Ideas worth spreading

What explains the rise of humans?

9,451,217 views |

Yuval Noah Harari |

TEDGlobalLondon

• June 2015

Seventy thousand years ago, our human ancestors were insignificant animals, just minding their own business in a corner of Africa with all the other animals. But now, few would disagree that humans dominate planet Earth; we've spread to every continent, and our actions determine the fate of other animals (and possibly Earth itself). How did we get from there to here? Historian Yuval Noah Harari suggests a surprising reason for the rise of humanity.

Seventy thousand years ago, our human ancestors were insignificant animals, just minding their own business in a corner of Africa with all the other animals. But now, few would disagree that humans dominate planet Earth; we've spread to every continent, and our actions determine the fate of other animals (and possibly Earth itself). How did we get from there to here? Historian Yuval Noah Harari suggests a surprising reason for the rise of humanity.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari

Historian, author

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Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher and the bestselling author of "Sapiens," "Homo Deus," "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" and the graphic novel series "Sapiens: A Graphic History." He is considered one of the world's most influential public intellectuals today.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.