The Secret of Our Success

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Humans are a puzzling species, struggling to survive alone in the wild while simultaneously creating advanced technologies and complex societies. This paradox raises the question of how we dominate the globe despite our individual vulnerabilities. The key to our success lies not in innate intelligence but in our collective brains—the ability to socially connect and learn from one another across generations. Drawing from diverse sources, including lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, and ancient bones, the author illustrates how our collective intelligence has driven genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Early capacities for learning led to cultural innovations like fire, cooking, and tools, which in turn expanded our brains and transformed our physiology and psychology. As time progressed, collective intelligence generated powerful concepts such as the lever and writing, alongside institutions that influence our motivations and perceptions. The interplay between genetics and culture has launched our species on a remarkable evolutionary journey. By examining clues from our past to the present, this exploration reveals how the evolution of our cultural and social natures produces a collective intelligence that accounts for our species' extraordinary success and unique characteristics.