Episode · Dwarkesh Podcast · 2026-05-08

Books mentioned on David Reich – Why the Bronze Age was an inflection point in human evolution

1 book · With David Reich · Listen · Watch on YouTube

David Reich is back. He and collaborator Ali Akbari just published a paper that overturns a long-standing consensus about human evolution — that natural selection has been dormant in our species since the agricultural revolution.

Dwarkesh Patel discussed The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

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1. 

   The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

   Julian Jaynes · at 51:48

   The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes is a classic 1976 work that posits a provocative hypothesis about the historical development of human consciousness and psychological self-awareness.

   Discussed

   “Julian Jaynes has this famous theory in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.”

   Dwarkesh Patel David Reich – Why the Bronze Age was an inflection point in human evol… 2026-05-08 Listen at 51:48

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