Recently, my eyes fell on a rather intriguing title : "A manual for being human", by Dr. Sophie Mort .
A Sunday Times bestseller, the manual is defined as a self-help book based on various principles of personality and psychology.
The main message of the book, (according to reviews and comments), is that we, humans, are not raised to understand ourselves, and that makes it difficult for us to understand life and the world around us.
True. We come into this world with no... manual attached. Parents and schools are supposed to educate, guide , teach us about the facts and meaning of life, They don't always manage to do a good job. Well, nobody's perfect. Life is not perfect.
On the other hand, whenever we buy a specific product we insist on getting its manual. It comes under various names : User's manual, Instructions manual, Repair manual. Manual for beginners/advanced/experts, etc...
A manual is meant to give details about the product, and teach us how to use it and maintain it . We are more successful when dealing with specific products than with Life in general. Life is too vast and complex for us, both, as individuals and as society.
I haven't read the book yet (published in mid 2021). I think it's perhaps, an eye opener ; some readers may find answers and solutions for their problems in its content. Still, a manual for being human sounds rather far fetched and confusing to me.
