Collapse is a Recurrent Phenomenon in Societies

The Roman Empire's dramatic collapse (followed by many centuries of population decline, economic deterioration, intellectual regression, and the disappearance of literacy) is well known, but it was not the rst rise-and-collapse cycle in Europe. Prior to the rise of Classical Greco- Roman civilization, both the Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations had each risen, reached very advanced levels of civilization, and then collapsed virtually completely [Morris, 2006; Redman, 1999]. The history of Mes...

 Cosmic Dust Raining on the Earth

Morris is fond of citing figures that indicate that about five million metric tonnes of cosmic dust falls on the earth each year. He calculates that over five billion years, we should have accumulated a layer of dust 55 m (182 feet) thick! But if you do the calculation correctly (which Morris does not), it amounts to only a shoebox full of dust over an entire square kilometer. This is so minuscule it can barely be detected even in the best sedimentary records from deep-sea cores, which are un...