Harari summary
The overall argument in the book is the idea of discovery which has happened over time, transforming different life forms of humanity. Harari aims at relating a collection of different aspects to identify the current level of human life as well as the direction it seems to be heading due to the consistent inventions. Issues of countries which had been slow such as China and have currently emerged to be the fastest growing economies are also featured (Harari, 2018). Religion is also stated to have a significant role in this kind of transformation. The transformation from an earlier exciting lifestyle is explicitly presented as well as technological advances which have changed the world into a small village.
Chapter one specifically argues on the disillusionment issue whereby Harari focuses on the fact that humans are font of thinking in terms of stories but not facts, equations or numbers. He states this as the reason why issues of fascist, liberal stories and communist are still found to be powerful in the 20th century (Harari, 2018). The chapter states that 20th Century was based on the mentioned three politically driven systems but in the 21st century, new stories were introduced as well as classes of artificial intelligence superhuman and humans. This chapter provides lessons for people with different perceptions so that they can always find simpler ways of understanding what they face in their lives. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
In chapter two, Harari focuses on work, stating the way computers may predictably replace humans in different professions such like being lawyers and bankers. His argument is based on the fact that computers are observed to have the capability of analyzing different human behaviors as well as predicting the decisions they are about to make (Harari, 2018). He further states that in some occupations, it would be sensible for humans to be replaced with computers even in the case where some of them perform better than machines.
In chapter three, Harari focuses on the democracy required in voting. He states that for elections to be considered worse or better, the referendums are never determined by our thoughts but rather what we have been feeling. The chapter further indicates that although people may come into wrong or right conclusions about the world being run by some algorithms, there is no better alternative to a better form of life.
Reflection
Reflecting on the content Harari tries to convey, it can be clearly identified that he tries to discourage some systems embraced across the world which may be the cause of the problems people face. According to him, technology is the best solution which could help humans quit the trouble they have always been going through. In backing this, he argues that even the ancient communities began realizing success when they began embracing invention and its fruits. Relating his argument with the current real life conditions, it makes sense that democracy has no much benefit as expected but benefits a little population. If therefore technology is embraced to control everything and replaces some individuals in power, then issues of corruption and other unethical behaviors would be forgotten, this is the main point Harari wants to communicate when he states that there is no other alternative for a better world than one that would be controlled by algorithms.
The supporting ideas which Harari tries to convince his audience with include the fact that artificial intelligence is currently being used in sensitive fields such as psychology and in War, fields in which they have always provided significant results. Following his argument, we can therefore understand that the current state of the world cannot be perfectly controlled by human beings. Technology according to Harari appears to be the best solution despite being associated with different bugs but this cannot be related to the common mistakes performed by human beings. If everyone is determined to realize world transformation this book generally argues that technology should be highly promoted and implemented to the maximum.
Hobsbawm Summary
Hobsbawm refers 20th century as one that he lived without having suffered any hardship hence considering it to be a terrible one (Hobsbawm & Cumming, 1995 p.1). It is clear according to him that the experience of any individuals is always contradicting at every stage. This refers to all stages, from childhood, old age and the youth level. There are terrible events which humans always go through in their lives and explaining to someone who has not experienced the same is always a challenge.
The most terrible thing related to 20th century is the high multiplication of population across the world and the author identifies it as a disaster or catastrophe which everyone is not aware of any possible control measure (Hobsbawm & Cumming, 1995 p.2). There is nothing has yet been done to perfectly control this since human lives have to be protected. The only issue which remains is the case of what would be done if the world is filled up and there is no more room to further accommodate the increasing population. Death is considered by some scientists as a way of controlling population but this has always been against the will of most human beings since no one can initiate death for their loved ones.
Twentieth century is also identified to be characterized by extraordinary growth of the economy and great social transformation which has had great impact on the human society (p6). The transformations linked to this era are stated to have highly benefited humanity through the scientific and technological progress which has eased the tasks required for human beings to perform (Hobsbawm & Cumming, 1995 p.12).
Reflection
Observing what Hobsbawm tries to achieve, it is clear that his argument can be related to what Harari seeks to achieve. Of most important is that they view technology as a positive transformation which has greatly benefited humanity. The author describes 20th century as a terrible era because of the major transformations which happened while the world was acquiring a new face. Controlling population is the main issue which the book states to be a challenge across the world because it is just a matter of nature which exploded to astonish everyone. Controlling population is a confusing issue because no one would be willing to leave some space for a world which they would enjoy, it is clear that everyone is focused on living to the extreme of their lives.
Despite the challenge of population, the century came with further benefits which are enjoyed to the current date. These include the technological advancements and rapid economic growth which has increased the chances of employment and the performance of different tasks. This is relevant to what Harari states as the possible replacement of humans by machines an activity which would streamline the numerous problems experienced in the world. The fact that this century was terrible does not drive us into being afraid of the changes but rather is a way of preparing us to be aware that the world is still in the early ages of transformation and thus we should expect much in the future. We should therefore have dreams of a further developed world for which we should expect would come true one day.