He reads the audible book, and I like that. McWhorter is always interesting, entertaining, and insightful. The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language by John H. I tend to lose focus somewhat with numbers and statistics, so the print version would be good if that is important. The audiobook is well-produced and keeps your attention. It is a fascinating thesis, and Ridley explains it in detail, going through history and pre-history to find evidence for it. Through specialization, trade, and the evolution of ideas, humans are able to adapt and achieve ever higher standards of living. Ideas evolve (Darwin) through interaction (Smith).
This, he argues, is the root of the existence of and expansion of cultural and collective knowledge. That is, the human propensity to exchange goods also leads to exchange of ideas. Combining, as he says Adam Smith and Charles Darwin, Ridley argues that what makes the human species unique and able to prosper so well is the sex of ideas. What makes Rational Optimist somewhat unique is Ridley’s basic argument for why humans are able to succeed: where the technology, wealth, and ingenuity comes from. Technology, wealth, ingenuity have and will continue to help us find ways to deal with problems and (and the new problems that arise from those solutions). But what about….Ridley probably discusses it and has an answer. Essentially: forget the day-to-day news cycle, look at the big historical picture and the data, and human life in general has been getting better and better and there’s every reason to think it will continue to do so.
There are few surprises for those who have read Ridley or similar books. I enjoy Ridley’s work, and this fits in well. This has been on my to-read list for a long time (originally it came out in 2010).
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