From naked ape to superspecies Book

Great book. Tied together a lot of fringe, yet entirely accurate, ideas from several disciplines to form a cohesive picture of the pitfalls of our current situation on this planet, from our raw impact on the environment to the ways that we shield our own perception of that impact.

Big takeaways:

The media is touted as an information rich medium but a) it's information filtered for entertainment quality, rather than edification, b) it's information that can't be immediately used by the viewer, if ever, and c) it's carefully curated to omit the impacts of some large scale phenomena (like us crashing and burning the environment).

Humans know very little about the working of environments as full-scale systems, even in abstract, so the idea that we can control or reproduce ecosystems at will with enough scientific information is misleading at best and malicious at worst.

There is insufficient accuracy (literal physical space accuracy) in implanting genes into cells in order for there to be assurances of safety in genetic modification process.

DNA segments operate in genetic and cellular contexts, not in abstract. A single gene doesn't merely do a thing. A gene's expression is mediated by outside factors. This complicates genetic modification and adds layers of chaos to outcomes that is impossible to compute up front. Add to that the fact that cells that make their way into our bodies (through transplants, for example) don't stay in one location. They travel and proliferate, which can have downstream consequences in the vent of modified tissue.

We are rapidly destroying the diversity of the planet in order to make short-term gains in lifestyle improvements. These improvements are often so in name only, not bringing any greater life satisfaction to the people that get them. Consumption and consumerism don't bring life satisfaction.

Expectations of company growth, which is largely made up, is unlimited, while the natural stocks (build ups of resources) that all companies rely on to continue growing have fixed growth and replenishment rates. The endgame of this interaction is that, in order to satisfy the bottom line, companies will destroy natural resources if left unchecked.

Governments in the age of poorly educated populaces, political corruption, and international/ global companies, are less effective at keeping companies from destroying natural resources. Many international companies now have larger revenue streams than many nations, giving them power that is difficult to fight against.