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A review by siriuschico
Figments of Reality: The Evolution of the Curious Mind by Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen
5.0
Figments of reality is an interesting mix of philosophy, mathematics, evolution biology and fiction about bird-like Zarathustrians. It comments on a lot of things - from begging of life, intelligence and culture, but still, it is quite readable and understandable.
Authors highlight the importance of community and family in evolution - we are humans mainly because we have been educated and exposed to human language and behaviour, which is why we can behave like humans. Tarzan would be much more savage than Edgar Burroughs suggests. And this cultural environment (or like the authors call it - extelligence) is the primary weapon of evolution to keep the winning streak going. It is flexible enough to allow each generation to experiment and change the direction of life, but it will still allow us to make more humans from tabula rasa babies.
Well... It has many interesting theories. Some readers are complaining about this book's age - after more than twenty years, evolution and molecular biology moved much further, and it changes some facts the authors used to build their arguments. But it doesn't matter - Aristoteles is much older, and his Metaphysics (the most outdated philosophy book I have tried to read) still serves as groundwork for further philosophers. And Figments of reality are similar - some views are outdated, but not entirely wrong and if something that modern knowledge actually confirms the importance of education and the environment. We really cannot get a proper human without a human-make-kit - which is his family, peers and community. So I don't think those last twenty or so years hurt this book that much.
Authors highlight the importance of community and family in evolution - we are humans mainly because we have been educated and exposed to human language and behaviour, which is why we can behave like humans. Tarzan would be much more savage than Edgar Burroughs suggests. And this cultural environment (or like the authors call it - extelligence) is the primary weapon of evolution to keep the winning streak going. It is flexible enough to allow each generation to experiment and change the direction of life, but it will still allow us to make more humans from tabula rasa babies.
Well... It has many interesting theories. Some readers are complaining about this book's age - after more than twenty years, evolution and molecular biology moved much further, and it changes some facts the authors used to build their arguments. But it doesn't matter - Aristoteles is much older, and his Metaphysics (the most outdated philosophy book I have tried to read) still serves as groundwork for further philosophers. And Figments of reality are similar - some views are outdated, but not entirely wrong and if something that modern knowledge actually confirms the importance of education and the environment. We really cannot get a proper human without a human-make-kit - which is his family, peers and community. So I don't think those last twenty or so years hurt this book that much.