Who are we? This is the question the majority of people ask themselves, sometimes even unconsciously. From the beginning of their existence, humans ask themselves this simple question. We cannot reply with certainty. But as many people know, Charles Darwin had a theory, the possible answer - we are monkeys that went through evolution! Our ancestors were Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. We are just the descendants of monkeys. Well, that is what we think.
Human by Design is a book by Gregg Braden written and published in 2017. This is the first science popular book I have ever read. Braden did a good job by covering all the topics and including them in one book - from our ancestors to ancient wisdom in Tibet. Let’s talk about our ancestors first.
Braden has a very interesting theory about our ancestors. I partly agree with it, partly disagree with it. For example, we might have one thought in common - the evolution theory by Darwin might not really be correct. After all, it is a theory and Darwin could have been wrong, which is normal and fine. They did not have all the technology stuff back then. And nobody asked the scientists to believe the theory at once and teach it at school like it is a fact. Braden has quite solid evidence that Darwin was probably wrong. Here is the link to that article. A Neanderthal infant girl was found in Russia near Caucasus in Mezmaiskaya cave. The DNA results from a surprisingly well-reserved body (the girl lived more than 20000 years ago) showed that we do not descend from Neanderthals.
What I disagree with Braden about is that humans are some superior creatures that never actually went through evolution. He suggests the idea that we appeared like that - smarter, better. I think that humans, like all other animals, went through evolution but not as we thought they did.
Gregg Braden also discusses ancient wisdom and his travels to Tibet. He met some very deep people and they talked about deep topics like compassion and love, what it all is about, how does it feel to live, etc. Many monks from Tibetian churches are very old. One of them had a birth certificate that actually proved that she was 126 years old!
I learnt a lot of things from this book. Many quotes and chapters were very inspirational - "You preserve what you value". Maybe, when I am older, I will reread the book again and take notes. Who knows?