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The Reading List
18
items These are a wide selection of part of the books behind the project Primordial Protocol (about evolutionary mismatch), each with a short review, so you can decide if it’s worth your shelf. I love them!
Sections
3
FOUNDATIONS — Evolutionary Mismatch
BODY — Ancestral biohacking, diet, energetics, sleep
ENVIRONMENT — Survival: wilderness, social, threat
FOUNDATIONS — Evolutionary Mismatch
This is one of the key pillars of the whole system. It shows how our body has adapted throughout evolution. It's not an easy read, but it’s really something worthy.
The Story of the Human Body: Evolution & Health
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why humans act the way we do, The Adapted Mind is an absolute must-read. Edited by Jerome H. Barkow, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby, this isn't just another psychology book—it is the watershed masterpiece that p...
The Adapted Mind
Have you ever wondered how a completely unremarkable species of ape managed to climb up and conquer the whole planet? This book provides an answer that’ll totally blow your mind and change the way you see the world. Sapiens is not a dull, conventional history text book. It reads more like a riveting biography of our own species. Harari breaks down the journey into three main ... Money, human rights, nations, corporations, things like that aren't real in the physical world; they are stories we invented. Nevertheless, these collective myths are exactly what enable millions of complete strangers to cooperate and create civilizations. Why is this reading so very important? Because it offers the most zoomed-out view of the ... through which to understand who we are today and where we might be headed tomorrow. If you want a readable, truly mind-bending book that will upgrade your understanding of human nature for life, Sapiens is an absolute must-read.
'Sapiens' by Yuval Noah Harari
Why do so many people in our hyper-connected, modern world feel so very alone? In this book, journalist Sebastian Junger tackles a glaring modern paradox: as we’ve become more wealthy, more safe, and more technologically advanced, our rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide have shot through the roof! Junger says the answer is in our evolutionary hard-wiring. For hundreds of thousands of years humans lived in small, egalitarian packs—or tribes—in which everyone had a clear purpose and relied on one another intimately. Today’s highly indi... If you want to know why we are so disconnected today, and how we can begin to heal our divided society, Tribe is a brilliant, indispensable read. Read it!!!
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging - Junger
Why do we get fevers, allergies, or anxiety? What if these aren't just annoying glitches in our biology, but brilliant evolutionary defense mechanisms? In Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine, Randolph Nesse and George C. Williams i...
Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic
Have you ever wondered why natural selection didn't eliminate depression, anxiety, and grief? If evolution strictly favors survival and reproduction, why are our minds so profoundly prone to suffering? In Good Reasons for Bad Feelings, Randolph M. Ne...
Why is this reading so important?
It completely destigmatizes our modern understanding of mental illness. By understanding that bad feelings have deep, functional evolutionary roots, we can stop blaming ourselves for experiencing them in daily life. Empathetic, scientifically rigorou...
Why is this reading so important?
It completely destigmatizes our modern understanding of mental illness. By understanding that bad feelings have deep, functional evolutionary roots, we can stop blaming ourselves for experiencing them in daily life. Empathetic, scientifically rigorou...
Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights
Why is it, that when we try our best, it is so hard to lose weight? In this book the author writes that the worldwide obesity epidemic is not a colossal failure of willpower—it’s a biological triumph gone wrong. Our ancestors lived by craving sugars and fats, storing every extra calorie efficiently to survive inevitable periods of famine. Those sa...
The Evolution of Obesity
Despite the miracles of modern medicine, why do we still get cancer, autoimmune diseases and severe infections? See how evolutionary biology is the missing piece of the puzzle in modern medicine. In this pioneering book, leading scientists explain the deep evolutionary roots of our medical vulnerabilities. From why we age, and why our immune systems sometimes overreact and cause allergies, to the terrifying ways pathogens are constantly evol...
Evolution in Health and Disease
Have you ever noticed how a gentle breeze extinguishes a candle, but fuels a roaring fire?
This is the core concept of this brilliant text. The author introduces a groundbreaking idea: while fragile things break under stress, and robust things merely endure it, some things actually thrive and grow stronger when exposed to shock, volatility...
Why is this reading so profoundly important?
We live in a deeply unpredictable world where trying to eliminate risk often makes systems weaker. This text completely flips traditional risk management on its head: it provides a highly practical philosophy for navigating an uncertain world, teachi...
This is the core concept of this brilliant text. The author introduces a groundbreaking idea: while fragile things break under stress, and robust things merely endure it, some things actually thrive and grow stronger when exposed to shock, volatility...
Why is this reading so profoundly important?
We live in a deeply unpredictable world where trying to eliminate risk often makes systems weaker. This text completely flips traditional risk management on its head: it provides a highly practical philosophy for navigating an uncertain world, teachi...
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
No, this it's not about the Hunger Game saga! It's the same title but another beast, totally.
Have you ever wondered what truly separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom? While many point to tool use or language, this fascinating text argues that our greatest evolutionary leap came from a much simpler invention: cooking.
The author presents a truly groundbreaking theory that learning to cook our food is the exact catalyst that made us human.
By using fire to process food, our ancestors unlocked massive amounts of easily digestible energy. This dietary revolution allowed us to develop smaller digestive tracts and, most importantly, fuel the growth of our massive, energy-hungry brains. It ...
Have you ever wondered what truly separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom? While many point to tool use or language, this fascinating text argues that our greatest evolutionary leap came from a much simpler invention: cooking.
The author presents a truly groundbreaking theory that learning to cook our food is the exact catalyst that made us human.
By using fire to process food, our ancestors unlocked massive amounts of easily digestible energy. This dietary revolution allowed us to develop smaller digestive tracts and, most importantly, fuel the growth of our massive, energy-hungry brains. It ...
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human
Have you ever been told that modern diets or desk jobs are destroying us because we aren't living like our Stone Age ancestors? This insightful text takes a sledgehammer to that popular assumption.
WHAAAT? Yes you got it right: the author brilliantly dismantles the romanticized myth that human evolution simply stopped 10,000 years ago. While it is tempting to believe that we are perfectly designed for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and hopelessly ...
From our ability to digest milk as adults to genetic adaptations for living at high altitudes, our bodies have continued to adapt. And they still do.
Furthermore, it points out a hard truth: no creature is ever perfectly adapted to its environment. Why is this reading so profoundly important? It serves as a much-needed scientific reality check. It frees us from the guilt of not living a perfectly ...
WHAAAT? Yes you got it right: the author brilliantly dismantles the romanticized myth that human evolution simply stopped 10,000 years ago. While it is tempting to believe that we are perfectly designed for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and hopelessly ...
From our ability to digest milk as adults to genetic adaptations for living at high altitudes, our bodies have continued to adapt. And they still do.
Furthermore, it points out a hard truth: no creature is ever perfectly adapted to its environment. Why is this reading so profoundly important? It serves as a much-needed scientific reality check. It frees us from the guilt of not living a perfectly ...
Paleofantasy: What Evolution Tells Us
BODY — Ancestral biohacking, diet, energetics, sleep
It didn't came out yet at the time of writing (August 15) but I am ready to bat everything I got this is gonna be a masterpiece because Andrew Huberman is nothing less than a genius. If you ever saw one episode of his Huberman lab on YouTube, you wil...
Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body
First of all: who said that? It was Nietsche I guess. And it might have been totally right: do you ever think that maybe our cushy, climate controlled lives are making us physically weak? I certainly do. This gripping story is about an investigative reporter who sets out to expose a world-famous extreme fitness guru as a fraud. Spoiler alert: he couldn't. However, he finds out that we can trigger dormant biological survival responses by purposely subjecting the body to freezing temperatures and specific breathing techniques. It looks at how our ancestors regularly thrived in the harshest of conditions, and how our modern addiction to constant comfort has directly contributed to our weakened biology and sickness. Why is this reading so incredibly significant, and a must read? It turns the modern idea of physical comfort inside out. In this book, you...
What Doesn't Kill Us
What if you could not only add years to your life, but life to your years?
I'd kill for that! This revolutionary guide redefines what it means to age well. The author, a well-known physician, states that mainstream medicine is caught in a reactive model – waiting until you are sick to treat you. Is there any chance that this resonates with your experience?
Instead, this book offers a proactive strategy to delay death and extend “healthspan”—so your final decades can be your most vibrant and active. It describes the four major chronic diseases that cause most deaths and details highly actionable steps t... What's unique is the author's emphasis on exercise as arguably the most powerful longevity drug, along with optimized nutrition, sleep and emotional health. Why read this: because it provides you with the best instruction manual for your future! Thi... you the tools to take control of your biological destiny today, instead of resigning yourself to decline. This is a meticulously researched, eminently practical and intensely personal book and an essential read for anyone who wants to thrive, not just su...
Add to cart. Check!
I'd kill for that! This revolutionary guide redefines what it means to age well. The author, a well-known physician, states that mainstream medicine is caught in a reactive model – waiting until you are sick to treat you. Is there any chance that this resonates with your experience?
Instead, this book offers a proactive strategy to delay death and extend “healthspan”—so your final decades can be your most vibrant and active. It describes the four major chronic diseases that cause most deaths and details highly actionable steps t... What's unique is the author's emphasis on exercise as arguably the most powerful longevity drug, along with optimized nutrition, sleep and emotional health. Why read this: because it provides you with the best instruction manual for your future! Thi... you the tools to take control of your biological destiny today, instead of resigning yourself to decline. This is a meticulously researched, eminently practical and intensely personal book and an essential read for anyone who wants to thrive, not just su...
Add to cart. Check!
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
Have you ever wondered why we get fevers, allergies, or experience anxiety?
What if these are not just annoying glitches in our biology, but brilliant evolutionary defense mechanisms?
This groundbreaking text introduces a game-changing perspective on human health. Instead of merely treating the symptoms of an illness, the authors explore why evolution left us vulnerable to disease in the first place. This masterpiece, brilliantly ...
Why is this reading so profoundly important?
It will completely transform how you view your own body. It teaches you to stop seeing yourself as a flawed, fragile machine and start understanding your biology as an exquisitely adapted organism. By knowing the evolutionary reasons behind illness, ...
What if these are not just annoying glitches in our biology, but brilliant evolutionary defense mechanisms?
This groundbreaking text introduces a game-changing perspective on human health. Instead of merely treating the symptoms of an illness, the authors explore why evolution left us vulnerable to disease in the first place. This masterpiece, brilliantly ...
Why is this reading so profoundly important?
It will completely transform how you view your own body. It teaches you to stop seeing yourself as a flawed, fragile machine and start understanding your biology as an exquisitely adapted organism. By knowing the evolutionary reasons behind illness, ...
Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by the constant, low-grade pressure of modern life? Please, tell me I'm not the only one (but I guess I'm not though).
This empowering book examines the micro-doses of stress we endure everyday—from frantic morning commutes to endless phone notifications—that are quietly wrecking our physical and mental health.
The author, a leading physician, cuts thru the medical mumbo jumbo and gives us a very practical approach to well-being. This book is not about prescribing impossible, dramatic lifestyle changes: it’s about breaking down stress management into four actionable areas of focus: purpose, relationships, body, and mind. It focuses only on small, sustainable daily interventi...
What makes this reading so profoundly meaningful? Chronic stress is the silent driver of a huge proportion of modern disease, from digestive disorders to severe anxiety. This text is a massive reset button for your nervous system. It teaches you that...
This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to build everyday resilience: empathetic, direct, and brilliantly approachable.
This empowering book examines the micro-doses of stress we endure everyday—from frantic morning commutes to endless phone notifications—that are quietly wrecking our physical and mental health.
The author, a leading physician, cuts thru the medical mumbo jumbo and gives us a very practical approach to well-being. This book is not about prescribing impossible, dramatic lifestyle changes: it’s about breaking down stress management into four actionable areas of focus: purpose, relationships, body, and mind. It focuses only on small, sustainable daily interventi...
What makes this reading so profoundly meaningful? Chronic stress is the silent driver of a huge proportion of modern disease, from digestive disorders to severe anxiety. This text is a massive reset button for your nervous system. It teaches you that...
This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to build everyday resilience: empathetic, direct, and brilliantly approachable.
The Stress Solution: 4 Steps to Reset Body & Mind
Do you ever feel like we are making ourselves miserable with the constant search for convenience? Unfortunately I do and I think the answer it's not pleasing.
This eye-opening text asserts that human biology was created in hard, unforgiving environments. But now, we live in a world of constant temperature control, of on-demand food, of endless digital distraction. Using cutting-edge science, the author undertakes a brutal backcountry journey into the Arctic to make a radical point: the root cause of...
For us to thrive we need to bring back calculated hardship to our daily lives. From lifting heavy weights and embracing the cold, to simply allowing ourselves to be bored without a smartphone, the text shows how embracing difficulty reveals hidden hu...
It TOTALLY destroys the illusion that more comfort equals a better life. This is the core design for building deep resilience in a soft world. This is a vital and quite brutal wake-up call, meticulously researched and profoundly practical.
I love it. Tough to face, but definitely a must read.
This eye-opening text asserts that human biology was created in hard, unforgiving environments. But now, we live in a world of constant temperature control, of on-demand food, of endless digital distraction. Using cutting-edge science, the author undertakes a brutal backcountry journey into the Arctic to make a radical point: the root cause of...
For us to thrive we need to bring back calculated hardship to our daily lives. From lifting heavy weights and embracing the cold, to simply allowing ourselves to be bored without a smartphone, the text shows how embracing difficulty reveals hidden hu...
It TOTALLY destroys the illusion that more comfort equals a better life. This is the core design for building deep resilience in a soft world. This is a vital and quite brutal wake-up call, meticulously researched and profoundly practical.
I love it. Tough to face, but definitely a must read.
The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort
ENVIRONMENT — Survival: wilderness, social, threat
Funny and instructive
A Survival Guide to Life and The Zombie Apocalypse
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