A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life
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- Create Date：2022-09-05 08:53:17
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Heather E. Heying
- ISBN：1800750943
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Summary
A bold， provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes - and what we can do about it
We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history， yet we are listless， divided and miserable。 Wealth and comfort are unparalleled， but our political landscape is unmoored， and rates of suicide， loneliness and chronic illness continue to skyrocket。 How do we explain the gap between these truths？ And how should we respond？
For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein， the cause of our woes is clear: the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies。 We evolved to live in clans， but today many people don't even know their neighbours' names。 Survival in our earliest societies depended on living in harmony with nature， but today the food we eat， the work we do - even the light we absorb - is radically different from what our minds and bodies evolved to expect。
In this book， Heying and Weinstein draw on decades of their work teaching in college classrooms and exploring earth's most biodiverse ecosystems to confront today's pressing social ills - from widespread sleep deprivation and dangerous diets to damaging parenting styles and backward education practices。 A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century outlines a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better， wiser life。
We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history， yet we are listless， divided and miserable。 Wealth and comfort are unparalleled， but our political landscape is unmoored， and rates of suicide， loneliness and chronic illness continue to skyrocket。 How do we explain the gap between these truths？ And how should we respond？
For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein， the cause of our woes is clear: the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies。 We evolved to live in clans， but today many people don't even know their neighbours' names。 Survival in our earliest societies depended on living in harmony with nature， but today the food we eat， the work we do - even the light we absorb - is radically different from what our minds and bodies evolved to expect。
In this book， Heying and Weinstein draw on decades of their work teaching in college classrooms and exploring earth's most biodiverse ecosystems to confront today's pressing social ills - from widespread sleep deprivation and dangerous diets to damaging parenting styles and backward education practices。 A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century outlines a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better， wiser life。
Reviews
Feisty Harriet
，
Not good。 Somewhere in the middle the authors get very TERFy and based a chapter on something called "sexual autism" and I was done。 Skip this。 Not good。 Somewhere in the middle the authors get very TERFy and based a chapter on something called "sexual autism" and I was done。 Skip this。 。。。more
Siddiq Khan
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Generally very thought provoking and well written， recounting some wild adventures that make the life of modern biologists seem no less eventful than their pioneering 18th & 19th century predecessors。 The views on sex and gender are very conservative， wrong-headed， and distasteful in a vulgarly mercantile fashion that reduces human romance to a cheap neodarwinian haggle of crude calculation。
JustEvan
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An excellent and exceptionally interesting book。 While I can't agree with all of the conclusions， the arguments are all very cogent。 I would certainly highly recommend it to people in their 20-30s， as they can probably use the knowledge and recommendations the most。 An excellent and exceptionally interesting book。 While I can't agree with all of the conclusions， the arguments are all very cogent。 I would certainly highly recommend it to people in their 20-30s， as they can probably use the knowledge and recommendations the most。 。。。more
Ash
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I just wasn’t that into it。 I felt like I was being lectured at the whole time so I found myself tuning out while reading。 I was really excited to finally get it from the library and I was rather disappointed。
Sara
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I liked this book more than I thought I would。 I disagree with their evolution theories for humans， but most of their suggestions for 21st century living are practical。 I particularly like the sections on medicine and food。 It seems logical to me to eat a diet based on one's heritage rather than to follow some current food trend。 The section on schools fascinated me。 I agree that "keeping kids in neat rows" and medicating them to sit quietly is not the best solution。 However， as I regularly teac I liked this book more than I thought I would。 I disagree with their evolution theories for humans， but most of their suggestions for 21st century living are practical。 I particularly like the sections on medicine and food。 It seems logical to me to eat a diet based on one's heritage rather than to follow some current food trend。 The section on schools fascinated me。 I agree that "keeping kids in neat rows" and medicating them to sit quietly is not the best solution。 However， as I regularly teach 25 Kinder and 1st graders at a time without assistance， I would love to hear their suggestions on how to keep order when I don't have the option to take them outside。I liked how they used the Chesterton's Fence theory throughout the book- the idea to not break something down just because we don't understand why it was put up in the first place。 I agree that our society moves at too quick a pace and that we should proceed with caution in a lot of areas。 。。。more
Asher
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One of the best， most fascinating， inspiring and applicable books I've ever read。 As much a look at human evolutionary history as a guide to life in today's hyper-novel， ever-changing world。 One of the best， most fascinating， inspiring and applicable books I've ever read。 As much a look at human evolutionary history as a guide to life in today's hyper-novel， ever-changing world。 。。。more
Julie
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An engaging read， thoroughly researched and presented in an accessible way。 It would’ve been fun to have one or both of them as professors in college。 I appreciated the distinction that Functional Biologists study the how and what of organisms， whereas Evolutionary Biologists study why。 Is a particular trait adaptive？ If so， what does it do for that organism？ Their discussion of the appendix’s role in maintaining a healthy biome is fascinating。 Early on， in Chapter 2， they give a brief history o An engaging read， thoroughly researched and presented in an accessible way。 It would’ve been fun to have one or both of them as professors in college。 I appreciated the distinction that Functional Biologists study the how and what of organisms， whereas Evolutionary Biologists study why。 Is a particular trait adaptive？ If so， what does it do for that organism？ Their discussion of the appendix’s role in maintaining a healthy biome is fascinating。 Early on， in Chapter 2， they give a brief history of our species to illustrate that humans collaborated with one another to gain control over their environment， then competed for further dominance。 “We cooperate to compete，” oscillating between two challenges: ecological dominance and social competition。 We became expert at exploring and switching niches。 We are， by our very nature， a migratory species。 （This point is made brilliantly by the author Mohsin Hamid in his novel， Exit West。） I enjoyed learning about tradeoffs， including the zero-sum allocations of biology （e。g。， if a deer grows a bigger set of antlers， he has to borrow from somewhere—lose bone density or eat more） and design constraints （e。g。， you can’t eat or add more to solve a problem like robustness， which must come at a cost to agility）。 Trade-offs drive evolution to diversity。 This is important to understand， because somewhere along the line humans decided we are exempt from these rules。 We can enlist others to increase our abilities: e。g。， horses allow us to move faster。 We seem to have beaten the odds on the trade-offs between specialists and generalists。 For now。The authors say， sure， humans are clever。 “Cornucopianism’ imagines a world so full of both resources and human ingenuity that we can eliminate trade-offs as if by magic。 We are blinded by the richness and opulence of our short-term gains。 Yet the trade-offs are still there。 The sea level rise of climate change will plague future generations， and it’s here now for poorer， closer-to-sea-level people。They coin a term to define us: WEIRD， which means Western， Educated， Industrialized， Rich， and Democratic。 And， whether we’re aware of it or not， trade-offs for our way of life abound。 Our bodies are evolutionarily ancient and highly adapted to climate， place， and seasons。 Yet we’re surrounded by hyper-novelty that often runs counter to that exquisite dynamic balance。 A fascinating example: our sense of smell detects putrefaction to warn us away from rotten food and corpses。 The odors themselves are not toxic， but eating or contact will make us sick。 In contrast， solvents often smell good （like a Sharpie marker or airplane glue）—yet， even breathing the fumes can be toxic or deadly。 Reading this book， I kept imagining what it would be like to have the authors as parents。 When their son broke his hand or， later， his arm， they gave him a brace instead of a cast。 Keep the bones in use， under stress， the way nature intended， so they can heal back strong， not weak。 They’re also anti-vitamins， as my own mother was。 Get all your nutrition from food。 Whole foods and whole cuisines have holistic benefits that most nutritionists don’t study， because they can’t be reduced to micro-levels。 Michael Pollan’s been on this for years。The difference between evolution and genetics is interesting。 Our failure to understand this has led to what they call the “specious” debate of “nature versus nurture。” The answer is nearly always both: the Omega Principle says that genes and epigenetic phenomena such as culture are inextricably linked and evolved together to advance the genes。 Cultural evolution is faster than genetic evolution， usually messy at first until it has a chance to catch on。 It can spread horizontally and also vertically through generations， as the wisdom of proven patterns is passed from elders to youth。 Traditionally， innovation emerged collectively， was tested， and then packaged into highly transmissible culture if it proved useful。 In times of accelerating change and innovation， it becomes difficult to sort what is useful and relevant。 Especially when at least some of that cultural “wisdom” is based on misunderstandings of our fit and relationship with the natural world—as is the case today。 Chapter 12 defines culture。 and consciousness as inverse modes that we move between。 discusses innovation in times of great upheaval: “In times of stability， when inherited wisdom allows individuals to prosper and spread across relatively homogeneous landscapes: Culture reigns。 But in times of expansion into new frontiers， when innovation and interpretation， and communication of new ideas， are critical: Consciousness reigns。” They propose three contexts to organize a cultural response to the push-pull of received ancestral wisdom （status quo） and the change necessary to adapt to different conditions。 First is the “utterly new idea，” such as the invention of farming or the wheel， which， before they came along， nobody knew were possible。 The second context is innovation from a model， such as when the Wright brothers invented flight based on observing birds。 Third is instruction， with a model and a set of rules or instructions。 This third type is the most “cultural，” involving received wisdom。 “By contrast， humans are at our most conscious， and therefore our most innovative， in the first two contexts。”They advise， when faced with a question of innovation and novelty， to use the Precautionary Principle。 Consider the risks。 Where the degree of uncertainty of outcomes is high， tread carefully or not at all。 The chapters on specific topics challenge modern notions of illness， medicine， and health; food; education; child-rearing; sex and gender; parenthood and relationships; culture。 Each chapter has a “corrective lens”—advice from that theme on how to behave in ways that are more aligned with evolution and biology。 Our brain can look into the future， even if our evolutionary biology cannot。 。。。more
David
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I picked this up without knowing who I was reading。 It was only after I finished the book that I found out why it felt like I was eating fish with a lot of bones。There is a lot of good material， science and interesting perspectives in this work。 However， the conclusions are often binary and absolute with no room for nuance。Some books detail conclusions that arise from research。 Others use research to justify the authors' conclusions。 This book is the latter。Unfortunately， the authors' claim to f I picked this up without knowing who I was reading。 It was only after I finished the book that I found out why it felt like I was eating fish with a lot of bones。There is a lot of good material， science and interesting perspectives in this work。 However， the conclusions are often binary and absolute with no room for nuance。Some books detail conclusions that arise from research。 Others use research to justify the authors' conclusions。 This book is the latter。Unfortunately， the authors' claim to fame today is as anti-vaxxers。 Their often fringe ideas can be seen strewn throughout this book。 。。。more
Shain Verow
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This book is full of great food for thought， regarding the mismatch between our evolved biological hardware with our current environment， but also the idea that the evolutionary development of culture is also something to that is adapted to our environment and currently out of match in some ways。
Brian
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I really had high hopes。 The initial premise is great， but it would be better handled by different authors and with a much more limited scope。The other reviews calling it pop science are right。 the factoids are interesting。 And the evolutionary bits are intriguing。 The animal kingdom bits are intriguing。 And the anthropological comparisons are appetizing。 But they don’t go anywhere。Instead， the authors abandon their focus on evolutionary biology and it’s relation to modern “hyper novelty” （a mat I really had high hopes。 The initial premise is great， but it would be better handled by different authors and with a much more limited scope。The other reviews calling it pop science are right。 the factoids are interesting。 And the evolutionary bits are intriguing。 The animal kingdom bits are intriguing。 And the anthropological comparisons are appetizing。 But they don’t go anywhere。Instead， the authors abandon their focus on evolutionary biology and it’s relation to modern “hyper novelty” （a matter that really does need to be explored more！） and instead start dishing out opinions related to their own lives。 It becomes euro-centric， close-minded， uncurious， and undeveloped。 They make really big claims using data that is either lacking or dated， they do not do the work to ask questions。 The chapter on gender is kind of problematic。 They cut and dry say that men and women are born that way and that’s about it， except in very limited circumstances。 In reality， we all know this topic is so underexplored that’s impossible to make these claims with what new knowledge is surfacing。 They also have a moment where they admonish porn as a source of something they call “sexual autism。” It’s weird （not their “weird”） and it ends up feeling really like uneducated。 It also fails to acknowledge the incredible diversity that came before civilization。 Particularly in respects to primitive socialism， unassigned gender roles， polyamory， and homosexuality — many matters I believe they would suggest are just “hyper novel”。Eat my ass。 。。。more
Zack Hodges
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fine。
Jessica
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This book started off rough， with me questioning whether I should continue reading or not。 There story of wanting to swim and ignoring a local's warning of recent rainfall in the mountains （causing flooding down below） just made me question their intelligence， as well as suggest that they were quite arrogant and stubborn。 This is seen throughout where they share their ideas， find specific studies to help support their rationalizations， despite the studies being from decades ago。 They definitely This book started off rough， with me questioning whether I should continue reading or not。 There story of wanting to swim and ignoring a local's warning of recent rainfall in the mountains （causing flooding down below） just made me question their intelligence， as well as suggest that they were quite arrogant and stubborn。 This is seen throughout where they share their ideas， find specific studies to help support their rationalizations， despite the studies being from decades ago。 They definitely put in a lot of work to include a lot of references， but there was still a lot of points without any references， which should just be taken as knowledge from their expertise I guess？ Even though some things had nothing to do with evolutionary biology but rather just sounded like biased thoughts。They did have some generally good advice。 I honestly found it odd that their "The Corrective Lens" sections at the end of each chapter did not always connect with their discussions throughout the chapter。 I am definitely jealous by all the trips they have been able to do with students to give them great experiences of what is outside of our little bubbles we grow up in。 However， despite this， you can tell they have preconceived views of how they believe everyone should act and be， as seen whenever they talk about "WEIRD" people doing certain things or assuming the general projection for humans is when "Babies are born。 Children become adults。 Adults get married and have children of their own。 People die。" That is just too simplistic， not to mention marriage is more of a societal thing， not evolutionary。。。They mention the lack of science literacy and mistakes made by many people when talking about science。 However， they fall for the same mistakes。 On p64， they talk about the correlation that some studies have found between fluoride in drinking water with certain health issues like neurotoxicity in children or hyperthyroidism。 They then mistaken make it seem like causation， rather than just correlation。。。 When you look at the studies they reference， they are for children in China and adults in Canada， which means there is a limited population of people that were looked at， as well as their being many other possibilities that could tie into these health issues that cannot be just tied down to one thing。 Which is odd because they mention that every individual is different and that modern medicine fails to help everyone， so I do not get how they decide to make generalizations for some things， but then bash other things。 Cherry picking data is very common throughout。 I was also disappointed in their first reference listed being a YouTube video lecture by his brother。。。I definitely wouldn't like to meet them in person because they seem quite condescending， but they did introduce some new concepts I hadn't considered before。 I just wish they would have presented them in a less biased manner。 The later chapters became a bit politically driven， with them trying to describe culture in an evolutionary way that did not make sense to me at all。 。。。more
Jameson Hern
，
Compared to most， this book offers an uncommon lense through which you can look at the world。 It is very important to understand the perspective offered， even if you don't believe in it。 Compared to most， this book offers an uncommon lense through which you can look at the world。 It is very important to understand the perspective offered， even if you don't believe in it。 。。。more
Tanner
，
Audio。 This was more interesting than I expected （I judged the book by the title）。 Mixes and is derivative of much of Taleb & Haitdt's works， while adding an evolutionary biology dimension。 Audio。 This was more interesting than I expected （I judged the book by the title）。 Mixes and is derivative of much of Taleb & Haitdt's works， while adding an evolutionary biology dimension。 。。。more
Climbnread
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Some really interesting insights， but alot of fluff and riff raff to find it。 certain chapters were really interesting， but overall I found them painting with too wide a brush。 It could have been more useful if they cut some of the fat
Denis Neychev
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I was thinking of giving this book 3 stars mainly because the first part of it is fairly generic information with not much practical advise， but the second part completely makes up for that。 Would recommend。
Arya Banaeizadeh
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این کتاب بهترین کتاب non-fictionی بود که تو عمرم خوندم。 در اینده یه ریویو خوشگل براش مینویسم。
Kaladhar M
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Ok-ish。 Weird book。 Not a fan。
Hubert Otevrel
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Občasné zajímavé myšlenky jsou těžce převáženy arogantními názory， které se halí do hávu vědecké "pravdy"。 Na autorech （manželé） je vidět， že se izolovali od širší akademické komunity， která by třeba pomohla pozměnit ty největší bizáry， jako závěr o covidu。 Občasné zajímavé myšlenky jsou těžce převáženy arogantními názory， které se halí do hávu vědecké "pravdy"。 Na autorech （manželé） je vidět， že se izolovali od širší akademické komunity， která by třeba pomohla pozměnit ty největší bizáry， jako závěr o covidu。 。。。more
pierre bovington
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Excellent read
Mike Strong
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I like books that cut through the BS and go right for the primary point。 Academics have a tendency to embed complex language in their writing and spend pages discussing the nuance of theory -- not this book！ There are numerous chapters on hot-topic issues， like sex， gender， parenthood， childhood play， and other less political things like the importance of sleep。 This is all delivered through an evolutionary perspective！
Joachim Viktil
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Great read！ Refreshing to zoom out and get an evolutionary perspective on hyper novelty。 Lots of sound advice in here on how to think， live， parent and learn。
Richardjj
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Soms een wat te Amerikaanse blik op de wereld en manier van vertellen。 Daar buiten een interessante manier van het kijken naar de huidige wereld problematiek。 Van het individu tot de wereld in het geheel wordt gekeken naar de problemen die zijn ontstaan door het （te） snel ontwikkelen van nieuwe dingen。 Dit alles wordt gedaan vanuit het perspectief van evolutie。 Erg interessant
Bridget
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“Birth control makes women less attractive to men，” is really all you need to know on this one。
Mindy Edgington
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So disappointing！ The premise of this book - and the overall thesis- was very interesting。 Even in how I have to live with an autoimmune disease， I notice how our culture has progressed far faster than my body （our bodies） can keep up。 But the writing was awful， the "takeaways" didn't connect at all to the chapters and there was so much left unsaid！ Some good tidbits that I can use in conversation， but not worth the read。 In fact I didn't finish。 So disappointing！ The premise of this book - and the overall thesis- was very interesting。 Even in how I have to live with an autoimmune disease， I notice how our culture has progressed far faster than my body （our bodies） can keep up。 But the writing was awful， the "takeaways" didn't connect at all to the chapters and there was so much left unsaid！ Some good tidbits that I can use in conversation， but not worth the read。 In fact I didn't finish。 。。。more
Cyndee
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The title of this book intrigued me because I think it's fairly obvious that modern capitalist/consumerist society is not good at meeting the psychosocial needs of human beings and this had led to a whole host of problems。 But I feel like in the end that particular point isn't really addressed very well and the book tries to cover too many topics at once。 The authors are evolutionary biologists who primarily study animals。 They have no expertise in anthropology， sociology， or psychology， yet are The title of this book intrigued me because I think it's fairly obvious that modern capitalist/consumerist society is not good at meeting the psychosocial needs of human beings and this had led to a whole host of problems。 But I feel like in the end that particular point isn't really addressed very well and the book tries to cover too many topics at once。 The authors are evolutionary biologists who primarily study animals。 They have no expertise in anthropology， sociology， or psychology， yet are making suppositions in these areas based on their personal opinions。 The first couple chapters， which talk about evolutionary biology， are science-based and quite interesting。 Afterwards， each chapter has a theme， such as food， sex， childrearing， school， etc， supposedly from an evolutionary perspective。 At the end are tips on how to correct the modern way of doing things， which makes the book have a self-help feel that I don't really like。 Many of their recommendations are fairly mainstream and should be familiar to most of the audience - i。e。 don't eat processed foods， keep away from blue lights at night。 I enjoy the authors' anecdotes about their lives as scientists studying in rainforests in Madagascar， Costa Rica， and Ecuador。 Not always relevant， but interesting。 However， it's clear that they have biases。 In particular， they are vehemently against casual sex and pro-monogamy， supposedly because this is the only way to get a man to aid in taking care of his children。 The authors believe that culture is an adaptation and longstanding cultural norms， such as women being sex gatekeepers， are good because that's what allowed humans to survive until this point， and sexual liberation is bad。 The authors also hold some strange views on modern medicine such as casting broken bones is bad unless they are major breaks， and most medications are bad。 The last chapter concerns sustainability and I found it particularly intriguing because the authors have a reputation for being right wing， but this chapter， while never mentioning capitalism， is quite critical of a system utterly dependent on constant growth and waste。 They advocate for a sustainable， steady-state system despite the fact that we are （supposedly） evolutionarily primed for constant growth。 I feel like this was valuable but unfortunately it seems impossible to achieve in the current climate。 。。。more
Chelsea
，
The book itself was not very well-written - certain sentences were confusing to read， the topic jumped from one to another without enough time to transition。 You can tell the authors are trying to combine and cram multiple evolutionary theories and personal ideas into one book， overall making the arguments unsubstantiated at times and the book difficult to follow。 They also take on a （unintentional， I’m sure） condescending tone in explaining the flaws of our modern society， and do make generaliz The book itself was not very well-written - certain sentences were confusing to read， the topic jumped from one to another without enough time to transition。 You can tell the authors are trying to combine and cram multiple evolutionary theories and personal ideas into one book， overall making the arguments unsubstantiated at times and the book difficult to follow。 They also take on a （unintentional， I’m sure） condescending tone in explaining the flaws of our modern society， and do make generalizations and oversimplifications that may be offensive to some。 However， if you can push past the writing/tone， there are a few arguments made in the book that justify some reflection and adoption。 。。。more
Joe
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3。5 some interesting material paired with some questionable advice
Erica Zalk
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Really hard to read， too opinionated， not actually science based， too biased。
The Blessed Fig Tree LLC
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