Ep. 5: Sapiens

Dear friends & family,

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week! ☀️ 

Some exciting news: I PASSED my level 2 board examinations, placing me on track for graduation (passing level 1 allowed me entry into my clinical years 3 and 4)! These board exams are brutal: 8-9 hours long and cover years and years worth of basic sciences and clinical medicine.

Over all of these years of taking examinations, I’ve definitely gotten good at taking tests but they have never gotten any easier by any measure. Just happy to have those behind me so I can focus on learning from the patient in front of me! 😄 

I’m also in the thick of my audition rotations (essentially, a job interview for 4 weeks at a time x 3-4 times!) and super fortunate to be working alongside stellar residents and seasoned physicians. People, more people, and people are on my mind from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily.

This week, I wanted to share some resurfacing thoughts about how (and why) we have come so far as people.

Earlier this year, I came across this incredible book, by one of my now all-time favorite authors, Yuval Noah Harari. His book is called Sapiens.

History began when humans invented God and will end when humans become gods. - Yuval Noah Harari

In Sapiens, Harari marries archeology, the physical sciences, and recorded history to tell the story of why people as we know them today, homo sapiens, have dominated this world.

Definitely one for your bookshelf | Here’s a great summary 

At least 8 other kinds of humans inhabited the earth: 100,000 years ago:

Cognitive revolution: 70,000 years ago

Homo sapiens (our species) came to understand that we only have to imagine things for them to become real.

This is what Harari calls fictive language. Finance, culture, religion, and even politics are completely made-up stories in our heads. These stories, however, are THE forces that have shaped our modern world.

Harari argues that if you dissect any human body (can you tell why I’m into this book yet?) you will surely find a heart, lungs, or muscle tissue, but you will not find human rights. Human rights are in our minds and are very real indeed.

Our minds can shape our lived experiences even more than our genetic code can.

Homo sapiens are the only species that can collectively believe in purely imagined concepts such as gods, states, and capitalism. I touched on the power of intentions and our minds, in general, in a previous episode.

Agricultural Revolution: 10,000 years ago

Through our fascination with stories, humans were able to aggregate shared beliefs and values that culminated into religion, states, and morality (all stories we tell ourselves!). Humans were then able to shift from hunter-gatherers (groups of dozens) towards working together to build tools and systems that improved standards of living (year-round food supply). Ultimately, this was the birth of modern-day globalization (groups of billions).

Scientific Revolution: 500 years ago
Harari argues that the most valid research method is systematic experimentation in chemistry, mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and the social sciences.

As a baby medical student, I can’t imagine the utility of a physician without blood chemistries, radiographic imaging, or FDA-approved medications for the adequate assessment or treatment of a patient. All of which—including your cell phone, car, and computer—would not exist without THE scientific method.

None of this tech existed just 200 years ago. We are objectively living in unprecedented and exciting times.

Homo sapiens have thrived as a species—created vaccines, placed rovers on mars, and measured the light emitted from the birth of our universe, ~13.7 billion years ago— because of our ability to cooperate on global scales. Our accomplishments are sourced from the collective stories that we consciously and subconsciously tell ourselves every day.

Hear from the author himself (super funny and to the point):

I was so moved by Harari’s story of modern-day homo sapiens, I buried myself in his other texts, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. Both of these texts have helped me shape my understanding of where we’ve come from as a species, and where we’re likely headed.

I’ll sign off this week by 1) reminding myself of the true power of the story that I tell myself every day and 2) asking you to consider the power of yours.

I’ll see you all next week—have a wonderful start to the weekend! 🌻 

Deepak

P.S.: I LOVE the feedback and comments I’m receiving—love you all!

Just click reply to this email and I’ll see your message in my inbox 😇 

Currently:  reading | watching \ team messages

📚️: The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

📽️: Homo Deus: A brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari

🥷: Super excited to have Susana back. She will be leading our lessons in all levels of academic Spanish!