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丰富的词汇，独特是视野，考研党必看的一篇文章。
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
智人：人类简史
We tend tothink of mankind as the unique and inevitable masters of this Universe. In reality, we were not the only human species that existed on Earth, and most of our progress happened only in the recent past. In “Sapiens”, Yuval Noah Harari gives a detailed account of human history, presenting the facts and myths of how mankind has dominated the planet, the driving forcesshaping our lives and how we can think about our impact on Earth and our collective future.
我们往往认为人类是这个宇宙独特而注定的主人。实际上，我们并非生存于地球上的唯一人种，我们的进步大部分只发生在最近的过去。在《智人》一书中，尤瓦尔·诺亚·赫拉利对人类历史作了详细的描述，讲述了人类如何主宰地球、塑造我们生活的驱动力以及我们如何思考自己对地球和集体未来的影响的事实和谎言。
Summary of Homo Sapiens’ EvolutionaryTimeline
智人进化时间表综述
About 13.5 billion years ago, the Big Bangbrought matter, energy, time and space into this Universe. Around 300,000 years later, matter and energy fused into atoms, which then combined into molecules.
大约135亿年前，大爆炸将物质、能量、时间和空间带入这个宇宙。大约30万年后，物质和能量融合成原子，然后再结合成分子。
About 3.8 billion years ago, some molecules combined to form organismson Earth.
大约38亿年前，一些分子结合在一起形成地球上的有机体。
Around 6 million years ago, human/ape-liketraits emerged, and the first Homos appeared in Africa 2.5 million years ago. Around 100,000 years ago, there were at least 6 Homo species co-habiting Earth, including the Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. They looked like us (especially the Neanderthals), with big brains and moved on 2 legs.
大约600万年前，人类/类人猿的特征出现，250万年前，第一批人类出现在非洲。大约10万年前，地球上至少有6种人类共存，包括直立人和尼安德特人。他们看起来像我们（尤其是尼安德特人），有着巨大的大脑，用两条腿移动。
The first Homo sapiens appeared in East Africa about 200,000 years ago, but only started to spreadoutside Africa 130,000 years later. This was the start of human history, which Harari classified into 3 key revolutions: the Cognitive Revolution (70,000 years ago), the Agricultural Revolution (12,000 years ago) and the Scientific Revolution (500 years ago).
第一批智人大约20万年前出现在东非，但13万年后才开始在非洲以外地区传播。这是人类历史的开端，哈拉里将人类历史分为三大革命：认知革命（7万年前）、农业革命（1.2万年前）和科学革命（500年前）。
We’ll now take a quick look at each of the 3 revolutions, and some of the thought-provoking perspectivespresentedby Harari.
我们现在将快速地看一看这三次革命中的每一次，以及赫拉利里提出的一些发人深省的观点。
The 3 Key Human Revolutions
人类三大革命
THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTIO认知革命
Homos started out like other animals, foragingfor plants, small insects/animals, carrion from carnivores, and occasionally hunting larger game. Initially, all Homo species were living on the Afro-Asian landmass. Around 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens started to break away from other species; about 45,000 years ago, we flooded to other continents and caused massive extinction globally, including all other Homo species. This was the first of the 3 revolutions.
同其他动物一样，人类开始捕食植物、小昆虫/动物、食肉动物的腐肉，偶尔也会猎取大型猎物。最初，所有的人类物种都生活在亚非大陆上。大约7万年前，智人开始脱离/独立于其他物种；大约4.5万年前，我们涌入其他大陆，在全球范围内造成大规模灭绝，包括所有其他的智人物种。这是三次革命中的第一次。
Why did Homo sapiens suddenly flood the planet when our ancestorsdidn’t do so after millions of years? Harari attributes it to our language–we’re the only species that can imagine and communicate about things that don’t exist. An ape may be able to communicate to another ape that there’s a lion by the river, but only a Sapien can imagine and convey that the lion is the guardian spirit of his tribe. This frees us up to invent philosophies, religions, trade networks, and political institutions, without being limited to our genetic evolution or current environment. Our myths and common beliefs—e.g. God, imperial glory, human rights—also allow us to get large numbers of strangers to work together in ways that other species can’t. In the book, the author elaborates on the vital role of our language/imagined orders in Sapiens’ rise to the top of the food-chain, how our hunter-gatherer lifestyle shaped our biological, psychological and social traits, and why/how Sapiens wroughtmass-destruction and extinction to every continent we settled in.
为什么我们的祖先数百万年里没有这么做，智人突然涌入世界各地？Harari把它归因于我们的语言——我们是唯一可以想象和交流的东西，这些东西是不存在的。一只猿也许能与另一只猿交流河边有狮子，但只有智者能想象并表达狮子是他部落的守护灵魂。这使我们能够自由地发明哲学、宗教、贸易网络和政治制度，而不局限于我们的基因进化或当前的环境。我们的神话和共同信仰——例如上帝、帝国荣耀、人权——也让我们能够让大量陌生人以其他物种无法做到的方式一起工作。这本书作者详细阐述了我们的语言/想象的命令在智者上升到食物链顶端的关键作用，我们狩猎采集的生活方式如何塑造了我们的生物、心理和社会特征，以及为什么/如何智人对我们定居的每一个大州造成大规模毁灭和灭绝。
THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
农业革命
About 10,000 years ago, we completed the transitionfrom foraging to settle down permanently in farms. Farming supposedly gave us a better life, but Harari calls it the biggest fraud in history. Indeed, farming led to more food per unit area (which allowed us to multiply exponentially) but it also led to poorer nutrition, more diseases, much longer working hours and a tougher life for Sapiens and other animals. The book explains why this is so. It also looks at the new imagined realities and orders (e.g. kingdoms, nobility, and gods) that emerged, how they justify mass oppression and exploitation, and how these realities become so deeply indoctrinated and entrenched that we mistake them to be the absolute truth.
大约一万年前，我们完成了从觅食到在农场永久定居的转变。农业本应给我们带来更好的生活，但哈拉里称之为历史上最大的谎言。事实上，耕种导致单位面积的食物增加（这使我们可以成倍增长），但也导致营养不良，疾病增多，工作时间延长，智人和其他动物的生活更加艰难。书中解释了为什么会这样。我们也看到新想象创造出现的现实和秩序（如王国、贵族和神），它们如何为大规模压迫和剥削辩护，以及它们是如何变得如此根深蒂固，以至于我们误认为它们是绝对真理。
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
科学革命
Since the Cognitive Revolution, humans have sought to understand the universe. However, science brought a massiveleapin progress because (a) it admits that any assumption can be proven wrong, and (b) it links observations and mathematical tools into comprehensive theories, which can then be tested and applied to new solutions. Lightning was believed to be a sign of Gods’ wrath, until Benjamin Franklin disproved it with lightning rods. Malnutrition, disease and even death are now seen as problems to be solved by science rather than left to the will of God. However, science is still driven by economic, political, and religious agendas–the people/institutions who provide the funds decide where to focus scientific research and applications. We take a detailed look at how capitalism and imperialism (not superior technology) led to the rise of Western economic powerhouses and colonial masters in the 18th century. We also discuss why credit (and its cousins, Capitalism and Consumerism) are the real drivers for our modern economy, why our global systems will collapse without infinite growth and the roles of science and capitalism in supporting our endless demand for more energy, food and wealth.
自从认知革命以来，人类一直试图了解宇宙。然而，科学带来了巨大的进步，因为（a）它承认任何假设都可能被证明是错误的，（b）它将观测和数学工具与综合理论联系起来，然后这些理论可以被测试并应用于新的解决方案。闪电被认为是众神愤怒的标志，直到本杰明·富兰克林用避雷针证明了它的荒谬。营养不良、疾病甚至死亡现在被视为有待科学解决的问题，而不是听天由命。然而，科学仍然受到经济、政治和宗教方面的推动——提供资金的人/机构决定了科学研究和应用的重点。我们详细研究了资本主义和帝国主义（不是优越的技术）是如何导致18世纪西方经济强国和殖民地宗主国的崛起的。我们还讨论了为什么信贷（及其近亲，资本主义和消费主义）是我们现代经济的真正驱动力，为什么我们的全球体系会在没有无限增长的情况下崩溃，以及科学和资本主义在支持我们对更多能源、粮食和财富的无尽需求方面的作用。
Lessons from Sapiens’ History
智人的历史教训
In less than 50,000 years, mankind has totally transformed how we live. Each revolution brought mass destruction and extinction, new myths, ideologiesand imagined orders. Hunter-gatherers lived with a very different set of beliefs and realities from farmers and modern Sapiens.
Harari masterfully presents a wide range of facts, theories and perspectives, (a)zooming into each era to help us understand how Sapiens thought, behaved and lived, and (b) zooming out to show how the key drivers, imagined orders and social structures have evolved over time.
在不到五万年的时间里，人类已经彻底改变了我们的生活方式。每一次革命都带来了大规模的毁灭和灭绝、新的神话、意识形态和想象的秩序。狩猎采集者生活在与农民和现代智人截然不同的信仰和现实中。
哈拉里巧妙地提出了大量的/广泛的事实、理论和观点，（a）放大到每个时代，帮助我们了解智者的思想、行为和生活方式，以及（b）缩小到显示关键驱动力、想象的秩序和社会结构是如何随着时间的推移而演变的。
Here are a few of the key trends/ observations that he made in the book:
以下是他写这本书的一些主要趋势/观察：
The Unification of Mankind
For thebulk of history, Sapiens lived in isolated pockets, totally ignorant of others’ existence. Over the years, small fragmented cultures have gradually converged into larger, more complex cultures due to 3 unifying factors.
人类的一统
在大多数历史中，智人生活在孤立的口袋里，完全不知道别人的存在。多年来，由于三个统一的因素，小的零碎的文化逐渐融合成更大、更复杂的文化。
MONEY
Money acts as a common mediumfor strangers (and even rivals) to cooperate and transact. People with totally different religions, beliefs and values will accept money from one another, since we can use it exchange anything to anything else.
金钱
金钱是陌生人（甚至是竞争对手）合作和交易的常用媒介。宗教、信仰和价值观完全不同的人会互相接受金钱，因为我们可以用它来交换任何东西。
EMPIRES
Empires were the most common political system in the last 2,500 years. They also brought cultural convergence. After each conquest, locals were killed and oppressed. Over time, the survivors forget their origins and adopt common cultures that’re hybridsof their own and the ruling elites’.
帝国
帝国是过去2500年中最常见的政治制度。他们也带来了文化融合。每次征服后，当地人都被杀害和压迫。随着时间的推移，幸存者们忘记了他们的起源/出身，采用了他们自己和统治精英的混合体的共同文化。
RELIGIONS
Religions legitimizeimagined realities–they justify certain norms and values by claiming they come from a superhuman entity.
宗教
宗教使想象的现实合法化——他们通过声称自己来自一个非凡实体来证明某些规范和价值。
A PermanentRevolution
we also take a closer look at several recent/ongoing changes, many of which are irreversible. These include the degenerationof our ecosystem, how our human activities are bound to modern clock time and timetables, how the traditional roles of the family and community have been replaced by the market and nation-states, why we live in the most peaceful era in human history, and how progress in intelligent design could shape the future of our evolution and even bring an end of Homo sapiens as a species.
永久的革命
在书中，还仔细研究了最近/正在发生的一些变化，其中许多是不可逆转的。其中包括我们生态系统的退化，我们的人类活动如何与现代时钟时间和时间表联系在一起，家庭和社区的传统角色如何被市场和民族国家所取代，我们为什么生活在人类历史上最和平的时代，以及智能设计的进步如何塑造我们进化的未来，甚至终结智人作为一个物种的命运
This book is packed with historical facts, events, research and theories. Harari uses vivid examples that transportyou back to the different eras, presents various perspectives and invites you to ponder questions about mankind’s rise to dominance and what it means for our present and future.
这本书包含了历史事实、事件、研究和理论。赫拉利用生动的例子把你带回到不同的时代，提出不同的观点，并请你思考关于人类如何崛起成为地球的主宰的问题，以及这对我们现在和未来的意义。
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