The Darwinian Trap: The Hidden Evolutionary Forces That Explain Our World (and Threaten Our Future)

— —

Kristian Rönn

The Darwinian Trap

The Hidden Evolutionary Forces That Explain Our World (and Threaten Our Future)

Kristian Rönn

$69.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Random House Inc
22 October 2024

Society & culture: general

A provocative exploration of how humans are wired to seek short-term success at the expense of long-term survival-an evolutionary ""glitch"" that explains everything from toxic workplaces to climate change

A provocative exploration of how humans are wired to seek short-term success at the expense of long-term survival-an evolutionary ""glitch"" that explains everything from toxic workplaces to climate change

""Essential reading . . . a lively, ultimately hopeful examination of how incentivizing the wrong values and actions has led to some of our most intractable problems.""-Eric Ries, New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup

When people talk about today's biggest challenges-pollution, misinformation, artificial intelligence, inept CEOs, and politicians-they tend to frame the conversation around ""bad people"" doing ""bad things."" But is there more to the story?

Humans, it turns out, are intrinsically wired to seek short-term success at the expense of long-term prosperity. Kristian R nn, an entrepreneur formerly affiliated with the University of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, calls these deeply rooted impulses ""Darwinian demons."" These forces, a by-product of natural selection, can lead us to act in shortsighted ways that harm others-and even imperil our survival as a species. If this evolutionary glitch is left unchecked, the consequences will grow in magnitude as the power of technology accelerates.

In this eye-opening work, R nn shows that we must learn to cooperate in new ways if we are to escape these evolutionary traps in our daily lives and solve our biggest existential threats. Evolution may be to blame for the trap-but humans need not fall for it. Our salvation, he writes, will involve the creation of new systems that understand, track, and manage what humankind values most.

Bold, brilliant, and ultimately optimistic, The Darwinian Trap gives readers a powerful new lens on our world and its problems, and invites us to rethink our priorities for the sake of generations to come.

By: Kristian Rönn
Imprint: Random House Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 407g
ISBN: 9780593594056
ISBN 10: 0593594053
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 22 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kristian R nn is the CEO and co-founder of Normative, a software tool for sustainability accounting. He has a background in mathematics, philosophy, computer science, and artificial intelligence. Before he started Normative, he worked at the University of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute on issues related to global catastrophic risks.

Reviews for The Darwinian Trap: The Hidden Evolutionary Forces That Explain Our World (and Threaten Our Future)

“The Darwinian Trap is an important, eye-opening book that shows how evolutionary selection pressures are causing some of the most pressing global challenges we see today. Rönn brilliantly makes the case that the ‘bad actor’ blame game fueling so much public discourse can be replaced with frameworks that draw on humanity’s greatest strengths: cooperation, analysis, and reason.”—William MacAskill, New York Times bestselling author of What We Owe the Future “Kristian Rönn has written a vital and inspiring book, one that has the potential to break the spiral of self-interest. The Darwinian Trap is a must-read for anyone who cares about our collective future.”—Chris Anderson, head of TED and author of Infectious Generosity