"Ultrasound: Turning Points in Human Society and National Crisis" Author: [US] Jared Diamond Publisher: CITIC Publishing Group

Upheaval is a masterpiece that comes at the right time. At a time when individuals and countries are confused about the future and crises are coming one after another, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond once again returns to history to try to answer the important question of crisis response, which is related to the future of mankind.

For individuals, a crisis can change a person's growth trajectory. If not handled properly, the individual will live in negative emotions for the rest of his life. For the entire human society, a crisis can cause a civilization to decline, a country to disintegrate, and an era to end. But in Diamond's view, there is no difference between the two. Countries can even learn from the logical framework of individuals to resolve crises in order to save themselves. In this regard, Diamond once again broke away from the knowledge barriers set up by natural sciences and social sciences, reconstructed the historical narrative clues that blend the natural state with the civilized order, and toured the crisis response history of 7 case countries. From the modest perspective of a social observer, he gave the "12 steps for crisis response" from multiple disciplines such as sociology, psychology, political science, economics, and evolutionary biology:

1. Face the crisis head on

2. Take the initiative to assume responsibility

3. Clarify the boundaries of the problem

4. Seek help

5. Learn from role models

6. Self-Power/National Identity

7. Honest Self-Assessment

8. Past experience in dealing with crises

9. Patience

10. Self-flexibility

11. Core Values

12. Personal constraints/national geopolitical constraints

As Churchill said, "Never waste a good crisis." Crisis and upheaval always go hand in hand. Diamond's crisis response plan may help humans reshape their sense of crisis. After all, in an era of rapid change, individuals, companies, countries and even the entire human society must continue to make selective changes. Are you ready? This may also be an open question Diamond sets for us to think about.

Jared Diamond is a professor of physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and one of the few contemporary thinkers who explores human society and civilization. Diamond's research has won him numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the American Geographical Society's Burr Prize, the Tyler Environmental Contribution Award, and the Japan International Environmental Harmony Award. His representative works include Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Third Chimpanzee, Collapse, The World Before Yesterday, Upheaval, and Why Some Countries Are Rich and Some Are Poor.