{"product_id":"stories-dice-and-rocks-that-think-how-humans-learned-to-see-the-future-and-shape-it-9781637741344","title":"Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think: How Humans Learned to See the Future--And Shape It","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat makes the human mind so unique? And how did we get this way?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis fascinating tale explores the three leaps in our history that made us what we are--and will change how you think about our future. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLook around. Clearly, we humans are radically different from the other creatures on this planet. But why? Where are the Bronze Age beavers? The Iron Age iguanas? In \u003ci\u003eStories, Dice, and Rocks That Think\u003c\/i\u003e, Byron Reese argues that we owe our special status to our ability to imagine the future and recall the past, escaping the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEnvisioning human history as the development of a societal superorganism he names Agora, Reese shows us how this escape enabled us to share knowledge on an unprecedented scale, and predict--and eventually master--the future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThoughtful, witty, and compulsively readable, Reese unravels our history as an intelligent species in three acts: \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e Act I: Ancient humans undergo \"the awakening,\" developing the cognitive ability to mentally time-travel using language\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e Act II: In 17th century France, the mathematical framework known as 'probability theory' is born--a science for seeing into the future that we used to build the modern world\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e Act III: Beginning with the invention of the computer chip, humanity creates machines to gaze into the future with even more precision, overcoming the limits of our brains \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA fresh new look at the history and destiny of humanity, readers will come away from \u003ci\u003eStories, Dice, and Rocks that Think\u003c\/i\u003e with a new understanding of what they are--not just another animal, but a creature with a mastery of time itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Benbella Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/16\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781637741344\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs","brand":"Byron Reese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42223448490165,"sku":"9781637741344","price":23.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_16d81d05-b698-47f3-bce1-a97f810568d5.jpg?v=1655780707","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/stories-dice-and-rocks-that-think-how-humans-learned-to-see-the-future-and-shape-it-9781637741344","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}