all the other distractions it comes with. So, if you have the chance, I would pick one up (especially if it ever goes on sale for like $120 when I got mine).

💻 Website - Realtime Colors. Color theory is hard so I've made a lot of use from Realtime Colors in creating potential colors for this website's color scheme. Unfortunately, I don't have Ghost's "Creator" plan yet so I've had to settle for this blue and off-white scheme, but I will probably use Realtime Colors again when I upgrade to add more flair and cohesion.