WHAT IS BIG HISTORY? Video Talk / David Christian Big History tells the story of the Universe from the Big Bang to the present, a time span of 13.8 billion years. Big History is the modern, scientific origin story, based on the best evidence that scientists and historians have compiled to date. As new and better evidence is found, the story will need to be updated. Big History asks big questions. Among the questions that big historians tackle are: What s our place in the cosmos? Are we alone? How do we (as a species) get here? What are the big turning points in that history? What it means to be human? Are we living at a turning point of planetary history? Big History highlights the increasing complexity (and fragility) of new emerging systems with the description of threshold moments and the underlying organizing principles. It also highlights the interactions between different time and space scales, and the need to grasp knowledge across different fields of studies (multidisciplinary). BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 1 / WHAT IS BIG HISTORY? 1
What is Big History? A scientific narrative of the changes from the Big Bang to the present, and possibly extrapolate our future
Keys Scientific evidence based Narrative a story, to be best of our knowledge Changes only the major changes emergent properties different underlying principles multi-disciplinary The big bang to the present multiple time and spatial scales what is interesting?
Which subjects do / don t you like? Physics Chemistry Biology Geography / Geology Economics / Public Policy History / Politics Environmental Sciences Cosmology / Astronomy Anthropology / Sociology Engineering / Technology Studying: Facts Knowledge Applications Responsibility driven Games: Play to have fun Learn a few rules become an expert a few more rules... Interest / curiosity driven Big History: Learn as much / little as needed to satisfy your curiosity
Big History Themes We are born curious, like to ask questions Why??? Why are we here? Is there a purpose of life? Are there life in other planets? Different cultures have different origin stories; BH provides a framework / place for us in the universe. We are taught: these questions are unimportant; should focus on more urgent matters (time scale selection) led to the impression that macro-systems (government, multinational institutions, social norms, etc.) do not change much. Big History s scientific narrative tell us that systems change all the time, and these changes are happening faster & faster, and we can either take advantage of them or being swept away by them.
Big History: A scientific narrative of the changes from the Big Bang to the present, and possibly extrapolate our future. Years b.p. Milestones 13,800,000,000 13.8 yr The Big Bang 4,600,000,000 4.6 yr Solar system and the Earth
Big History: A scientific narrative of the changes from the Big Bang to the present, and possibly extrapolate our future. Years b.p. Milestones 13,800,000,000 13.8 yr The Big Bang 4,600,000,000 4.6 yr Solar system and the Earth 3,800,000,000 3.8 yr Life on Earth 1,000,000,000 1 yr Multicellular organisms
Big History: A scientific narrative of the changes from the Big Bang to the present, and possibly extrapolate our future. Years b.p. Milestones 13,800,000,000 13.8 yr The Big Bang 4,600,000,000 4.6 yr Solar system and the Earth 3,800,000,000 3.8 yr Life on Earth 1,000,000,000 1 yr Multicellular organisms 230,000,000 84 day Start of Age of Dinosaurs 65,000,000 24 day Meteor and End of Age of Dinosaurs 7,000,000 3 day Chimps/Humans Ancestors separate
Big History: A scientific narrative of the changes from the Big Bang to the present, and possibly extrapolate our future. Years b.p. Milestones 13,800,000,000 13.8 yr The Big Bang 4,600,000,000 4.6 yr Solar system and the Earth 3,800,000,000 3.8 yr Life on Earth 1,000,000,000 1 yr Multicellular organisms 230,000,000 84 day Start of Age of Dinosaurs 65,000,000 24 day Meteor and End of Age of Dinosaurs 7,000,000 3 day Chimps/Humans Ancestors separate 250,000 2 hr Emergence of Homo Sapiens 10,000 5 min Origin of Agriculture 3,500 2 min Cities, States & Agrarian Civilization 1,000 32 sec 1 st Globalization & Commercialization 250 8 sec Modern / Industrial Revolution 100 3 sec 2 nd Globalization / IT Revolution