Superhuman

Life at the Extremes of Our Capacity

By: Rowan Hooper

Narrated by: Richard Lyddon

From evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper, an awe-inspiring look into the extremes of human ability—and what they tell us about our own potential—“an intriguing…look at some of the things that make us human—and more” (Kirkus Reviews).

In 1997, an endurance runner named Yiannis Kouros ran 188 miles in twenty-four hours. Akira Haraguchi can recite pi to the 100,000th decimal point. John Nunn was accepted to Oxford University at age fifteen. After a horrific attack by her estranged husband, Carmen Tarleton was left with burns to more than eighty percent of her body. After a three-month coma, multiple skin grafts, and successful face transplant, Tarleton is now a motivational speaker.

What does it feel like to be exceptional? And what does it take to get there? Why can some people achieve greatness when others can’t, no matter how hard they try? Just how much potential does our species have? Evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper has the answers. In Superhuman he takes us on a breathtaking tour of the peaks of human achievement that shows us what it feels like to be extraordinary—and what it takes to get there.

Drawing on interviews with these “superhumans” and those who have studied them, Hooper assesses the science and genetics of peak potential. His case studies are as inspirational as they are varied, highlighting feats of endurance, strength, intelligence, and memory.

Superhuman is “terrifically entertaining. Hooper is that precious thing; an easy, fluent, and funny scientist. The message from this upbeat, clever, feel good book is that we all have greater capacity than we realize. Spectacularly enjoyable” (The London Times), this is a fascinating, eye-opening, and inspiring celebration for anyone who ever felt that they might be able to do something extraordinary in life, for those who simply want to succeed, and for anyone interested in the sublime possibilities of humankind.

Missed the mark

Pass on this book. The underlying premise is that a person’s ability and life span are almost solely determined by genes and people are wasting their time trying to change that.

The author glosses over complex topics and cherry picks details to support his views. It’s like your annoying neighbour arguing that they knew someone that smoked for 70 years and therefore smoking doesn’t cause cancer. It’s almost like the author completely disregarded his extensive scientific training.

The structure of the book is also irritating. The author interviews people who he believes have a special talent (chess, ultra running, writing etc), asks them to self report on why they are better than other people and then supplements that self justifying logic with his own opinions and a handful of curated academic findings. Many conclusions are bland, if not useless. For example, one conclusion from an interview with an F1 team is: ‘Hewett says “an f1 driver’s working memory can hold more discrete items than that of an untrained driver.”’ A PhD in biology is hardly necessary to reach that conclusion. The same can be said about cabdrivers who, unlike F1 drivers, have been the subject of numerous brain studies.

It’s a shame the author botched this book because the concept has merit. Let’s hope that he is wrong about K Andres Ericsson so as to give his writing a fighting chance of improving.