Gaia VinceReseñas

Donation by Ann Lewis

Vince had me at anthropology. She examines how humans have progressed to where we are and takes as her theme the transformative powers that fire, language, beauty and time had on our development. I’m a sucker for human origins and am especially appreciative of a story that is hung on a solid scaffold. Vince takes us right up to contemporary man, which I liked too. I do wish more of this would stick between my ears, though.

An impressive compilation and collation of a wide range of material that is organized into a well written, flowing narrative. The interaction and evolution of human genes, environment, and culture provide the narrative framework. I really enjoyed the section on storytelling the most, as it gave me a new perspective on that subject, which, I admit, is something that I did not previously attach such importance to. If there is a drawback to this book it is that it feels to me too celebratory. The negative traits are not much explored. In storytelling, for example, where is the boundary between a collective enterprise, shared values, and community on the one hand and lying, propaganda, deceit, etc., on the other hand? We might have risen to our position in nature because of these positive traits, but we must admit that we are a violent species. We prey on one another in a manner that no other species does. There is a very dark strain in our species that is unaddressed in Transcendence.

An analysis of human migration to date and a lucid extrapolation of the vast increase that will be forced upon us by the climate crisis. She outlines some of the wide-ranging solutions that will be required - somewhat sketchy but this is not a "how-to" manual - including redesigning cities, different forms of agriculture, and engineering for life on more marginal land. The facts and figures are very impressive, but the main thrust of her argument is that it must be a managed process with trans-national agreement, even the dissolution of current national borders themselves. This is the part I find hard to swallow. Having seen daily exhibitions of various governments' xenophobia, racism, and sickening disregard for the lives of desperate migrants how can we hope that these same people won't just build a higher wall and turn their backs? In short, it's a very worthwhile book but doesn't really give me any cause for optimism

Important book but lots of the information is repeated multiple times.

Adventures In The Anthropocene or (non-euphemistically) how and why we fuck up the world but still live in it is an epic scientific travelogue which showcases how climate change (significantly hamstrung by pesky humans) is forcing innovation on the frontlines of human existence.

Because let's be honest, mother earth is a living organism which satisfies MRS GREN and we are imposing radical alterations on her physicality.

And no, this is not a leftist whinge against capitalistic pollution. Rather, it's evidential of unity across broad swathes of ideology to redefine how we live on a rapidly altering planet. And like every Vice book, this is easy to comprehend.

Transcendence is science made easy. It delineates how humans evolved to a rudimentary level through fire; socially through language; cognitively through art and mentally through time. All these phases are interlinked.

These are the four building blocks of human progression and still play a critical role in our lives today. Vince evaluates each and every one of them for their significance in our lives today.

What floored me was her avoidance of jargon. You can tell she's passionate about relaying her research to the lay reader on the street. An amazing and meticulous contribution to the world of science and humanism alike.

This book is receiving both very positive as well as very negative comments and ratings. Although I tend towards the latter, I still have a lot of appreciation for the enormous amount of knowledge that Gaia Vince has incorporated into this, and for the way in which she has tried to organize it into a workable whole. In recent decades, more people have ventured into an attempt to present a coherent, historically based vision of humanity. Just think of Yuval Harari, David Christian, Stephen Pinker and so on. It takes special courage to do “the big take”.

Celebrated British science journalist Gaia Vince focuses on 4 themes, which she believes explain why humans, ‘homo sapiens’, have managed to gain a unique grasp of nature and themselves: fire, language, beauty and time. Her vision is certainly relevant, but also a bit predictable and obvious. What bothers me most, however, is that she makes an unlikely mix of facts and figures, often without proper source references. And in some cases her premise, such as on the earliest use of fire, is downright wrong. On that basis, I do not recommend reading this book, however interesting. More about that in my History-account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3701641431½

“Adventures in the Anthropocene” by Gaia Vince is a remarkable book, and I am glad I read it.

In contrast with many books on climate change that point us towards a doomsday scenario, Gaia points us towards people who are taking action to make our world a better place. She has traveled across the world into some remote regions. Along the way, she has met some extraordinary people. It’s good that she has introduced us to them.

She has structured the book very well. I like it. Each chapter begins with a scientific introduction to the subject, be it glaciers, forests, or even cities. Then she dives into her travels. She describes the initiatives people are taking to make this world a better place. These are unknown, uncelebrated, unheralded people. Some of them are battling fierce odds that include threats to their lives. They are inspirational people.

Some topics, such as bio-engineering or the future role of cities, arouse little optimism in me. The book is delightful. Her arguments resonate with me.

Please read it.

Our planet is constantly changing. The energy that it receives from the sun drives the weather systems across the globe and feeds the plants that keep the oxygen cycle going. The internal processes of plate tectonics and erosion mean that the landscapes are constantly changing too. But now there is an extra factor too, our love of fossil fuels is changing the atmosphere in ways that we cannot fully understand, though the trends are there if you care enough to look. The data on all these changes is immense, so Gaia Vince, editor at Nature, decided the best way to understand the immensity of the changes happening would be to go and see it herself.

Her travels takes her to the rooftop of the world to see artificial glaciers being created, mountains being painted white to increase the albedo and looks at the positive and negative effects of dams. She tracks across deserts, climbs mountains, tiptoes through sewage and walks on one man's solution to the rising sea levels; floating islands and speaks to the head of a country that is going to disappear under the waves in the next few years.

It is an interesting book on the way that we have changed the planet so far and the long-term implications for dramatic change. As the world changes in dramatic ways, she sees human ingenuity in solving the problems that are being raised as the climate changes. By going to these places herself and seeing the problems first hand, she gets a better overall view of the state of the globe and thankfully does not hold back with her opinions as to what is happening. Even though it is four years since it was published, it is still a prescient book, but it would be nice to have a revised edition soon. The only downside for me was the epilogue; it was a very speculative and even hopeful vision of our world in 2100, a planet that had changed in so many ways; I can't imagine that it would be as comfortable as that.