Just (belatedly) finished this book, which I found to be very easy and enjoyable to read, and full of interesting insights and perspectives.
The humans are essentially programmable and thus can advance faster than biological evolution which constrains other kinds of life forms on earth.
Our language and writing systems facilitate the preservation and transmission of knowledge across space and time beyond our individual brain capacity, and our ability to cooperate in large numbers allows us to build complex societies and technologies as well as to wield great damages to our environments.