So, Walt and I were out and about last night when we passed by Brown Thomas, an upscale shop, Ireland’s answer to Bergdoff Goodman. In the window were some of the most ludicrous outfits I’ve ever seen. Straight out of the circus. Bright orange clown outfits that haven’t graced the pages of fashion magazines since the late 60’s, when designers had an excuse, what with the advent of psychedelic drugs. And these clown outfits, they’re not cheap. We’re talking $4,000 for the flouncy pants alone.

Which got me thinking about the best book I’ve read in a very long time: Sapiens, by Yuval Nori Harari. It’s a brief history of, get this, human kind.

(By the way, I totally dig this cover.  Look how simple it is.  That well-placed thumb print.)

In it Harari postulates that Homo Sapiens killed off (or blended with to some degree) Neanderthals. They rose above the rest of the animal kingdom, not just because they had larger brains, or could manipulate fire, but because of their ability to tell stories. To create a culture based around fiction. To make large groups fall into line. To move beyond talk of lions and trees and rivers, into notions of God and limited liability corporations and the desirability of haute couture, none of which is tangible or “real”.

And I realized, standing there looking at that stupid outfit, that he’s got a real point. Because someone out there made us believe that this is the shit we want. Even though our eyes couldn’t possibly make any sense of it.

You’re going to want to read this book because it will open your eyes to the world around you.  Yikes.