Recommended Portfolio: To save ourselves from ourselves

Harvey Whitehouse's 'Inheritance' is a call to re-evaluate human nature not as a burden, but as a set of tools that, understood and managed, could save us from ourselves.

This is a groundbreaking essay that explores how three deeply rooted cognitive biases—conformity, religiosity, and tribalism—have shaped human history, from early nomadic societies to the complexity of the modern world. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and big data analysis, the book argues that these biases were key to the survival and cohesion of our species, but today fuel global crises such as political polarization, war violence, and environmental collapse. The book stands out for its innovative methodology. The author uses the Seshat database (which compiles global historical information) to identify patterns in cultural evolution. For example, he analyzes how conformity enabled stability in ancient societies through repetitive rituals, while tribalism facilitated cooperation within the group but also violence against "the others." These biases, although adaptive in the past, today become dysfunctional in a hyperconnected and multicultural world. One of the most fascinating contributions is the metaphor of the "cultural garden": there he compares human institutions to plants we domesticate (such as laws or governments) and intuitive beliefs to "weeds" (such as magic or myths) that persist despite rational advances. He illustrates this with cases such as the decline of human sacrifice, a once widespread practice that is now almost eradicated.

The author warns about the rift between science and humanities, criticizing the latter's refusal to incorporate scientific findings. He proposes an integrative "third culture," like the one promoted by his Seshat project, to understand contemporary problems such as misinformation and extremism, rooted in our ancestral biases. Although the tone is academic, it is balanced by vivid examples: from the builders of Göbekli Tepe (a Neolithic temple) to modern Libyan militias.

'Szymborska Poetic Anthology', by Wislawa Szymborska. Stamp: Viewer

"Is everything in my poems?" Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) replied when asked to talk about herself and her work. Following her advice, we present the world of the great poet through her poems.

Truly, everything is in her poems: her memories, her moral standards, her condition as a woman, her human and animal loves, her answers to unanswerable questions, her vision of the world. All of this is expressed in an inimitable style, light and simple, sober, free of grandiloquent words and pompousness, filigree. The work of the Grand Dame of universal poetry, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.

'La Maloca', by Martín Nova. Publisher: Debate

Martín Nova decided to understand the environmental crises facing humanity, including climate change and biodiversity loss. Through a series of conversations with global experts—scientists, business leaders, politicians, activists, and Indigenous leaders—this book recreates, in the style of a dialogue under the roof of a maloca, the situation and possible solutions. It invites a profound, spiritual, and hopeful reflection on the meaning of living and acting in this crucial moment, when we must confront one of the most severe threats in our history.

'Odorama', by Federico Kukso. Taurus

What did dinosaurs smell like? What scents ruled ancient Egypt? How stinky were Paris, London, New York, and Buenos Aires in the past? What did astronauts who walked on the moon smell like? What do a star, a galaxy, and a black hole smell like?

Aromas, perfumes, fragrances, and smells influence how we feel and what we think. Omnipresent, smells are time and space machines capable of transporting us to different moments and places in our lives.

'Bury Our Bones at Midnight' by V.E. Schwab. Publisher: Umbriel Narrativa

A genre-defying read that explores immortality and hunger in a new way. The plot follows three women in three different eras. A story about life. A story about hunger. 1532, Santo Domingo de la Calzada. As she grows up, María becomes rebellious and cunning; the only thing that surpasses her beauty is her need to escape. However, she knows she can only be a prize or a pawn in men's games. A story about love. 1827, London. Charlotte has an idyllic but secluded life on her family's estate until, due to an intimate and forbidden moment, she is sent to London. A story about rage. 2019, Boston. College was supposed to be a chance to start over. CÉSAR GIRALDO, Portafolio sub-editor

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