Read This to Get Smarter

I've never actually watched this author's Smarter in Seconds series of videos on YouTube, so I didn't know about her scholarship in various topics. I got to know about this book while browsing Twitter and immediately wanted to check it out. And I'm glad I did.

This book is definitely more of a primer if you wanna learn more about topics like race, class, gender, sexuality, disability and more which are highly relevant to our daily lives, both in a personal and political manner. And the author doesn't just restrict herself to these issues. We also get to read about personal identity in general, the different kinds of relationships we can have, the importance of boundaries and consent in relationships, the historical differences between capitalism and socialism, the inherent value assigned to labor based on the occupation, the ableism which is ingrained in society preventing disabled people from navigating this world without troubles and much more. I loved how the author gave the historical context to everything, letting us know how things came to be, why they were right or wrong, and why it is important for us to learn these various terms and move towards a more progressive society.

I may have known about many of these topics but I found it was still knowledgeable for me to learn about them in depth, get more comfortable with inclusive language, understand the ways we might have been causing harm till now and how to unlearn such things so that we can be better in the future.

I love that overall, the one thing this book is predicated on is the philosophy of “Ubuntu” which might be translated as “humanity towards others” or in more easier terms, mutual respect. Respecting the humanity of others in every relationship and interaction, and not centering our privileged selves in every situation, reduces the harm we might cause and respect for everyone might lead to more harmonious life. I hope everyone can pick up this book, educate themselves on issues which are important to us as human beings, and learn to respect everyone on their terms and not ours.