I am delighted to share my review today for Human Being: 12 Vital Skills We’re Losing to Technology and How to Reclaim Them by Graham Lee. This is an interesting and very thought-provoking book about how we have lost the level of skill we had in the past compared to those we have today.
My huge thanks to Alison at Michael O’Mara Books for arranging my copy of this book. My review is unbiased and my own.
Our increasing reliance on digital technology has had a profound impact on our own skills. What can we do about it?
As rapidly advancing technology embeds itself ever deeper within our lives, we rely less and less on our own abilities as humans. The impact on our skills and self-reliance has been immense, and, because the transition has happened so swiftly and quietly, none of us have been taught how to mitigate the effects of our ever-increasing dependence on algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Based on years of research by author Graham Lee, a digital skills educator with experience training tens of thousands of professionals, Human Being is an insightful and provocative survey of twelve vital skills we used to call upon as a species, including navigation, conversation, memory and sleep, and how in a vanishingly short space of time we have embraced ways to undermine them.
In a journey through history and science, Human Being delves into a period or personality when each capability was at its peak, and contrasts this with skill levels today – showing not just how contemporary technology has chipped away at these abilities but also providing clear, achievable guidance on how to mitigate these losses.
MY REVIEW
When I started to read this book I did wonder if it would be very science or terminology-based, but actually, it isn’t at all. This book looks at 12 aspects of our lives and the skills we have, then looks at what is happening to them. It is something that some may not even be aware of but it is happening.
For me, growing up I could tell you different phone numbers, with the area codes and not really think twice about it, now… well I might remember a few and even those I am not always confident that I have them right. Why is this? Technology has replaced the way we get phone numbers because they are often saved into phones, databases or other devices. We hit a button to call the person and don’t actually dial a number anymore. It is a simple thing, but the author has explored this and many other skills that are diminishing as technology increases. We are becoming more reliant on it. If we cannot access the internet, our phones or computers then how do we get in touch with people we want to talk to?
The author has used the following as examples of skills that have lessened over the years and generations – Navigation, Motion, Conversation, Solitude, Reading, Writing, Art, Craft, Memory, Dreams, Thought and Time.
Each one is an in-depth look at how others in the past honed their skills and when we look at our abilities they are definitely inferior to those from history. The author takes a person/ people and shows how they excelled at each one of these lost skills. It is very humbling to read about these people and it is also shocking to realise that each one of us has become reliant on technology.
As much as this book is about things we have lost, it also tells of some remarkable people in history who have been at their best. So if you do have an interest in history then have a look at this book.
It does tell us what we have lost, but this book also gives us things we can do to re-skill ourselves. Little things that can and will make a difference. I am a big believer in stopping and sitting to watch the world go by, smell the flowers, look at the clouds and just be away from gadgets and screens, but it is something I have to make a conscious decision to do.
I found this book to be really addictive and I wasn’t expecting it to be as absorbing as it was. I think the inclusion of the historical facts made the lost skills relevant and how dependent we are on what we have around us now. It is not a book that preaches but just lays down the facts as they are and it is easy to how things have changed over the years, even in our own lifetimes.
Interesting and thought-provoking and one I would definitely recommend.
Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx
Yvonne - Me and My Books 