Big History
Memes about the history of the universe and the evolution of life on Earth to build into a timeline.
Folksonomies: history enlightenment big history
Memes
14 DEC 2017
The 800th Lifetime
It has been observed that if the last 50,000 years of man's existence were divided into lifetimes of approximately 62 years each, there have been 800 such lifetimes. Of the 800, fully 650 were spent in caves.
Only during the last seventy lifetimes has it become possible to communicate effectively from one lifetime to another- as writing made it possible to do. Only during the last six lifetimes did masses of men ever see a printed word. Only during the last four has it been possible to measu...
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21 NOV 2017
The Increasing Chemical Complexity of the Cosmos
The ancient origins of stars, planets and life may be viewed as a sequence of emergent events, each of which added to the chemical complexity of the cosmos. Stars, which formed from the primordial hydrogen of the Big Bang, underwent nucleosynthesis to produce all the elements of the Periodic Table. Those elements were dispersed during supernova events and provided the raw materials for planets and all their mineralogical diversity. Chemical evolution on Earth (and perhaps countless other plan...19 DEC 2013
If a Scientist Wrote the Book of Genesis
In the beginning was the singularity, and the singularity was infinitely dense and infinitely hot, And the singularity expanded and the singularity cooled and there was chaos, And of the primeval atom was born the Universe. And the Universe was matter and antimatter, and baryogenesis was violated and matter annihilated antimatter until only matter remained, And matter resolved into hydrogen, and after hydrogen came helium and deuterium and all elements, And with elements came mass and with ma...Opening chapter of genesis written in science.
13 APR 2012
The Eiffel Tower as a Symbol of Time
Man has been here 32,000 years. That it took a hundred million years to prepare the world for him is proof that that is what it was done for. I suppose it is. I dunno. If the Eiffel tower were now representing the world's age, the skin of paint on the pinnacle-knob at its summit would represent man's share of that age; & anybody would perceive that that skin was what the tower was built for. I reckon they would. I dunno.Folksonomies: big history time
Folksonomies: big history time
From Mark Twain, with the paint on the top of it as Man's time on Earth.
01 JAN 2012
Carl Sagan Summarizes Evolution of Life On Earth
Eventually, many billions of years ago, a molecule was formed that had a
remarkable capability. It was able to produce, out of the molecular building blocks
of the surrounding waters, a fairly accurate copy of itself. In such a molecular
system there is a set of instructions, a molecular code, containing the sequence of
building blocks from which the larger molecule is constructed. When, by accident,
there is a change in the sequence, the copy is likewise changed. Such a molecular
system – ca...Folksonomies: evolution big history
Folksonomies: evolution big history
From molecules competing for materials, to life, all the way up to humans.
01 JAN 2012
Big History as a Fable Part II
Sex and death evolved – processes that vastly increased the rate of natural
selection. Some organisms evolved hard parts, climbed onto, and survived on the
land. The pace of production of more complex forms accelerated. Flight evolved.
Enormous four-legged beasts thundered across the steaming jungles. Small beasts
emerged, born live, instead of in hard-shelled containers filled with replicas of the
early oceans. They survived through swiftness and cunning – and increasingly long
periods in wh...Folksonomies: wonder big history
Folksonomies: wonder big history
1 Carl Sagan's account of the history of our Universe continued.
01 JAN 2012
Big History as a Fable
Once upon a time, about ten or fifteen billion years ago, the universe was
without form. There were no galaxies. There were no stars. There were no
planets. And there was no life. Darkness was upon the face of the deep. The
universe was hydrogen and helium. The explosion of the Big Bang had passed, and
the fires of that titanic event – either the creation of the universe or the ashes of a
previous incarnation of the universe – were rumbling feebly down the corridors of
space.
But the gas of ...Folksonomies: wonder big history
Folksonomies: wonder big history
Carl Sagan tells the story of our Universe's history as a fairy tale.
28 MAY 2011
With Warm-Bloodedness Comes Freedom
Pelorat said, "Tortoises are cold-blooded. Terminus doesn't have any, but some worlds do. They are shelled creatures, very slow-moving but long-living.”
"Well, then, isn't it better to be a human being than a tortoise; to move quickly whatever the temperature, rather than slowly? Isn't it better to support high-energy activities, quickly contracting muscles, quickly working nerve fibers, intense and long-sustained thought-than to creep slowly, and sense gradually, and have only a blurred awa......but it is costly, requiring much more fuel.
19 MAY 2011
The Taung Child's Horrible Demise
The
first Australopithecine to be discovered, and the type specimen of the genus, was the so-called
Taung Child. At the age of three and a half the Taung Child was eaten by an eagle. The evidence is
that damage marks to the eye sockets of the fossil are identical to marks made by modern eagles on
modern monkeys as they rip out their eyes. Poor little Taung Child, shrieking on the wind as you
were borne aloft by the aquiline fury, you would have found no comfort in your destined fame, two
and ...Killed by a bird of prey.
03 MAY 2011
A lot happens in 100k Years of Evolution
Inside my skull is a brain that was designed to exploit the conditions of an African savanna between 3 million and 100,000 years ago. When my ancestors moved into Europe (I am a white European by descent) about 100,000 years ago, they quickly evolved a set of physiological features to suit the sunless climate of northern latitudes: pale skin to prevent rickets, male beards, and a circulation relatively resistant to frostbite. But little else changed: Skull size, body proportions, and teeth ar...Folksonomies: evolution human evolution
Folksonomies: evolution human evolution
A brief descriptions of the characteristics acquired in 100,000 years of human history.
03 MAY 2011
Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness
Then for more than a million years people lived in a way that couldn't have changed much. They inhabited grasslands and woodland savannas, first in Africa, later in Eurasia, and eventually in Australasia and the Americas. They hunted animals for food, gathered fruits and seeds, and were highly social within each tribe but hostile toward members of other tribes. Don Symons refers to this combination of time and place as the "environment of evolutionary adaptedness," or EEA, and he believes it ...Folksonomies: evolution adaptation
Folksonomies: evolution adaptation
We can only be adapted to the past, not the present or the future.
11 APR 2011
The Fascinating Ability of Humans to Walk Upright
We stand upright-after a little practice-on a ship that rolls because we possess an array of sensory nerve cells buried in our muscles, skin, and joints. The function of these sensors is to provide a constant flow of information to the brain about the movements and location in space of the various parts of our bodies, as well as the environmental forces currently acting on them. We also have a pair of balance organs associated with our ears which work like spirit-levels, each having a bubble ...A wonderful description of everything that goes into the process of walking and standing upright.
References
21 NOV 2017
Chemical Evolution Across Space and Time: From the Big Ba...
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Zaikowski, Lori and Friedrich, Jon M. (2008215), Chemical Evolution Across Space and Time: From the Big Bang to Prebiotic Chemistry, Retrieved on 2017-11-21
Folksonomies: chemistry
Folksonomies: chemistry
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19 DEC 2013
Future Shock
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Toffler, Alvin (1990), Future Shock, Random House LLC, Retrieved on 2013-12-19Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: social science
Folksonomies: social science
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19 DEC 2013
The Newer, More English Version
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Carver, Tom (2013-05-31), The Newer, More English Version, John Hunt Publishing, Retrieved on 2013-12-19Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: religion
Folksonomies: religion
1
13 APR 2012
Was the World Made for Man?
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Twain , Mark (2006), Was the World Made for Man?, The Mark Twain annual, Retrieved on 2012-04-13Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: literary criticism
Folksonomies: literary criticism
1
01 JAN 2012
Carl Sagan's cosmic connection
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Sagan , Carl (2000-10-23), Carl Sagan's cosmic connection, Cambridge Univ Pr, Retrieved on 2012-01-01Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: science
Folksonomies: science
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28 MAY 2011
Foundation and Earth
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Asimov, Isaac (2004-08-31), Foundation and Earth, Spectra, Retrieved on 2011-05-28
Folksonomies: science fiction gaia
Folksonomies: science fiction gaia
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19 MAY 2011
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Dawkins, Richard (2010-08-24), The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, Free Press, Retrieved on 2011-05-19
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03 MAY 2011
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Ridley , Matt (2003-05-01), The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, Harper Perennial, Retrieved on 2011-05-03
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11 APR 2011
Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Lovelock, James (2000-11-23), Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, Oxford University Press, USA, Retrieved on 2011-04-11
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