I am currently reading a fascinating book by Yuval Harari: Sapiens – A brief history of humankind.

Here’s are some particular excerpts that caught my attention:

For millions of years, humans hunted smaller creatures and gathered what they could, all the while being hunted by larger predators. Only in the last 100,000 years – with the rise of Homo sapiens – did man jump to the top of the food chain.

Whether Sapiens are to blame or not, no sooner had they arrived at a new location than the native population became extinct.

This spectacular leap from the middle to the top has enormous consequences. Other animals at the top of the pyramid, such as lions and sharks, evolved into that position very gradually, over millions of years. This enabled the ecosystem to develop checks and balances that prevent lions and sharks from wreaking too much havoc. As lions became deadlier, so gazelles evolved to run faster, hyenas to cooperate better, and rhinoceroses to be more bad-tempered. In contrast, humankind ascended to the top so quickly that the ecosystem was not given time adjust.

How did we – a weaker species in the Homo genus, on the verge of near extinction, not only rise to the top of our family, but to the top of the ecosystem?

The answer is through many seemingly small differences that ultimately mattered.

Lots of parallels to be drawn between evolution and innovation.

Pick up a copy.

Credits: Yuval Harari, Sapiens