History of Human Civilization 9. History of Human Civilization, #9

Conveying the recipe for the dish called "History" While traditional historians have been content to present a finished dish-that is, result-oriented history-and have limited themselves to criticizing its taste, the purpose of this work is to convey to readers the basic recipe itself: the fundamental principles of the system that reveal the tools and heat (energy) used to create this dish. This signifies a significant shift in human understanding, one that goes beyond mere recollection of the past and seeks to grasp the underlying structure of the driving force of history.
The historical narratives we have encountered so far have consisted mainly of retrospective explanations, such as "Rome fell because of this" or "The Industrial Revolution happened because of that." However, the tools I have developed present an immutable law: "When energy is concentrated in a certain way, such phenomena are inevitable." " Even though the available data is somewhat limited, this logical framework is so powerful that as soon as a specific era or complex phenomenon is placed within it, its essence is broken down into its constituent parts and revealed with crystal clarity.
Recently, Yuval Harari presented grand narratives and warned of the dangers of information networks and artificial intelligence in works such as *Nexus*, but from my perspective-having already observed the essence of "the history of networks" in earlier parts of this series-even that is merely a subject to be clearly interpreted and analyzed. While Harari weaves together historical events to offer a highly sophisticated explanation-according to which "humanity is moving in this direction"-and attaches a sense of phenomenological dread to it, I analyze and reveal the engine that drives this current.
If Harari's book is a well-designed car, my book teaches you the blueprints and operating principles of that car. For those who know the blueprints, the magnificent exterior is no longer uncharted territory. The question of collective intelligence addressed in this work offers a clear alternative to the anxiety Harari's networks evoke. While Harari responds to the dangers of networks with "anxiety, " I aim to demonstrate, through the clear logic of "the consolidation of individual subjectivity, " how this can lead to the emergence of a healthy civilization .
Thanks to this work, readers will not be content to merely learn from the past, but will acquire the sharpest "weapon of thought" for interpreting the world. As soon as you understand the physical principles that explain how a network, as a tool, condenses human energy and how this energy explodes at a certain critical point to transform civilization, you will become masters of historical interpretation, no longer swayed by grand narratives.
I invite you on this magnificent journey, where we will tear down the walls of outdated and polluted concepts and discover the true essence of the unique energy of Korean and human civilization. April 18, 2026, 5:00 a.m. Written by Tonghye You Seung-ju.