The World's Best Book Summaries
Why are human babies so helpless? Is there an advantage to their helplessness? Human babies are so helpless because they’re born prematurely, relative to other animals. Because they’re born before they’re fully developed, human babies are helpless, but this may provide a key to why humans are so successful as a species. We’ll cover why human babies are so helpless and why this could be an advantage in the animal kingdom.
Does Arthurian legend follow the conventions of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? In what ways is King Arthur the archetypical hero of classic legends? We’ll cover the elements of the hero’s journey and how Arthurian legends map onto these elements.
Is there Neanderthal DNA in modern humans? How much? How did it get there? Some people have up to 4% Neanderthal DNA. This is because early Homo sapiens, our species, interbred with Neanderthals, a different human species. Learn the difference between Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens and how researchers made the surprising discovery that there’s Neanderthal DNA in some modern humans.
What is stage 16 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the significance of being a “master of two worlds”? Master of two worlds is the stage of the hero’s journey in which the hero can move seamlessly between the two worlds, without destroying or compromising either. Master of two worlds is stage 16 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces. We’ll cover what being a master of two worlds entails and look at examples of the master-of-two-worlds stage of the hero’s journey.
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu suggests you “let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.” What does Tzu mean by this? How can you hide your plans? We’ll cover the art of deception and how to appear so formless in your attack that your enemy can’t discover your master plan. Learn how to let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.
What are some examples of cultural evolution in humans? How do these examples shed light on our values and assumptions today? We’ll cover five examples of cultural evolution in humans and look at how our cultural assumptions are formed rather than innate.
What happens in the ancient epic when King Gilgamesh seeks immortality? How does Gilgamesh’s immortality-search align with Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? And why isn’t Gilgamesh successful? We’ll cover the elements of King Gilgamesh’s search for immortality and discuss why he had to fail in this endeavor, according to the standards of the hero’s journey popularized in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
What are the problems with capitalism? Are there ways around these problems? The problems with capitalism include inequality, exploitation, and aggressive greed. These problems don’t make capitalism inherently evil, but they are hard to rectify. We’ll look at the three biggest problems with capitalism.
What is Peugeot’s origin story? What does its story say about how we treat imaginary entities? We’ll cover the origin of Peugeot and what it means to be a limited liability company.
The phrase “know your enemy” comes from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. What did he mean when he said you should know your enemy? How did he suggest you do it? Sun Tzu says, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” We’ll cover how knowing your enemy gives you the advantage. We’ll also cover what to look for in order to accurately read your enemy.