Superhuman: Life at the Extremes of Our Capacity

by Rowan Hooper

From evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper, an awe-inspiring look into the extremes of human ability—and what they tell us about our own potential.

In 1997, Yiannis Kouros ran 188 miles in twenty-four hours. In 1984, at age forty-two, Maria Moreira gave birth to her tenth set of twins. In 1973, Terry Tao learned to read when he was two years old. Tao started college at age nine, and at twenty-four was appointed a fulltime professor at UCLA. Janine Shepherd broke her arms, neck, and back after a truck smashed into her while cycling. It left her paralyzed from the waist down, and doctors gave her a slim chance for survival. She now routinely walks her three children to school.

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 exceptional—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. They serve to address Hooper’s larger themes of humanity, including resilience, bravery, and happiness.

Ultimately, these seemingly outlandish stories are the story of humanity themselves. Superhuman 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.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Psychology, Health, Medical, Personal Development, Productivity

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2018

About the author

Rowan Hooper is Managing Editor of New Scientist magazine, where he has spent more than ten years writing about all aspects of science.

He has a PhD in evolutionary biology, and worked as a biologist in Japan for five years, before joining the Japan Times newspaper in Tokyo, and later taking up a fellowship at Trinity College Dublin.

Two collections of his long-running column for the paper have been published in Japan, and his work has also appeared in The Economist, Guardian, Wired and the Washington Post.

He lives in London with his partner and two daughters.

Reviews

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are mounds of books out on the science of maximum human performance, be they on mind-hacking, sports & exercise science, or some combination thereof as applied to a particular pursuit. Hooper creates his niche by way of a broad and varied selection of topics, including: language learning, singing, running, achieving longevity, and sleeping. For the reader who is interested in the topic of how top performers in a given domain achieve that supernormal performance, it makes for an interesting read. However, it may leave some readers scratching their heads as to who the book is aimed at. It should be noted that several of the topics addressed are of much more broad-ranging appeal than those I mentioned (e.g. focus / attentiveness, bravery / courage, and resilience.)

The book is divided into three parts on “thinking,” “doing,” and “being,” respectively. The four chapters in the first part investigate the heights of intelligence, memory, language, and focus. The chapter on language deals with how some people are masterful polyglots, speaking many languages, as opposed to the harder to investigate question of how someone becomes William Shakespeare. Throughout the book, there is a mix of stories and interview insights from those who are peak performers as well as discussion of what scientific studies have found. The former makes up the lion’s share of the discussion, and the central question with of science is how much of peak performance is genetic and how much is built.

Part II, on doing, has three chapters, exploring the topics of bravery, singing, and running. This is where one really sees the book’s diversity. Books like Amanda Ripley’s “Unthinkable” address the question, among related questions, of why some act heroically, and there are a huge number of books on how to be the best runner or singer one can be, but not a lot of books take on all three questions in one section. The book on singing focuses on opera singers who belt out their tunes largely sans technology – i.e. there’s no Milli-Vanilli-ing L’Orfeo. The chapter on running gives particular scrutiny to endurance running.

Part III investigates why some people live longer, are more resilient, sleep better (or do well with less sleep,) or are happier. Since Buettner’s “National Geographic” article on “blue zones” (i.e. places where a disproportionate percentage of the population live well beyond the average human lifespan,) there’s been a renewal of interest in what science has to say about longevity. As mentioned, the chapter on sleep covers the topic from multiple vantage points. Everyone needs sleep, but some perform best with ten or more hours of sleep while others are extremely productive on four hours a day, and some can cat-nap periodically through the day while others need a single extended and uninterrupted period of sleeps. Wisely, Hooper doesn’t simply take on the question of why some people are happier than others in the book’s last chapter, but rather he asks the more interesting question of why some people who have every reason to be morose (e.g. paralyzed individuals) manage to be ecstatically happy.

The book has a references section, but there isn’t a lot of ancillary matter (i.e. graphics, appendices, etc.) It’s a text-centric book that relies heavily on stories about Formula-1 racers, opera stars, ultra-marathoners, and other extraordinary individuals while investigating the subject matter.

I enjoyed this book. I am intensely interested in optimal human performance across a range of skills and characteristics. So, I guess when people inevitably ask who the book is directed at, it’s directed at me and others with this strange fascination. If you have that interest, it’s for you as well.

[simona.citeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
nu te aștepta la ceva ieșit din comun, oameni care fac chestii extratereste.
Sunt prezentate exemple de oameni care pur și simplu și-au explorat la maxim potențialul și au ajuns la performanțe.
Structura cărții a fost de ajutor, a fost împărțită în categorii clare, fiecare cu subpuncte.
Câteva nume de capitole: inteligența, memoria, alergare, reziliență- la fiecare avem oameni buni în domeniu+ studii și informații relevante pentru subiect.

[Melcat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed by this book, as I always been interested in humain great physical/mental exploits, but I found myself a bit bored and DNF it, which is pretty rare.
There is a lot of repetitions through the chapters, and I felt like the author had the opportunity to meet extraordinary people but could have asked maybe more or different questions, as I was quite intrigued by the people he mentioned.
So just not the book for me, but otherwise a great variety on subjects in the different chapters.

[Costin Cocioabă · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mai multe aici:
https://costin.ro/superuman-rowan-hoo...

Am primit Superuman la una dintre comenzile de carte. Cred că a fost gratuită la nu mai țin minte câte cărți cumpărati de la Publica. Este o carte de peste 350 de pagini scrise mărunt, pe care cu greu o poți lăsa din mână, autorul încercând să deslușească misterul ablităților umane ieșite din comun povestind concluziile discuțiilor pe care le-a avut cu diverși… superumani.

[Karel Baloun · Rating 3 out of 5]

My weak start to 2019 reading — I should not have finished this one…. it’s a fishing expedition for the role of genetics in human exceptionalism, structured mostly as anecdotes of limited interest, and poorly designed and executed interviews.

Encouraged by a strong beginning, from the first paragraph about the sentience of chimps, all the way through the first chapter about general intelligence, due to my personal similarities with the author, I just kept hoping for meaning. The last 2 pages of the conclusion were also solid and inspiring, though the teaser about AI could have been a deeper dive, again an opportunity lost.

Unfortunately, for me, the other 250 pages are a big step down. He even loses my interest in a chapter on Running, my perhaps favorite hobby, in part because he just poorly regurgitates a few famous stories, interleaved with his own remarkably uninteresting interviews. He has found access (as a journalist) to some of the most elite performers in the world, yet he is unable to ask profound questions, or create meaning from his retrieved answers. As an evolutionary biologist PhD he has accessed the scientific literature, found in the dry curt endnotes, but doesn’t relate it compellingly, even to someone who really cares about the science.

Only this book has become able to make Longevity a boring topic to me: “All this has a crucial take-home message. It means you can do all you like in terms of diet (or dietary restriction) and pill-popping, but unless you’ve got the genes, you just ain’t gonna be a centenarian.” (p215) What an absolutely useless conclusion, even if it were true, and i didn’t see his analysis prove it. Hooper cites SNP studies that show hundreds of variations related to old age, and that doesn’t mean any specific person doesn’t have yet another combination (as author separately even writes on p217). His entire chapter is a demonstration of “survivorship bias”.. just reporting what current old people are like doesn’t tell any specific young person with longevity aspirations what to do. A good chapter on longevity would be all about that… even from an "evolutionary biologist” and his inherent biases.

Most specifically I’m disappointed in how genetic medical research is covered.. it should be deeply exciting/promising.. but strangely isn’t.

I’ll leave 3 stars, not 2, because it might be an interesting (and directionally appropriate) introduction to people who know nothing about any of these topics. Yet, I know far better books on almost each chapter topic.

[Paula Kuklane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about some extraordinary people who have achieved incredible things. The author set out to find out what made these feats possible. The conclusion is that most of the qualities that people need are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

The book is divided into three parts - thinking, doing and being. I liked the parts where different people could tell their stories. What stood out was that they all had a reason for doing the things they did. They have a really strong inner drive, but at the same time they see themselves as normal human beings.

The chapter that struck me the most was about happiness. The author interviewed people with locked-in syndrome. It was both painful and inspiring to read how optimistic and grateful they are with their lives. It made me realise how much we take for granted - the ability to move, to breathe, to speak, to have control over our environment and our bodies. People need to have some kind of meaning in their lives to experience happiness.

The writing was a little dry in places and not the smoothest.

[Sophy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book charting some amazing human endeavours.

Hooper makes the book fascinating, accessible and easy to mooch through.

A pleasant distraction in some tough times.

[Jeff Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that chronicles the lives of people who are definitely outliers in terms of their capacity to do certain things. Such as the woman who successfully solo sailed around the world or the runner who ran for 24 hours straight and made 188 miles (at an average pace of 7mins and 29 secs per mile). Or the hyperglots -- persons who can speak many languages (I think 65 languages was the highest). He ends the book with person with "locked in" syndrome who are actually happy and one who was able to reprogram her brain to open up her locked in syndrome. An interesting and occasionally mystifying read.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, it touched several aspects of our lives and the author identifies some exceptional individuals that excelled in some particular fields such as singing, running, longevity etc.
The book is structured in three parts: thinking, doing, and being. Each part is further divided into some traits, for example, language, memory, resilience etc.
I'm not sure why the author chose these particular aspects of our lives (memory, happiness, ...), but we all have to start and stop somewhere. I like the fact that the book made me rethink of the concept of nature vs. nurture. I see that it is an oversimplification, genetic and environment are intertwined after all and if we embrace this view we can better tackle the problem of how to improve each aspect to make our lives better in the future.
Rowan Hooper is an evolutionary biologist, I liked his writing style, it made the narrative flow nicely from the beginning to the end, I might have enjoyed some chapters more than others but it's a matter of personal taste.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about human accomplishments. The book explored the nature vs. nurture interplay. The stories were intriguing. I read it slowly, taking breaks between chapters, in order to savor the stories, although some of the chapters were a bit long and repetitive. Recommended!

[Mark Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept and stories. Writing style is a little "meh".

[Allen Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.themaineedge.com/tekk/to-...

Just what are we capable of?

That’s the question asked by biologists, psychologists, anthropologists – just about any “-ist” you can think of … what are the limits to human endeavor? It’s a question whose complicated answers evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper hopes to unravel.

Hooper’s new book is “Superhuman: Life at the Extremes of Our Capacity” introduces us to a vast and varied collection of outliers, individuals whose abilities in certain arenas far outstrip the capacity of the average person. Whether we’re looking at intelligence or physical endurance or courage or empathy, there are people out there who are more disposed to the extreme end of the spectrum.

Hooper also explores the foundation beneath such performance. How much of a factor is a person’s genetic makeup? How about their developmental environment? What other factors might go into pushing a person to the outer limits of human capability?

The collection of conversations that Hooper has assembled is remarkable. He breaks these interviews down and gathers them into three sections – Part I is “Thinking,” Part II is “Doing” and Part III is “Being.”

In Part I, he talks with a chess master and a best-selling author, finding the parallels between the source of their respective excellence. We learn about the youngest Oxford undergraduate in five centuries. The relative value of IQ tests is considered, as well as the nature/nurture argument regarding intellectual development. Memory and the different ways that one can display outsized ability – the rote style of memory champions or the near-total personal recall of hyperthymesia – are investigated. People who memorize pi to 100,000 digits or can offer detailed descriptions of almost any day of their lives. In addition, we meet gifted polyglots, capable of learning dozens of languages fluently, and are introduced to people with preternatural personal focus.

Part II introduces us to some physical marvels, such as endurance athletes who are capable of running hundreds of miles. For instance, take the guy who ran 188 miles – in just 24 hours. Those sorts of feats – wilderness ultramarathons or timed track-based distance events – point toward what our physical ceilings might be. It’s not just running, either. Hooper meets up with a pair of renowned opera singers, where we learn about the tremendous physicality necessary to reach operatic greatness. He also spends time with a former bomb disposal officer to explore the possibility of a genetic basis for bravery.

Finally, Part III looks at what it means to be human and the impact of unusual aptitude in our general existence. For instance, Hopper spends some time dealing with longevity, likely the most coveted of all of these high-performance categories. How does one live as long as possible? What makes a centenarian? That’s not all, however. There’s an in-depth look at sleep and how some people are better at it, whether that means longer duration or lucid dreaming or polyphasic cycling. We also get a chance to explore the idea of there being a genetic predisposition toward happiness – a valuable ability indeed – as well as toward one’s predisposition toward bouncing back from adversity.

“Superhuman” is Hooper’s first book, but it certainly doesn’t read that way. He approaches his subject matter from a very intellectual perspective and is unafraid to use jargon and other very specific language to advance the proceedings how he sees fit, yet he also manages to make the book extremely readable even as he challenges the reader. His prose is engaging and he has a fine sense of narrative; the individual stories flow nicely as he relates them.

The genetic basis for these superior achievements is rarely simple; there’s no single intelligence gene or endurance gene or longevity gene. It’s not one big switch to flip, but rather the final product of slight, subtle alterations across an unknown number of genes. Some clues have been discovered, but the big picture is far from clear when it comes to any of this stuff.

That uncertainty is part of what makes “Superhuman” such a fun read. Meeting these people, these pinnacle-type examples of what humans can be, is interesting. And learning about some of what makes them this way is as well. But the mystery, the knowledge that, as of right now, we can’t say for sure WHY the outliers are the way they are … that’s the coolest part of all.

[Jo-Ann Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Rowan Hooper delves through research, interviews and anecdotes, into the lives of exceptional humans. Humans who have survived and succeeded in the extremes of mental and physical ability.

What makes one person intelligent? Say, a chess master, over your average Joe? John Nunn is a three-time world champion in chess problem solving and English chess grandmaster, who studied at Oxford at 15.  Genius right? Yes, he is certainly outstanding, but John also has issues with focussing on one thing at a time. For most, John has a brain we would dream to have, but to him, there are other things he wished he could achieve or could do better.

Hooper speaks to some very interesting people who have exceptional brains. John Nunn, Hilary Mantel who is considered one of the greatest writers of our time with best-sellers such as Wolf Hall under her belt and Daniel Tammet, a savant who sees colours in words and numbers.  There are many other interesting people Hooper meets in this book who have survived horrible ordeals and who work hard every day for physical perfection. So, how much is talent? How much are years of commitment, practice and study? Is any of it just luck?

Superhuman dives deep into these worlds and raises the question of how much success is a focused work ethic and how much is talent, and of course genes. It's an interesting book that left me feeling pretty ok about myself. I have a knack to some things well and other things not so well. I'll never be a genius, and certainly not an elite athlete but, I might give what I'm good at a bit more focus and see where that takes me.

[Russell Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hooper examines people who exhibit extraordinary abilities in several categories, including intelligence, longevity, bravery, and many other dimensions. I found the treatment to be superficial, mostly anecdotes about some unusual individuals and what they attribute their own abilities to. He delves into the science, but it seems the science doesn't really answer the main question that is the theme of the book: what makes these people so "superhuman?" For some of the dimensions, there is a clear genetic explanation at least to an extent. Intelligence and musical ability fall into that category, although genetics are only part of the explanation. The author never really resolves anything. The book has the feel of an assignment from his agent or publisher. I can't live on my royalties from my last one, so what should I write about next? I know, 'superhumans' sounds cool.

Once I realized that this isn't a school assignment and I don't have to read all of it, I began skipping around and reading about just the extreme abilities that interested me. He has them neatly organized into chapters. I began enjoying the book much more after that. It was like reading a few articles from a magazine. There are some interesting tidbits among the filler.

[Rochelle Medrano · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't want to sound like a hater of this book but I think I reached that state... I hated the book. But hear me out.

The context of the book is broad which the author tried to discuss in different categories such as Intelligence, Endurance, Resilience, Sleeping, etc. The 'superhuman' persons mentioned in the book were indeed amazing and I am at the point of researching them more.

However, what went wrong is that there's too many contradicting thoughts that the author threw. The pattern each chapter were pretty much the same - mention an amazing person, mention a research about that person, mention a gene that is possibly related to what makes them superhuman, contradict the study, mention another superhuman person and contradict the previous study with another study.

I agree that it's such a broad context but there's so many loose threads about the topic, I lost interest of what he's saying and I wasn't wowed anymore by the end of the book. Not a single aha moment came to me because of all the contradictions and the unnecessary statements. Oh and he got the opportunity to interview some of the people but gosh the questions he asked were too shallow. What a waste of an opportunity.

[Breanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost a DNF for me. I was so close to returning it to the library after making it through the chapter on Intelligence, the first 'superhuman' trait. Something held me back and I eventually picked it up again, only to be gripped by it. So much so that I gladly accumulated late fees, desperate to finish before parting with it.

I think the above does a better job of summarizing how I feel this book that my actual review or ratings could. Overall I enjoyed the reading experience, but it's not without its flaws. The quality of the writing starts off shaky at best (rarely getting better). Many interviews lack insight due to the poor choice of questions, and the author's understanding of his research seems superficial.

Despite these huge flaws, it is fascinating to read about people who have pushed the boundary of human potential. There is a big focus on the genetics of these 'Superhumans', but the author does acknowledge that environmental factors often play a role, as does practice. I do think it's worth reading and would give it a 3.5 out of 5.

[Parathy Rajaandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about exceptional human abilities. The author, an evolutionary biologist, manages to explore the whole nature vs nurture discussion through lenses of science and research without losing the human element by sharing moving stories about amazing people.

A wonderful line (one of many) from a chapter on, surprisingly, happiness: "a little thinking about how to live in the moment may improve your life and maybe even your happiness."

This is also the first book I've actually finished reading since adapting a "read at least 1 page daily" strategy about 2 years ago when I wasn't actually doing any reading at all. Somehow the "start multiple books at one go" strategy also came into the mix around the same time, which in itself wasn't a bad idea but more than 7-8 at a time definitely was.

Going back to the book though, Superhuman by Rowan Hooper is an interesting read for anyone fascinated by extreme human capacity and ability. So good I actually want to start again.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read /Superhuman: Life at the Extremes of Mental and Physical Ability/, by Rowan Hooper:

https://www.chemistryworld.com/review...

Hooper reviews people that are the best at many activities - including having an amazing memory, running long distances, learning the most languages, staying awake, and having revelations while sleeping. Hooper also chronicles the healthiest humans and those who live longest, and discusses how much of those peak performances come from genetic factors and what comes from our environment.

(It turns out Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule of thumb for becoming an expert at something wasn't precise enough. Anders Ericsson, the co-author of the 1993 paper that Gladwell summarized, is pissed at Gladwell for not mentioning that it's *deliberate* practice that's key. Perhaps Gladwell hasn't put in his 10,000 hours yet of reading or properly summarizing :-)

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, I could stretch to 2.5 stars, but that's about it. Mostly, the book seemed to suffer from a lack of focus. The author gave varied definitions or criteria for the aim of the project at different times throughout the work. Speaking mostly about people who are superlative in some area, he refers to the rest of the population as "normal"-- pretty problematic and ableist, and present and consistent throughout the book.

I was approved for the eARC from NetGalley but didn't get to it in time; I listened to the eAudio format courtesy of my local public library. The reader started off fine but mouth sounds became a problem about half-way through. That would be a big no from me on further books by this narrator.

[Joyce Fant · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoyed most about this book is Rowan Hooper exposing the humane side of the various individuals he met making them seem like the rest of us and quite approachable. Interestingly, I was expecting to find them unreachable and beyond my scope of understanding.
It was a pleasure to meet the various people Rowan Hooper presented. Their understanding of what made them achieve their amazing skills along with those of the scientists aroused my curiosity to find out more about them.
I also liked the organization of the varied topics and was pleasantly surprised about the people Rowan Hooper chose in some of the categories. They were awe inspiring, lighting sparks to reveal the richness of life in which we all partake.

[Nick A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book format :
Cool anecdote and thought.
Here’s a person with a really high level non articulated non genuine comment or quote that fits this thought.
Here’s the gene that affects that person.
Here’s a person that researches the gene
Genes explain everything for everyone. Give up. You can’t be good at anything other than what your genes are.
Actually wait maybe it’s more than genes?

..... next 2 pages

Repeat the above

.....next 2 pages

Repeat the above

So high level and so many topics. Just , person, quote, gene, professor, your genes effect everything. Next. First book in a while I really didn’t want to finish but I did it.

[Christopher Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfectly bland book that skims a number of topics without really delving into the premise, throws in some dashes of science, and references itself at will. Almost all topics involve the mind, with only one about athleticism, so don't be fooled by the cover.

To boot, it's badly edited, with typos and comma splices galore: "I don't have a car, I don't have many material possessions, I think they would make my life worse," is not grammatically correct. I know BE lets people get away with such jarring liberality in the use of commas and their splices, but it really shouldn't make it into a mass-market hardcover.

[Angela McVay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very well researched and thought out book about being exceptional in different areas such as intelligence, memory, bravery, language and more. I really learned a good bit about being exceptional. I normally do not read this type of book, so I think it was good to expand my horizons. It was very well written. The only reason I am giving this 3 stars is because for my personal taste it was dry. I went outside my usual genres and my rating of 3 stars has more to do with my personal preferences rather than the writing itself.

[Darwin Sodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superhuman by Dr. Hooper is an engrossing and well-written piece of literature. Throughout the book, it is clear that every human has the ability to be superhuman, we just need to put in the work. Dr. Hooper seamlessly translates very complicated research into more understandable points for the reader! I read the entire book in one sitting because of how well the personal stories transition into current fields of research in human evolutionary biology! I hope everybody enjoys this book as much as I did!

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

One one hand, this book includes interviews with a wide range of very interesting people. They are the strength of this book. On the other hand, section's that come from the author's perspective are not good. The writing is flat and the perspectives tend to be either obvious or unhelpful.

The quality of the chapters varies quite a bit, so I could be more positive toward this book if a reader was willing to skip around to just the interesting chapters. In any case I'd skip both the introduction and conclusion.

[Toba de Carte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trebuie să recunosc ca mi-a placut tare mult calatoria asta prin cele 11 calitati/domenii și exemplele moderne. Cartea se inscrie cumva pe o traiectorie similara cu Grit, Peak, The talent code și Outliers, cărți care mă marcasera deja in trecut mai mult decat multe altele, așa ca pentru mine a fost un text familiar și apropiat, in acelasi timp.

Sfatul lui Hooper este acela de a ne gandi la cum ne traim clipa prezenta, iar astfel ne vom imbunatati viata și vom deveni poate, chiar mai fericiti decat suntem deja.

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very broad based topics. The book kindles one’s interest in multiple directions for radically transforming the physical and mental abilities through extreme measures. It showcases case studies where humans have broken unbelievable barriers and also expostulates as to how they did it. Do genes matter? Does practice trump talent? These are questions for which answers are sought in the book. Go for it as there are lessons for everyone.

[M Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many best-selling books are available which emphasise the role of nurture/environment over that of genetics/innate abilities of human beings. But we all know convincingly that inherent nature & genetics play very crucial role in shaping superhuman capabilities. Rowan Hooper scientifically analyses role of nature Vs nurture or genetic Vs environmental and how both aspects are correlated in shaping superhumans.
Excellent informative read..

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Separated into activities and quality-of-life characteristics that fall under "Thinking," "Doing", and "Being," I found the takeaways from each chapter (which could be boiled down to a sentence or two) helpful, informative, and usually affirming. Some people profiled are more intriguing than others, but all are worth the read. (I imagine that they are anyway. I skimmed Singing and Language.)

[Suhel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories of some really interesting people that have achieved stuff at the extreme end of the spectrum. Good to get a view from both genetics and practice side and how both are obviously needed to achieve. One of the more interesting assertions, Attention is not finite, it has a deep relationship with motivation, and rewards, and desire to achieve a deep seeded goal.