This is the best reason to learn history: not in order to predict the future, but to free yourself of the past and imagine alternative destinies.Yuval Noah Harari
In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.Yuval Noah Harari
History isn’t a single narrative, but thousands of alternative narratives. Whenever we choose to tell one, we are also choosing to silence others.Yuval Noah Harari
For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined.Yuval Noah Harari
Humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better.Yuval Noah Harari
Last, but not least, being poor has always been a relative matter. If everybody in your society is poor, then nobody feels poor. If everybody struggles to make ends meet, nobody feels frustrated. But if a you constantly rub shoulders with people much wealthier than yourself, you are much more likely to feel destitute.Yuval Noah Harari
Humanity’s search for an easier life released immense forces of change that transformed the world in ways nobody envisioned or wanted.Yuval Noah Harari
The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they knew about the world, they suddenly had a very good reason to seek new knowledge, which opened up the scientific road to progress.Yuval Noah Harari
Every day millions of people decide to grant their smartphone a bit more control over their lives or try a new and more effective antidepressant drug. In pursuit of health, happiness and power, humans will gradually change first one of their features and then another, and another, until they will no longer be human.Yuval Noah Harari
In the twenty-first century our personal data is probably the most valuable resource most humans still have to offer, and we are giving it to the tech giants in exchange for email services and funny cat videos.Yuval Noah Harari