What do you think?
Rate this book
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything
** A 2018 GoodReads Choice Award Nominee in the History & Biography category**
A captivating history of the universe -- from before the dawn of time through the far reaches of the distant future.
Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence?
These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond.
With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.
A captivating history of the universe -- from before the dawn of time through the far reaches of the distant future.
Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence?
These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond.
With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.
357 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
David Christian
60 books390 followersDavid Gilbert Christian is an Anglo-American historian and scholar of Russian history notable for creating and spearheading an interdisciplinary approach known as Big History. He grew up in Africa and in England, where he earned his B.A. from Oxford University, an M.A. in Russian history from the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. in 19th century Russian history from Oxford University in 1974.
He began teaching the first course in 1989 which examined history from the Big Bang to the present using a multidisciplinary approach with assistance from scholars in diverse specializations from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The course frames human history in terms of cosmic, geological, and biological history. He is credited with coining the term Big History and he serves as president of the International Big History Association.
Christian's best-selling Teaching Company course entitled Big History caught the attention of philanthropist Bill Gates who is personally funding Christian's efforts to develop a program to bring the course to high school students worldwide in part via the website http://www.bighistoryproject.com
He began teaching the first course in 1989 which examined history from the Big Bang to the present using a multidisciplinary approach with assistance from scholars in diverse specializations from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The course frames human history in terms of cosmic, geological, and biological history. He is credited with coining the term Big History and he serves as president of the International Big History Association.
Christian's best-selling Teaching Company course entitled Big History caught the attention of philanthropist Bill Gates who is personally funding Christian's efforts to develop a program to bring the course to high school students worldwide in part via the website http://www.bighistoryproject.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 791 reviews
May 21, 2018
We all have an origin story. In some societies, they manifest as creation myths. In others, they look more like history textbooks. For example, as a kid in the United States, I grew up learning about the group of rebels who stood up to their British overlords and founded our country. It’s human nature to be curious about where we come from, and origin stories unite people through a common history and shared sense of purpose.
But what if all of humanity shared an origin story? What would that story look like? Historian David Christian tries to answer those questions in his new book Origin Story.
As the creator of Big History—my favorite course of all time—David is well-suited to write about how we came to be. Big History tells the story of the universe from the big bang to the first signs of life to today’s complex societies. It shows how everything is connected to everything else, weaving together insights and evidence from across disciplines into a single, understandable narrative.
Origin Story is essentially the Big History course condensed into a short book. It divides 13.8 billion years of existence into what David calls “thresholds”—moments in history that mark key transition points, like the formation of our solar system and the first appearance of early humans. The chapters about the early thresholds are heavy on physics and chemistry, but it skews more towards biology and anthropology as single cell life evolves into more complex beings.
If you haven’t taken Big History, Origin Story introduces you to its concepts in a straightforward, understandable way. David is a very good writer, and he has a way of making complicated subjects fun. If you’re already a Big Historian, Origin Story is a great refresher. It does a fantastic job distilling the latest thinking about the origins of the universe. I learned some things that are simply too new to be included in the course.
The book ends with a chapter on where humanity—and the universe—is headed. David is more pessimistic about the future than I am. He gets a little stuck on the current economic and political malaise happening in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change. But he nails the importance of this moment in history: “Things are happening so fast that, like the slow-motion time of a near accident, the details of what we do in the next few decades will have huge consequences for us and for the biosphere on scales of thousands of years. Like it or not, we are now managing an entire biosphere, and we can do it well or badly.”
Understanding where humanity comes from is crucial to shaping where we go next. Origin Story is an up-to-date history of everything that will leave you with a greater appreciation of our place in the universe.
But what if all of humanity shared an origin story? What would that story look like? Historian David Christian tries to answer those questions in his new book Origin Story.
As the creator of Big History—my favorite course of all time—David is well-suited to write about how we came to be. Big History tells the story of the universe from the big bang to the first signs of life to today’s complex societies. It shows how everything is connected to everything else, weaving together insights and evidence from across disciplines into a single, understandable narrative.
Origin Story is essentially the Big History course condensed into a short book. It divides 13.8 billion years of existence into what David calls “thresholds”—moments in history that mark key transition points, like the formation of our solar system and the first appearance of early humans. The chapters about the early thresholds are heavy on physics and chemistry, but it skews more towards biology and anthropology as single cell life evolves into more complex beings.
If you haven’t taken Big History, Origin Story introduces you to its concepts in a straightforward, understandable way. David is a very good writer, and he has a way of making complicated subjects fun. If you’re already a Big Historian, Origin Story is a great refresher. It does a fantastic job distilling the latest thinking about the origins of the universe. I learned some things that are simply too new to be included in the course.
The book ends with a chapter on where humanity—and the universe—is headed. David is more pessimistic about the future than I am. He gets a little stuck on the current economic and political malaise happening in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change. But he nails the importance of this moment in history: “Things are happening so fast that, like the slow-motion time of a near accident, the details of what we do in the next few decades will have huge consequences for us and for the biosphere on scales of thousands of years. Like it or not, we are now managing an entire biosphere, and we can do it well or badly.”
Understanding where humanity comes from is crucial to shaping where we go next. Origin Story is an up-to-date history of everything that will leave you with a greater appreciation of our place in the universe.
December 8, 2018
David Christian's Origin Story: A Big History of Everything was my first go at 'big history' (13.8 billion years of it). Christian looked at threshold events the way futurists look at trends and singularities. These thresholds were like transitional mile markers differentiating one order (perhaps by a near extinction event) from the next. Christian looked at the numerous 'Goldilocks' conditions which allowed life to exist as it does today. Christian also brought origins myths into this history, especially at the beginning of his book. However, while big history is, probably by necessity, non-personal, I would have found it more compelling to have explored more mythology in Christian's final chapter of future history. Interesting read!
July 30, 2020
Big History is becoming a familiar concept. Since it was launched in the 1990s by the Dutchman Fred Spier and in Australia by David Christian himself, it has taken on a life of its own. Christian first summed up his way of looking at history "on a large scale" in 2004 in his Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History, which was an impressive book, though not without issues. Since then, variants and additions have been published by himself, but also by many others. Big History also has become a separate discipline within the academic world, with its own institutes and journals (not to confound with ‘Global History’). And the movement was especially impacted by the enthusiasm with which Bill Gates and his Foundation endorsed this approach, which resulted, among other things, into a comprehensive package of didactic material that historians and others can use in education.
The great merit of Big History is that human history is fitted into that of the universe, an extreme bird's eye view that allows to see the broad lines and thus distinguish the important from the secondary. David Christian does this in this book with much more efficiency than in his first ones. The relative place of man in the universe is constantly emphasized, while at the same time highlighting the enormous impact of human activity on the own planet. The book is much more didactic and therefore more accessible than ‘Maps of Time’ (although there are certainly tough passages, with a lot of jargon).
But over the years Big History has also received a lot of criticism. As said before, the extreme bird's eye view has its advantages, but it ignores the ultra-contingent character of historical evolutions. Christian tries to compensate for this by constantly underlining the complex convergence of coincidence and necessity, highlighting the importance of emergent phenomena and unexpected feedback loops. But, of course, a glimpse into the history of the universe from such a great distance inevitably gets a certain deterministic undertone, as if everything went as it should have gone.
A second major criticism of Big History is that the emphasis is a little too much on the physics-cosmological approach: a lot of time is spent on sketching the origin and development of the universe, of our solar system, of life on earth and so on , and that is clearly at the expense of human history. In this book, for example, mankind only appears halfway through, so that human history is limited to a few rough lines of evolution. The criticism is correct, of course, but - as said - it is precisely the merit of Big History that it places human history in that broader context. Still, the extensive use of theories from the science of physics, chemistry and biology, keep on haunting the Big History-movement.
A final criticism is that Big History is implicitly based on a form of belief in progress. David Christian doesn't even make a secret of it. Like many physicists, he expresses his fascination for the impressive process of evolution that our universe has gone through, in an ascending line of increasing complexity. And he immediately emphasizes how fascinating it is that in our age we have obtained a reliable picture of that evolution through science (in contrast to religious and other creation myths). "Because it is based on a global heritage of thoroughly controlled knowledge and information, and because it is the first genesis of human societies and cultures from all over the world." Big History exudes the unshakable belief in the cumulative progression of knowledge and insight through science, with a specific emphasis on the connecting and overarching elements. Christian is well aware of how much that positive perspective has faltered in our recent time period, precisely because of the enormous possibilities that man has acquired to intervene in his environment, even to annihilate that environment. Hence the very moral tone in the epilogue, with a call to change tack, but also with a strong belief in technological possibilities.
I can recommend this book, although it has some technical-scientific chapters, and you have to deal with the caveats I mentioned above. But Christian has managed to summarize his take on "universal" history in a very engaging way, and also made an effort to deal with some of the criticisms on Big History. I'm still not fully convinced of the full potential of this approach, but I have to concede it has its merits. See also my review in my History-alias on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The great merit of Big History is that human history is fitted into that of the universe, an extreme bird's eye view that allows to see the broad lines and thus distinguish the important from the secondary. David Christian does this in this book with much more efficiency than in his first ones. The relative place of man in the universe is constantly emphasized, while at the same time highlighting the enormous impact of human activity on the own planet. The book is much more didactic and therefore more accessible than ‘Maps of Time’ (although there are certainly tough passages, with a lot of jargon).
But over the years Big History has also received a lot of criticism. As said before, the extreme bird's eye view has its advantages, but it ignores the ultra-contingent character of historical evolutions. Christian tries to compensate for this by constantly underlining the complex convergence of coincidence and necessity, highlighting the importance of emergent phenomena and unexpected feedback loops. But, of course, a glimpse into the history of the universe from such a great distance inevitably gets a certain deterministic undertone, as if everything went as it should have gone.
A second major criticism of Big History is that the emphasis is a little too much on the physics-cosmological approach: a lot of time is spent on sketching the origin and development of the universe, of our solar system, of life on earth and so on , and that is clearly at the expense of human history. In this book, for example, mankind only appears halfway through, so that human history is limited to a few rough lines of evolution. The criticism is correct, of course, but - as said - it is precisely the merit of Big History that it places human history in that broader context. Still, the extensive use of theories from the science of physics, chemistry and biology, keep on haunting the Big History-movement.
A final criticism is that Big History is implicitly based on a form of belief in progress. David Christian doesn't even make a secret of it. Like many physicists, he expresses his fascination for the impressive process of evolution that our universe has gone through, in an ascending line of increasing complexity. And he immediately emphasizes how fascinating it is that in our age we have obtained a reliable picture of that evolution through science (in contrast to religious and other creation myths). "Because it is based on a global heritage of thoroughly controlled knowledge and information, and because it is the first genesis of human societies and cultures from all over the world." Big History exudes the unshakable belief in the cumulative progression of knowledge and insight through science, with a specific emphasis on the connecting and overarching elements. Christian is well aware of how much that positive perspective has faltered in our recent time period, precisely because of the enormous possibilities that man has acquired to intervene in his environment, even to annihilate that environment. Hence the very moral tone in the epilogue, with a call to change tack, but also with a strong belief in technological possibilities.
I can recommend this book, although it has some technical-scientific chapters, and you have to deal with the caveats I mentioned above. But Christian has managed to summarize his take on "universal" history in a very engaging way, and also made an effort to deal with some of the criticisms on Big History. I'm still not fully convinced of the full potential of this approach, but I have to concede it has its merits. See also my review in my History-alias on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
October 27, 2018
The first thing I have done after finishing the book is to unlike Bill Gates' review (4/5) of it. I also suspect if he reviewed and recommended this not because he personally found it great, but because he wanted others to read it as a good, lucid introductory book on Big History.
The first half of the book is a poor cousin of "Cosmos" or "A Short history of Nearly Everything". It deals with the origin of the universe to the origin of human beings. The book has more information than insights and for this part, the book felt a bit better.
Couldnt help comparing the second half, the story of humans, to the magnificient "Sapiens" by Harari. Instead of insights you have a lot of children's general history level facts thrown at you here. It was so uninteresting that I skimmed the last chapter.
Avoid, unless this is the first book you will be reading on this subject. And my level of disappointment is bcoz I have read some fantastic books on related topics.
The first half of the book is a poor cousin of "Cosmos" or "A Short history of Nearly Everything". It deals with the origin of the universe to the origin of human beings. The book has more information than insights and for this part, the book felt a bit better.
Couldnt help comparing the second half, the story of humans, to the magnificient "Sapiens" by Harari. Instead of insights you have a lot of children's general history level facts thrown at you here. It was so uninteresting that I skimmed the last chapter.
Avoid, unless this is the first book you will be reading on this subject. And my level of disappointment is bcoz I have read some fantastic books on related topics.
November 1, 2019
Rumo a uma Unificação do Todo
Humanos, bactérias , babuínos, pedras, oceanos , auroras, luas , meteoros, planetas, estrelas, quarks, fotões, supernovas , buracos negros, lesmas , telemóveis... — o desfile é rico, colorido e cacofónico — pequenas células, fragmentos que interagem num Todo Misterioso que os abarca e transcende, numa Vastidão Infinita que é palco duma História de Tudo!...
“Percebe-se que, agora, não pode haver paz senão uma paz comum em todo o mundo; não pode haver prosperidade senão prosperidade geral. Mas não pode haver paz comum e prosperidade sem ideias históricas comuns... Sem mais nada senão tradições nacionalistas estreitas, egoístas e conflituosas, as raças e os povos estão condenados ao conflito e à destruição.”
Humanos, bactérias , babuínos, pedras, oceanos , auroras, luas , meteoros, planetas, estrelas, quarks, fotões, supernovas , buracos negros, lesmas , telemóveis... — o desfile é rico, colorido e cacofónico — pequenas células, fragmentos que interagem num Todo Misterioso que os abarca e transcende, numa Vastidão Infinita que é palco duma História de Tudo!...
“Percebe-se que, agora, não pode haver paz senão uma paz comum em todo o mundo; não pode haver prosperidade senão prosperidade geral. Mas não pode haver paz comum e prosperidade sem ideias históricas comuns... Sem mais nada senão tradições nacionalistas estreitas, egoístas e conflituosas, as raças e os povos estão condenados ao conflito e à destruição.”
November 14, 2019
• Big bang,
• Big (and some very small) science,
• Big history.
David Christian takes his big approach to life, the universe and everything to provide a very readable and interesting book.
Origin story will take the reader from billions of years ago up to the information age. He does this in two ways: the first using thresholds to define leaps and...well thresholds in space and evolution; second by accessible and engaging prose.
For me the big bang, and how that developed along with its universes, galaxies and solar systems was a riveting story. Couple this with how these things behaved, and how they continue to do so, underpinned by chemistry and physics explained through human understanding of sciences gave me a better grasp of not just how but the what and why.
I was more clear too with this big and complex subject thanks to the high-quality writing on how man is able to use his intelligence to map, explore, investigate and then prove the origin story.
The history of our own solar system and our planet is clear and easy to digest. As Mr Christian moves through the Earth's phases and changes the reader is given easy to understand information and when needed excellent explanation and helpful analogies.
As for humans and the impact we have had on Earth, the last threshold and phase in the book, the story is well told. Oddly it was this point I lost a little interest; perhaps because it is contemporary and not new to me?
I chose this book because it was a shiny new one begging me to take it home from my library. I was glad I did - for what is sub-400 pages narrative it takes you on a stellar journey that packs a big punch.
• Big (and some very small) science,
• Big history.
David Christian takes his big approach to life, the universe and everything to provide a very readable and interesting book.
Origin story will take the reader from billions of years ago up to the information age. He does this in two ways: the first using thresholds to define leaps and...well thresholds in space and evolution; second by accessible and engaging prose.
For me the big bang, and how that developed along with its universes, galaxies and solar systems was a riveting story. Couple this with how these things behaved, and how they continue to do so, underpinned by chemistry and physics explained through human understanding of sciences gave me a better grasp of not just how but the what and why.
I was more clear too with this big and complex subject thanks to the high-quality writing on how man is able to use his intelligence to map, explore, investigate and then prove the origin story.
The history of our own solar system and our planet is clear and easy to digest. As Mr Christian moves through the Earth's phases and changes the reader is given easy to understand information and when needed excellent explanation and helpful analogies.
As for humans and the impact we have had on Earth, the last threshold and phase in the book, the story is well told. Oddly it was this point I lost a little interest; perhaps because it is contemporary and not new to me?
I chose this book because it was a shiny new one begging me to take it home from my library. I was glad I did - for what is sub-400 pages narrative it takes you on a stellar journey that packs a big punch.
October 15, 2018
loved this. Had the most wonderful sense of the sublime while reading it; I'm tiny and unimportant and my specific life could not matter less. Christian's framing of 21st-century power in terms of cell structures has made me deal better with my anxiety about how fucked the world is, and my fears for humanity in the near future.
Excellent writing, about the only topic there is, really.
Excellent writing, about the only topic there is, really.
November 6, 2019
The Implications of the Unified Whole
Bacterias, baboons, rocks, oceans, auroras, meteors, planets, moons, stars, quarks, photons, supernovas, black holes, slugs, cell phones... — they are all part of the Enigmatic Whole — the infinite parts of Infinity, interacting and making History in a Cosmic Web where “a butterfly flaps its wings in Chicago and a tornado occurs in Tokyo.”
Everything is connected. Every tiny, atomic event has an implication in the Mysterious, Unified Whole
“I have written this book in the optimistic belief that we are not doomed to a chronic state of fragmentation and meaninglessness. Within the creative hurricane of modernity, there is emerging a new, global origin story that is as full of meaning, awe, and mystery...” — The History of Everything
Bacterias, baboons, rocks, oceans, auroras, meteors, planets, moons, stars, quarks, photons, supernovas, black holes, slugs, cell phones... — they are all part of the Enigmatic Whole — the infinite parts of Infinity, interacting and making History in a Cosmic Web where “a butterfly flaps its wings in Chicago and a tornado occurs in Tokyo.”
Everything is connected. Every tiny, atomic event has an implication in the Mysterious, Unified Whole
“I have written this book in the optimistic belief that we are not doomed to a chronic state of fragmentation and meaninglessness. Within the creative hurricane of modernity, there is emerging a new, global origin story that is as full of meaning, awe, and mystery...” — The History of Everything
August 15, 2022
David Christian impressed me by his seminal Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History, published in 2004, though I also had some issues with it (see here). This was the first time someone tried to present a comprehensive overview of all of history, including that of the universe, in just one volume. I know, I’m ignoring H.G. Wells’ A Short History of the World, but given its publication date (1922), I’ll guess you understand why: our knowledge of the evolution of the universe since then has evolved so tremendously that you can’t take this serious any more, unless as a historical document. Back to David Christian. In this book Christian offers a remake of his ‘Maps of Time’, but in a more accessible way, and updated with the latest scientific information and theories. In this review I want to look into these changes a bit more.
First of all, there’s a lot of repetitive material, and that’s quite obvious: both Maps of Time and this Origin Story follow the same path, from the beginning of our universe until now, and even taking a short look into the future. Christian carefully sketches the scientific knowledge and theories about the Big Bang and what came after, the beginning of our solar system, the venue of life on earth, and the appearance of homo sapiens. And then we are well over halfway. In the final 100 pages over 5.000 years of history of agrarian societies are taken together, followed by the tremendous evolution human history took from the 18th century onwards till now. Especially in that last chapter Christian works in a more coarse-grained way than in his first book, at the expense of historic detail, which is a pity.
But in the last book, now under review, Christian has ordered his material in a more didactic way, focussing on 8 thresholds and thus stressing the importance of these giant leaps throughout history. Given the time-lapse between the publication of both books (14 years) it is but logic that Christian has updated his view with the latest scientific knowledge concerning the early development of the universe. For instance, the theory on multiverses is included, and again and again Christian refers to the Goldilocks-principle at every stage in his threshold-overview, reflecting the success of Paul Davies’ book The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?. Especially his chapter on the start of life on earth has been reworked with a lot of new material; it has become the most technical part of the book, with a lot of difficult jargon. But what struck me most, was that even more than in his first book Christian stresses the processes of information and energy: almost all evolutions, every leap in complexity, is explained in terms of a much higher efficiency in gaining and using information, and in exploiting or extracting more energy. There are no footnotes in this book, but I have the impression Christian has absorbed a lot of new material in this area, and has rewritten the chapters on human history in the last centuries to put the climate change-threat more in perspective. With the naming of the final threshold as ‘Anthropocene’ the author clearly is sailing on that current too. In this chapter, more than ever, the stress is put on the giant leap the use of fossil-fuels has made possible, but also the threats this now poses for our future. It’s almost inevitable then, that in his epilogue he focuses completely on the urgent challenge that climate change is going to be, whilst in Maps of Time he also included outlooks on artificial intelligence and other important evolutions.
This makes me think that Christian wrote this new, shorter version of his Maps of Time, with a clear agenda in mind. So, in some ways this book is more accessible and much more didactic, but unfortunately it is also more limited, especially in the part on human history, and it is more engaged. Christian has turned his "universal" history even more into a program to take the human future in our own hands. In that way, this book is not just a history book, but an engaging piece of writing. (rating 3.5 stars)
First of all, there’s a lot of repetitive material, and that’s quite obvious: both Maps of Time and this Origin Story follow the same path, from the beginning of our universe until now, and even taking a short look into the future. Christian carefully sketches the scientific knowledge and theories about the Big Bang and what came after, the beginning of our solar system, the venue of life on earth, and the appearance of homo sapiens. And then we are well over halfway. In the final 100 pages over 5.000 years of history of agrarian societies are taken together, followed by the tremendous evolution human history took from the 18th century onwards till now. Especially in that last chapter Christian works in a more coarse-grained way than in his first book, at the expense of historic detail, which is a pity.
But in the last book, now under review, Christian has ordered his material in a more didactic way, focussing on 8 thresholds and thus stressing the importance of these giant leaps throughout history. Given the time-lapse between the publication of both books (14 years) it is but logic that Christian has updated his view with the latest scientific knowledge concerning the early development of the universe. For instance, the theory on multiverses is included, and again and again Christian refers to the Goldilocks-principle at every stage in his threshold-overview, reflecting the success of Paul Davies’ book The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?. Especially his chapter on the start of life on earth has been reworked with a lot of new material; it has become the most technical part of the book, with a lot of difficult jargon. But what struck me most, was that even more than in his first book Christian stresses the processes of information and energy: almost all evolutions, every leap in complexity, is explained in terms of a much higher efficiency in gaining and using information, and in exploiting or extracting more energy. There are no footnotes in this book, but I have the impression Christian has absorbed a lot of new material in this area, and has rewritten the chapters on human history in the last centuries to put the climate change-threat more in perspective. With the naming of the final threshold as ‘Anthropocene’ the author clearly is sailing on that current too. In this chapter, more than ever, the stress is put on the giant leap the use of fossil-fuels has made possible, but also the threats this now poses for our future. It’s almost inevitable then, that in his epilogue he focuses completely on the urgent challenge that climate change is going to be, whilst in Maps of Time he also included outlooks on artificial intelligence and other important evolutions.
This makes me think that Christian wrote this new, shorter version of his Maps of Time, with a clear agenda in mind. So, in some ways this book is more accessible and much more didactic, but unfortunately it is also more limited, especially in the part on human history, and it is more engaged. Christian has turned his "universal" history even more into a program to take the human future in our own hands. In that way, this book is not just a history book, but an engaging piece of writing. (rating 3.5 stars)
Shelved as 'other'
May 24, 2020
March 7, 2021
تاریخ بزرگ، پروژه ایست که در آن، کل تاریخ روایت میشود. درست از لحظه بیگبنگ تا تشکیل منظومه شمسی، از تکامل آرام موجودات تا پیدایش جوامع انسانی و چالشهای پیشِ روی آن. ملغمهای از کیهانشناسی و زمینشناسی و تکامل و انسانشناسی و تاریخ.
طیف مسائل مطرحشده خیلی زیاد است. برای خواننده، دهها سوال ایجاد میشود که نویسنده به برخی از آنها پاسخ میدهد. اما سوالات بیپاسخ، مشوقیست برای مطالعهی عمیقتر و جهتدهی به خوانندهی علاقهمند.
موقع خواندنش، مدام دلم میخواست میتوانستم مطالب را به شکل یک دوره کوتاه یا کارگاه چندجلسهای برای آدمها یا دوستانم تعریف کنم.
کاش یک روز بشود :))
پ.ن.: ای کاش ناشرها یک روز عاقل شوند و ویراستار و نمونهخوان درست و حسابی استخدام کنند...
طیف مسائل مطرحشده خیلی زیاد است. برای خواننده، دهها سوال ایجاد میشود که نویسنده به برخی از آنها پاسخ میدهد. اما سوالات بیپاسخ، مشوقیست برای مطالعهی عمیقتر و جهتدهی به خوانندهی علاقهمند.
موقع خواندنش، مدام دلم میخواست میتوانستم مطالب را به شکل یک دوره کوتاه یا کارگاه چندجلسهای برای آدمها یا دوستانم تعریف کنم.
کاش یک روز بشود :))
پ.ن.: ای کاش ناشرها یک روز عاقل شوند و ویراستار و نمونهخوان درست و حسابی استخدام کنند...
March 29, 2019
I knew about Prof. David Christian and his Big History course through an article on recommended books by Bill Gates, and it turned out to be a fascinating journey on a much larger magnitude than usual history courses. From physics to chemistry to geology, biology and human history (within which there are also paleontology, archaeology, anthropology) - all these disciplines have one thing in common. They are all based on evidence and proof, which make them all scientific disciplines. Big history is structured into 8 thresholds as follows.
Threshold 1: The Universe - Cosmology
Threshold 2: The First Stars - Astronomy
Threshold 3: The Chemical Elements - Chemistry
Threshold 4: The Earth and the Solar System - Geology
Threshold 5: Life - Biology
Threshold 6: The Paleolithic Era - Human History
Threshold 7: The Agrarian Era - Human History
Threshold 8: The Modern Era - Human History
What the above shows is the sheer scale, particularly on a temporal basis, on what big history aims to cover. It is a remarkable effort in pulling together all these various specialised disciplines into a single narrative, a unifying theme on the idea of increasing complexity.
This Great Course on Big History was published 10yrs ago, but I do not think that it matters given the time scale we are dealing with. A more recent book was published titled Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, which will most likely take less time to read (this Great Course is over 24hrs to listen to, with each lecture clocking in around 30min).
From David Christian's Big History to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, there is one common theme that resonated like a clarion throughout the long history of humankind. And that is the devastating impact of human beings on the environment and the biosphere. I can spend hours talking about this, but instead I will just recommend that you read at least one of the books I've mentioned above.
Threshold 1: The Universe - Cosmology
Threshold 2: The First Stars - Astronomy
Threshold 3: The Chemical Elements - Chemistry
Threshold 4: The Earth and the Solar System - Geology
Threshold 5: Life - Biology
Threshold 6: The Paleolithic Era - Human History
Threshold 7: The Agrarian Era - Human History
Threshold 8: The Modern Era - Human History
What the above shows is the sheer scale, particularly on a temporal basis, on what big history aims to cover. It is a remarkable effort in pulling together all these various specialised disciplines into a single narrative, a unifying theme on the idea of increasing complexity.
This Great Course on Big History was published 10yrs ago, but I do not think that it matters given the time scale we are dealing with. A more recent book was published titled Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, which will most likely take less time to read (this Great Course is over 24hrs to listen to, with each lecture clocking in around 30min).
From David Christian's Big History to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, there is one common theme that resonated like a clarion throughout the long history of humankind. And that is the devastating impact of human beings on the environment and the biosphere. I can spend hours talking about this, but instead I will just recommend that you read at least one of the books I've mentioned above.
September 5, 2018
این کتاب که فکر کنم هنوز به فارسی ترجمه نشده و سال گذشته نوشته شده به مرور تاریخ زمین و بشر از ابتدا تا اکنون پرداخته. مسلما قسمت های زیادی وجود داره که نویسنده تنها یکی از نظریه های موجود رو در نظر گرفته و از بحث در مورد سایر نظریه ها به هر دلیلی چشم پوشی کرده. این قسمت ها مخصوصا در اوایل کتاب در ذوق می زند.
اما همه چیز بعد از آخرین عصر یخبندان که ده هزار سال پیش تمام شده به شدت جذاب میشه. همچنین به واسطه مستندات باستان شناس ها مباحث مرتبط در این قسمت قابل قبول تر و دل نشین تر شدند.
مهمترین عاملی که از آغاز تا اکنون تعیین کننده بوده بحث انرژی است. انرژی بود که باعث شد انسان اولیه به کشاورزی روی بیاره و همون کشاورزی بود که اونها رو ساکن کرد و تمدن و شهر ها شکل گرفت و بعدها انرژی سوخت های فسیلی بود که به رشد بشر سرعت داد. کاملا قابل درک هست که سرنوشت انرژی در آینده سرنوشت نسل بشر رو تعیین کنه.
اما همه چیز به این سادگی هم پیش نرفته و نمیره. تولید انرژی بیشتر و مصرف انرژی بیشتر یک خروجی بد داره و اون افزایش انتروپی و گرم شدن زمین است که اگر بشر مثل بقیه مشکلاتش براش فکری نکنه در آینده ای که دور نیست با مشکلات بدی رو برو میشه.
در نهایت خواندن این کتاب (یا کتاب های مشابه) را برای کسانی که دوست دارند خارج از موضوعات مورد علاقه اشون کمی هم در مورد محیط اطرافشون و اینکه چگونه بشر به اینجا رسیده بدونند توصیه می کنم.
اما همه چیز بعد از آخرین عصر یخبندان که ده هزار سال پیش تمام شده به شدت جذاب میشه. همچنین به واسطه مستندات باستان شناس ها مباحث مرتبط در این قسمت قابل قبول تر و دل نشین تر شدند.
مهمترین عاملی که از آغاز تا اکنون تعیین کننده بوده بحث انرژی است. انرژی بود که باعث شد انسان اولیه به کشاورزی روی بیاره و همون کشاورزی بود که اونها رو ساکن کرد و تمدن و شهر ها شکل گرفت و بعدها انرژی سوخت های فسیلی بود که به رشد بشر سرعت داد. کاملا قابل درک هست که سرنوشت انرژی در آینده سرنوشت نسل بشر رو تعیین کنه.
اما همه چیز به این سادگی هم پیش نرفته و نمیره. تولید انرژی بیشتر و مصرف انرژی بیشتر یک خروجی بد داره و اون افزایش انتروپی و گرم شدن زمین است که اگر بشر مثل بقیه مشکلاتش براش فکری نکنه در آینده ای که دور نیست با مشکلات بدی رو برو میشه.
در نهایت خواندن این کتاب (یا کتاب های مشابه) را برای کسانی که دوست دارند خارج از موضوعات مورد علاقه اشون کمی هم در مورد محیط اطرافشون و اینکه چگونه بشر به اینجا رسیده بدونند توصیه می کنم.
November 10, 2018
This was good, definitely good but just so.
Felt more of a concoction of already familiar works of some of the famous historians, scientists, biologists and anthropologists.
Was hoping for something more insightful...
Felt more of a concoction of already familiar works of some of the famous historians, scientists, biologists and anthropologists.
Was hoping for something more insightful...
January 31, 2020
تاريخ شامل بالفعل، متعدد التوجهات والمجالات، لكن تبقى أوجه الشبه ملفتة ولا يمكن تجاهلها. فسواء كنت تتحدث عن تاريخ النجوم، الخلايا أو النظام الاقتصادي، يمكن وضع تحليلك في نفس الإطار الآخاذ، وبلغة الأدب في نفس الحبكة الروائية.
الكتاب قيم جدا على المستويين العلمي والتاريخي، كنز معرفي مجمع بدقة وأناقة.
الكتاب قيم جدا على المستويين العلمي والتاريخي، كنز معرفي مجمع بدقة وأناقة.
October 29, 2019
رحلة مذهلة في 13.6 مليار سنة، تستقصي حقولا معرفية متباعدة لتحصل حبكة متشابكة تصلنا بجذور الوجود في هذا الكون الفسيح. في لغة سلسة وتسلسل متدفق بسيط.
يطل دافيد كريستيان على الوجود من خلال عتبات يعتبرها اساسية لفهم تاريخنا. واستشراف مستقبلنا القاتم.
نص جيد، أقترحه بشدة.
يطل دافيد كريستيان على الوجود من خلال عتبات يعتبرها اساسية لفهم تاريخنا. واستشراف مستقبلنا القاتم.
نص جيد، أقترحه بشدة.
January 7, 2023
An impressive example of interdisciplinary knowledge. Christian is not only intelligent, however, but also wise. His interpretation of research and their implications for our species, our planet, our biosphere, are worrisome. At the same time, he acknowledges that we have the abilities, or opportunities, to establish a stable relationship with our biosphere. This book is equal parts bleak and hopeful.
That's no to say this is an environmentalist work. Christian's goal is to help us understand where we came from, how we got here, and to put our current situation in a context that is easier for us to understand. It is incredibly helpful. It should be required reading for everyone.
It is easy to be pessimistic these days given our turbulent political environment. After reading this book, however, I can't help but feel a sense of cautious optimism for our species. We live (hopefully) at the end of the economically driven society. As we transition to a more stable society, our potential as a species is abundant. Kinda wish I could stick around long enough to see it.
That's no to say this is an environmentalist work. Christian's goal is to help us understand where we came from, how we got here, and to put our current situation in a context that is easier for us to understand. It is incredibly helpful. It should be required reading for everyone.
It is easy to be pessimistic these days given our turbulent political environment. After reading this book, however, I can't help but feel a sense of cautious optimism for our species. We live (hopefully) at the end of the economically driven society. As we transition to a more stable society, our potential as a species is abundant. Kinda wish I could stick around long enough to see it.
March 23, 2018
This was an strange and interesting lecture series. The professor stated up front that he would only deal with the more basic aspects of the evolution of the cosmos, and was true to his word because this series requires no prerequisite knowledge; and yet, he highlighted Eric Chaisson's work, which is not at all basic. That made me laugh a bit. He certainly packaged Chaisson's arguments into very simple digestible terms (it took me a while to get through Chaisson's books and articles), it was just curious that he used Chaisson's work at all.
Some highlights:
- The formation of stars and their galaxies will surely impart the lesson of "structure is function". Stars are huge and can therefore produce a lot of heat, because they have gravity to help pull elements in and smash those elements together, creating heat. The earth is not as big as the sun and so therefore could never have nuclear fusion occurring in its core because as hot as our core is, it can never be as hot as the core of the massive sun. Jupiter on the other hand is much larger and could have a much hotter core. I cannot remember if he talked about Brown Dwarfs at that point. If not, you should look that up because they are my favorite. They are too little to be a a star and too big to be a planet.
- Solar system formation depended on the original nebula that made our sun. He detailed the standard theory of how the sun blew our the elements that made all the planets. If you want a better explanation of this, I suggest reading Exoplanets by Michael Summers and James Trefil who provide the most up to date evidence for solar system and planetary formation.
- Really beautiful explanation of not only the origins of life but how single cells cooperate but are not multi celled organisms (some sponges look like multi celled organisms but they are actually a bunch of single celled organisms who group together) as well as the evolution of eukaryotic cells and more complex life. He is very passionate about all of this and makes the lectures that much more enjoyable.
- Even better was his discussion of energy capture- how organisms capture energy from the sun. I was a little put off by some points made in the energy discussion. He fell prey to the "humans are special" argument that I think many people take too far, but it was not really a strong argument, so it was tolerable.
- Energy capture naturally led to a discussion of agriculture and takes you on a really nice journey of the very first societies and follows societies of humans as they became more and more complex. I listened to this section more than once and learned a lot. He thoughtfully tried to understand how gender disparities arose in these societies. But even more enjoyable was his discussion of how humans were forced into small areas because of how wet or dry the soil around them might have been and if the local village or town had set up a water irrigation system (this was a fantastic discussion, probably my favorite in the series because I had the least amount of knowledge in this area)
- He included a really nice and basic primer on Adam Smith and specialization and the spread of competitive markets.
I recommend this even for people who already know all of this. It was a great experience to think about the development of 13.8 billion years as a fluid motion.
Some highlights:
- The formation of stars and their galaxies will surely impart the lesson of "structure is function". Stars are huge and can therefore produce a lot of heat, because they have gravity to help pull elements in and smash those elements together, creating heat. The earth is not as big as the sun and so therefore could never have nuclear fusion occurring in its core because as hot as our core is, it can never be as hot as the core of the massive sun. Jupiter on the other hand is much larger and could have a much hotter core. I cannot remember if he talked about Brown Dwarfs at that point. If not, you should look that up because they are my favorite. They are too little to be a a star and too big to be a planet.
- Solar system formation depended on the original nebula that made our sun. He detailed the standard theory of how the sun blew our the elements that made all the planets. If you want a better explanation of this, I suggest reading Exoplanets by Michael Summers and James Trefil who provide the most up to date evidence for solar system and planetary formation.
- Really beautiful explanation of not only the origins of life but how single cells cooperate but are not multi celled organisms (some sponges look like multi celled organisms but they are actually a bunch of single celled organisms who group together) as well as the evolution of eukaryotic cells and more complex life. He is very passionate about all of this and makes the lectures that much more enjoyable.
- Even better was his discussion of energy capture- how organisms capture energy from the sun. I was a little put off by some points made in the energy discussion. He fell prey to the "humans are special" argument that I think many people take too far, but it was not really a strong argument, so it was tolerable.
- Energy capture naturally led to a discussion of agriculture and takes you on a really nice journey of the very first societies and follows societies of humans as they became more and more complex. I listened to this section more than once and learned a lot. He thoughtfully tried to understand how gender disparities arose in these societies. But even more enjoyable was his discussion of how humans were forced into small areas because of how wet or dry the soil around them might have been and if the local village or town had set up a water irrigation system (this was a fantastic discussion, probably my favorite in the series because I had the least amount of knowledge in this area)
- He included a really nice and basic primer on Adam Smith and specialization and the spread of competitive markets.
I recommend this even for people who already know all of this. It was a great experience to think about the development of 13.8 billion years as a fluid motion.
November 13, 2019
От Големия взрив до далечното бъдеще: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...
Дейвид Крисчън е създател на проекта “Big History”, подпомаган дейно от Бил Гейтс, който има за задача да съгради универсално описание на миналото, което подминава безкрайните международни крамоли, опиращи до териториални претенции и вековно трупани междусъседски вражди. Хората можем да погледнем на историята си глобално, като част от продължил хилядолетия успех, който в момента е поставен под въпрос – и отново поради собствената ни дейност. Но истината е, че ние не сме в центъра на тази история – не е възможно, защото тя започва милиарди години назад.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...
Дейвид Крисчън е създател на проекта “Big History”, подпомаган дейно от Бил Гейтс, който има за задача да съгради универсално описание на миналото, което подминава безкрайните международни крамоли, опиращи до териториални претенции и вековно трупани междусъседски вражди. Хората можем да погледнем на историята си глобално, като част от продължил хилядолетия успех, който в момента е поставен под въпрос – и отново поради собствената ни дейност. Но истината е, че ние не сме в центъра на тази история – не е възможно, защото тя започва милиарди години назад.
CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...
July 23, 2018
I want to read more good nonfiction, and came across this intriguing title - it fit the bill nicely, giving me a new cautiously optimistic outlook and taking my mind off of the dreadful news headlines for a bit.
First of all, I really enjoyed the dry humor and interesting observations of the author. He uses the term Goldilocks to refer to the just right evolutionary conditions planet Earth possessed which allowed life to develop. The following passage is typical of his engaging style, in which he discusses these ‘evolutionary ups and downs’:
“These changes did not take the smooth, stately forms that Darwin and his generation expected of evolution. Instead, the history of big life was an unpredictable and dangerous roller coaster ride… Like the cliché about the life of a soldier, evolution in the Phanerozoic meant long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of terror and life-threatening violence. The violence is most apparent in periods of mass extinctions.”
Or these observations on agrarian civilizations: “Viewed ecologically states and their rulers represent a new step in the food chain, a new trophic level. We have seen how energy from sunlight enters the biosphere through photosynthesis and travels from plants to herbivores to carnivores. And we have seen how most of that energy is wasted at each trophic level, in a sort of garbage tax.… Rulers and nobles and officials begin to squeeze wealth in the labor and produce of peasants, who in turn got their energy in food for farming.… Thinking about such processes in ecological terms reminds us that wealth never really consist of things; it consists of control over the energy flows that make, move, mine, and transform things. Wealth is a sort of compressed sunlight, just as matter is really congealed energy.”
See? Different and intriguing, yet accessible. And I admit, when I read the above statement about nobles squeezing peasants, I thought of my favorite scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur (Graham Chapman) is treated to a lecture on human rights from a peasant!
I found Christian’s Big History ideas a fascinating, clear-eyed, intelligent way of getting a big picture of where humans have been and where we may be going; maybe not always a rosy picture, but an impressive and important way to organize our history thus far. I love how beautifully he weaves together so many disciplines and narratives! So much of current news coverage is breathless and cataclysmic and, I feel, takes our eyes and minds off the real, larger issues covered here. I am going to continue to seek out well-written and well-researched non-fiction that helps me grasp the important issues and try and make sense of our world!
First of all, I really enjoyed the dry humor and interesting observations of the author. He uses the term Goldilocks to refer to the just right evolutionary conditions planet Earth possessed which allowed life to develop. The following passage is typical of his engaging style, in which he discusses these ‘evolutionary ups and downs’:
“These changes did not take the smooth, stately forms that Darwin and his generation expected of evolution. Instead, the history of big life was an unpredictable and dangerous roller coaster ride… Like the cliché about the life of a soldier, evolution in the Phanerozoic meant long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of terror and life-threatening violence. The violence is most apparent in periods of mass extinctions.”
Or these observations on agrarian civilizations: “Viewed ecologically states and their rulers represent a new step in the food chain, a new trophic level. We have seen how energy from sunlight enters the biosphere through photosynthesis and travels from plants to herbivores to carnivores. And we have seen how most of that energy is wasted at each trophic level, in a sort of garbage tax.… Rulers and nobles and officials begin to squeeze wealth in the labor and produce of peasants, who in turn got their energy in food for farming.… Thinking about such processes in ecological terms reminds us that wealth never really consist of things; it consists of control over the energy flows that make, move, mine, and transform things. Wealth is a sort of compressed sunlight, just as matter is really congealed energy.”
See? Different and intriguing, yet accessible. And I admit, when I read the above statement about nobles squeezing peasants, I thought of my favorite scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur (Graham Chapman) is treated to a lecture on human rights from a peasant!
I found Christian’s Big History ideas a fascinating, clear-eyed, intelligent way of getting a big picture of where humans have been and where we may be going; maybe not always a rosy picture, but an impressive and important way to organize our history thus far. I love how beautifully he weaves together so many disciplines and narratives! So much of current news coverage is breathless and cataclysmic and, I feel, takes our eyes and minds off the real, larger issues covered here. I am going to continue to seek out well-written and well-researched non-fiction that helps me grasp the important issues and try and make sense of our world!
October 24, 2019
Wow - Where to begin? When I first started reading Origin Story, I had absolutely no idea that this book would grow to become one of my favourites. Trust me when I say that it is a nail-biter, I found it excruciatingly challenging to put down! Origin Story takes you on a journey through time, from the beginning of the universe at the Big Bang, to present day, and onwards into some likely scenarios for the future. It's difficult to praise this work without spoiling its contents, but I especially appreciated Mr. David Christian's discretion to explain complex scientific processes in layman's terms. As a POC, one aspect of the book I applaud is the due diligence the author gives to the atrocities committed by Europeans in the name of "progression". This book is factual, impartial, and thoroughly informative. I would recommend it to everyone.
January 28, 2019
Multidisciplinary look at the modern origin story of humankind. It begins with the big bang (astrophysics, quantum mechanics, etc.) and talks about star formation and planet formation. Then it goes on to discuss the history of earth and of life on earth (biology, chemistry, geology, etc.), all the way through present times (economics, history, sociology, etc.). It finishes up by looking at possible futures for us and the universe as a whole.
I don't normally get as engaged with non-fiction books, but this one was fascinating and truly puts the world and the universe into a different perspective for me. I highly, highly recommend this book.
I don't normally get as engaged with non-fiction books, but this one was fascinating and truly puts the world and the universe into a different perspective for me. I highly, highly recommend this book.
March 5, 2019
Scary stuff. Really scary, and important, and informational.
This is science that everyone needs to understand. If you follow creationist theories, just skip over the bits on evolution. There is still some good information in here that won't go against your beliefs.
This is science that everyone needs to understand. If you follow creationist theories, just skip over the bits on evolution. There is still some good information in here that won't go against your beliefs.
May 29, 2020
I have a strong impulse to type the opening lyrics of the show Big Bang Theory, but I'll resist.
Origin Story delivers exactly what it promises, the history ranging from the manifestation of the universe to the capitalism and global issues we go through today. I must admit that I glossed over a few chapters because I was here mostly for the human part and just a summary of the big bang. With that in mind, I did find reading the book a fairly enriching exercise that explains how humans evolved to develop complex societies and the technology to deeply affect the biosphere of the planet. Swiping through the pages to visualise how we went from agriculture to the atomic bomb is informative, and it also shed a lot of knowledge on archaeology and sociology, so yeah, good read.
Origin Story delivers exactly what it promises, the history ranging from the manifestation of the universe to the capitalism and global issues we go through today. I must admit that I glossed over a few chapters because I was here mostly for the human part and just a summary of the big bang. With that in mind, I did find reading the book a fairly enriching exercise that explains how humans evolved to develop complex societies and the technology to deeply affect the biosphere of the planet. Swiping through the pages to visualise how we went from agriculture to the atomic bomb is informative, and it also shed a lot of knowledge on archaeology and sociology, so yeah, good read.
February 28, 2024
إن سبق لك وقرأت كتاب (حتى نهاية الزمن) لـبرَيَن جرين، وكتاب (العاقل) لـنوح هراري، فقد تجد-مثلي- هذا الكتاب تكرارا وتلخيصا.
والكتابان المذكوران يفوقانه جودة في الأسلوب وبراعة في العرض، وسعة في الطرح
والكتابان المذكوران يفوقانه جودة في الأسلوب وبراعة في العرض، وسعة في الطرح
January 12, 2015
This is the perfect reference guide for the transcendental non-material Artificial Intelligent machines of the future who want an apple pie since as Carl Sagan said "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe". All the steps necessary for making an apple pie are included in this lecture.
This lecture is a really profitable way of looking at history. He uses certain themes to tie all of history together. Most of our way of thinking about our place in the universe has started with thinking that the way things are today is the way things have always been. Even Einstein accepted the static universe at one time. the originator of the continental drift was laughed at up till the 1960s, evolution today is denied by a large significant number of people, and so on.
All of history can be tied together by many themes, there's a Recursive nature to processes, once an algorithm has been developed it can act on itself and give complexity and create things such as stars, solar systems and mufti-cellular life. From complexity we can get Emergent properties, characteristics that are part of the whole but could not be predicted from the parts. Think of the neurons in our brain. They give us consciousness. So, one can say the sum of the parts is greater than the whole since consciousness transcends individual neurons. The other theme is Entropy, useful energy only arises when there are differences within a system. When everything is the same, no exploitation is possible. This is true in the universe as the whole and true in the development of civilization or in capitalism. The Networking of complex systems make for better galaxies and better civilization. Our true strength as the most complex entities in the universe is our ability to Network and our advancements are based on developing ever better ways of communicating from the invention of symbolic communication (talking), through farming, living in cities and the development of the internet for sharing pictures of our cats.
The lecture does a marvelous job at tying all the pieces of making an apple pie (or more properly, developing a great service like Audible) into a coherent whole. The lecture listens more like a book than a series of independent lectures since the lecturer never forgets his central narratives.
Most of the audible books and Great Courses I listen to have covered the same topics as this lecture but did so in much more depth. So, therefore, most of this lecture seemed to be a review for me. I didn't mind that, because I need to hear the same thing presented in three different ways before I can fully understand it, and with that warning that this course could be mostly review for most people I can still highly recommend this course since he has such a good way of tying all the pieces together.
This lecture is a really profitable way of looking at history. He uses certain themes to tie all of history together. Most of our way of thinking about our place in the universe has started with thinking that the way things are today is the way things have always been. Even Einstein accepted the static universe at one time. the originator of the continental drift was laughed at up till the 1960s, evolution today is denied by a large significant number of people, and so on.
All of history can be tied together by many themes, there's a Recursive nature to processes, once an algorithm has been developed it can act on itself and give complexity and create things such as stars, solar systems and mufti-cellular life. From complexity we can get Emergent properties, characteristics that are part of the whole but could not be predicted from the parts. Think of the neurons in our brain. They give us consciousness. So, one can say the sum of the parts is greater than the whole since consciousness transcends individual neurons. The other theme is Entropy, useful energy only arises when there are differences within a system. When everything is the same, no exploitation is possible. This is true in the universe as the whole and true in the development of civilization or in capitalism. The Networking of complex systems make for better galaxies and better civilization. Our true strength as the most complex entities in the universe is our ability to Network and our advancements are based on developing ever better ways of communicating from the invention of symbolic communication (talking), through farming, living in cities and the development of the internet for sharing pictures of our cats.
The lecture does a marvelous job at tying all the pieces of making an apple pie (or more properly, developing a great service like Audible) into a coherent whole. The lecture listens more like a book than a series of independent lectures since the lecturer never forgets his central narratives.
Most of the audible books and Great Courses I listen to have covered the same topics as this lecture but did so in much more depth. So, therefore, most of this lecture seemed to be a review for me. I didn't mind that, because I need to hear the same thing presented in three different ways before I can fully understand it, and with that warning that this course could be mostly review for most people I can still highly recommend this course since he has such a good way of tying all the pieces together.
February 22, 2022
Es un muy buen libro, en el tipo “Gran Historia” (el autor es pionero y una autoridad en la materia) y le presta mucha atención (varios capítulos) a la evolución del cosmos, la Tierra y sus habitantes, antes de la aparición del hombre. Marcando momentos umbral en los cuales se dieron las condiciones ideales (y muchas veces de forma estadísticamente improbable) para un siguiente salto, es un buen texto para tratar de responder de dónde venimos, y vernos como humanos en nuestra (real) dimensión: si estimamos que el universo tiene el equivalente a 13.5 años y la Tierra 4.5 años, la presencia humana (homo sapiens) se estimaría en un par de horas; la sedentarización y la agricultura unos 5 minutos y la vida humana actual promedio, un par de segundos… (no somos nada, o en todo caso, hay que darle sentido a esos 2 segundos).
Lo leí después de Sapiens (de cualquier forma, fue publicado 4 años después), y aunque el primero considero tiene una narración muy fluida y quizás más cautivante, igual se trata de un libro valioso e interesante. Cabría preguntarse por la opinión del autor con respecto al futuro, luego de 2 años de pandemia COVID.
Plus: contiene una variada bibliografía en las notas (aunque un poco antigua, igual se encuentran otros textos referentes).
Lo leí después de Sapiens (de cualquier forma, fue publicado 4 años después), y aunque el primero considero tiene una narración muy fluida y quizás más cautivante, igual se trata de un libro valioso e interesante. Cabría preguntarse por la opinión del autor con respecto al futuro, luego de 2 años de pandemia COVID.
Plus: contiene una variada bibliografía en las notas (aunque un poco antigua, igual se encuentran otros textos referentes).
September 12, 2019
Christian really puts the "big" in "big history". Somehow this book achieves both sweep and detail. He gives us the universe as a story of energy and information interacting to generate ever-increasing complexity, and I'm sold. By the time he's done, I'm thinking, "Yeah: that's a pretty good way to look at it. Hard to think of any aspect of history that doesn't fit into that schema." As for meticulous, illuminating detail, look at his account of how life forms emerged from non-living matter: wow. I got this book from the library but after I read it I bought it: I wanted to have it around.
January 20, 2023
พ่อของผมสอนผมว่า
คำถามจำพวก ‘ใครสร้างผมขึ้นมา’ เป็นคำถามที่ไม่อาจตอบได้
เนื่องจากมันทำให้ต้องตั้งคำถามต่อทันทีว่า ‘แล้วใครกันที่สร้างพระเจ้า’
🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐
เริ่มต้นด้วย cosmos จบลงด้วย sapiens
ชอบอ่านหนังสือแนวนี้ จักรวาล อวกาศ กำเนิดสิ่งมีชีวิต 🪐🌝🌌
แม้จะเข้าใจบ้าง ไม่เข้าใจบ้าง แต่เรื่องราวชวนอัศจรรย์ใจเสมอ
เล่มนี้เล่าเรื่องอ่านง่าย ไม่น่าเบื่อ อัพเดทข้อมูลการค้นพบใหม่ๆ
ชอบการเปรียบเทียบ timeline ตั้งแต่กำเนิดจักรวาลจน��ึงปัจจุบันให้เข้าใจง่าย เอาจำนวนปีหารด้วยพันล้าน เข้าใจง่ายขึ้นเยอะ เช่น จักรวาลกำเนิดขึ้น 13 ปี 8 เดือนก่อน, มนุษย์เพิ่งกำเนิดเมื่อ 100 นาทีก่อน ⏰⏰
🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌
บทแรก: แน่นอนว่าต้องเริ่มเล่าจากปรากฏการณ์ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดอย่างบิ๊กแบง เล่าต่อมาเรื่อยๆถึงการกำเนิด ดวงดาว ที่ว่าง แร่ธาตุ การฟอร์มทีมกาแล็กซีและระบบสุริยะ มีอัพเดทข้อมูลใหม่ๆเพิ่มเยอะเหมือนกัน
อ่านแล้วรู้สึกจักรวาลช่างเวิ้งว้าง เหงา เปล่าเปลี่ยวเดียวดาย เป็นความกว้างใหญ่ไพศาลที่จินตนาการไปไม่ถึงจริงๆ
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
บทที่สอง: ว่าด้วยการกำเนิดโลก ชั้นบรรยากาศและสิ่งมีชีวิต มันมหัศจรรย์มากที่ทุกอย่างพอดีจนกำเนิดชีวิตได้
อุณหภูมิ สิ่งแวดล้อม แร่ธาตุเหมาะสม กลายเป็นกรดอะมิโนเฉย แล้วกรดอะมิโนก็เกี่ยวกระหวัดกันไปมาจนมีชีวิต
จากสิ่งมีชีวิตตัวจ้อย กลายเป็นตัวใหญ่ยักษ์ สูญพันธุ์แล้วสูญพันธุ์อีก
บทนี้อ่านแล้วรู้สึกดีใจว่าโลกช่างเอาตัวรอดเก่ง ไม่ว่าจะเจอมหันตภัยระดับไหน สุดท้ายโลกจะเอาตัวรอดได้ ส่วนมนุษยชาติช่างมันเถอะ สูญพันธุ์ไปบ้างเผื่อจะได้วิวัฒนาการเผ่าพันธุ์ใหม่ที่ดีกว่าเดิม (มั้ง)
👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀
บทที่สาม-สี่: ว่าด้วยมนุษย์และอนาคต
บทนี้แอบเบื่อนิดหน่อย เพราะคล้าย sapiens เลย อ่านจบหืดขึ้นคอ พอแล้ว ขอพักก่อน 😂😂
แต่ถ้าไม่เคยอ่าน sapiens บทนี้ก็คือสรุปย่อๆเลย
ผู้เขียนเล่าตั้งแต่บรรพบุรุษมนุษย์ วิวัฒนาการ การตั้งรกราก พัฒนาเป็นสังคมเกษตรกรรม จนเป็นสังคมอุตสาหกรรม
เราจะเห็นความพิเศษของสปีชีส์มนุษย์ สมองมนุษย์พัฒนาได้อย่างก้าวกระโดด มีความทรงจำ มีการถ่ายทอด สื่อสาร ทำให้ก้าวล้ำหน้าสิ่งมีชีวิตอื่นอย่างรวดเร็ว และสุดท้ายก็ทำให้สิ่งอื่นสูญพันธุ์
อนาคตอันใกล้ ในอีกสองสามพันปีข้างหน้า ยังไม่มีโมเดลใดที่สามารถคาดการณ์อนาคตได้ แต่ที่แน่ๆจักรวาลจะขยายไปเรื่อยๆจนกว่าจะบรึ้มมมมม กลายเป็นโกโก้ครันช์
คำถามจำพวก ‘ใครสร้างผมขึ้นมา’ เป็นคำถามที่ไม่อาจตอบได้
เนื่องจากมันทำให้ต้องตั้งคำถามต่อทันทีว่า ‘แล้วใครกันที่สร้างพระเจ้า’
🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐🪐
เริ่มต้นด้วย cosmos จบลงด้วย sapiens
ชอบอ่านหนังสือแนวนี้ จักรวาล อวกาศ กำเนิดสิ่งมีชีวิต 🪐🌝🌌
แม้จะเข้าใจบ้าง ไม่เข้าใจบ้าง แต่เรื่องราวชวนอัศจรรย์ใจเสมอ
เล่มนี้เล่าเรื่องอ่านง่าย ไม่น่าเบื่อ อัพเดทข้อมูลการค้นพบใหม่ๆ
ชอบการเปรียบเทียบ timeline ตั้งแต่กำเนิดจักรวาลจน��ึงปัจจุบันให้เข้าใจง่าย เอาจำนวนปีหารด้วยพันล้าน เข้าใจง่ายขึ้นเยอะ เช่น จักรวาลกำเนิดขึ้น 13 ปี 8 เดือนก่อน, มนุษย์เพิ่งกำเนิดเมื่อ 100 นาทีก่อน ⏰⏰
🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌
บทแรก: แน่นอนว่าต้องเริ่มเล่าจากปรากฏการณ์ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดอย่างบิ๊กแบง เล่าต่อมาเรื่อยๆถึงการกำเนิด ดวงดาว ที่ว่าง แร่ธาตุ การฟอร์มทีมกาแล็กซีและระบบสุริยะ มีอัพเดทข้อมูลใหม่ๆเพิ่มเยอะเหมือนกัน
อ่านแล้วรู้สึกจักรวาลช่างเวิ้งว้าง เหงา เปล่าเปลี่ยวเดียวดาย เป็นความกว้างใหญ่ไพศาลที่จินตนาการไปไม่ถึงจริงๆ
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
บทที่สอง: ว่าด้วยการกำเนิดโลก ชั้นบรรยากาศและสิ่งมีชีวิต มันมหัศจรรย์มากที่ทุกอย่างพอดีจนกำเนิดชีวิตได้
อุณหภูมิ สิ่งแวดล้อม แร่ธาตุเหมาะสม กลายเป็นกรดอะมิโนเฉย แล้วกรดอะมิโนก็เกี่ยวกระหวัดกันไปมาจนมีชีวิต
จากสิ่งมีชีวิตตัวจ้อย กลายเป็นตัวใหญ่ยักษ์ สูญพันธุ์แล้วสูญพันธุ์อีก
บทนี้อ่านแล้วรู้สึกดีใจว่าโลกช่างเอาตัวรอดเก่ง ไม่ว่าจะเจอมหันตภัยระดับไหน สุดท้ายโลกจะเอาตัวรอดได้ ส่วนมนุษยชาติช่างมันเถอะ สูญพันธุ์ไปบ้างเผื่อจะได้วิวัฒนาการเผ่าพันธุ์ใหม่ที่ดีกว่าเดิม (มั้ง)
👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀👩🚀
บทที่สาม-สี่: ว่าด้วยมนุษย์และอนาคต
บทนี้แอบเบื่อนิดหน่อย เพราะคล้าย sapiens เลย อ่านจบหืดขึ้นคอ พอแล้ว ขอพักก่อน 😂😂
แต่ถ้าไม่เคยอ่าน sapiens บทนี้ก็คือสรุปย่อๆเลย
ผู้เขียนเล่าตั้งแต่บรรพบุรุษมนุษย์ วิวัฒนาการ การตั้งรกราก พัฒนาเป็นสังคมเกษตรกรรม จนเป็นสังคมอุตสาหกรรม
เราจะเห็นความพิเศษของสปีชีส์มนุษย์ สมองมนุษย์พัฒนาได้อย่างก้าวกระโดด มีความทรงจำ มีการถ่ายทอด สื่อสาร ทำให้ก้าวล้ำหน้าสิ่งมีชีวิตอื่นอย่างรวดเร็ว และสุดท้ายก็ทำให้สิ่งอื่นสูญพันธุ์
อนาคตอันใกล้ ในอีกสองสามพันปีข้างหน้า ยังไม่มีโมเดลใดที่สามารถคาดการณ์อนาคตได้ แต่ที่แน่ๆจักรวาลจะขยายไปเรื่อยๆจนกว่าจะบรึ้มมมมม กลายเป็นโกโก้ครันช์
March 16, 2018
This textbook gives a brief history of the universe. It is told through the development of eight breakthroughs—“thresholds”— that begin with the Big Bang and end with the Anthropocene of the modern world. It is the story of pockets of growing complexity despite encroaching entropy
The two most important concepts in this book are thresholds and complexity. Thresholds are used as a heuristic for understanding how increasing complexity reaches a tipping point whereby it gives rise to emergent properties.
Complexity
No real definition of a complex entity is provided, but these are its characteristics:
1. Contains diverse components.
2. Arranged within a precise structure.
3. Has emergent properties.
4. Appears in “Goldilocks” conditions.
5. Held together by flows of energy.
Thresholds
There are eight major thresholds in Big History which give rise to (⟶) emergent properties:
1. Big Bang ⟶ potential to create everything.
2. Stars ⟶ energy flows and potential for fusion.
3. Heavy chemical elements ⟶ Chemical combination.
4. Planets ⟶ greater physical and chemical complexity.
5. Life ⟶ metabolism and adaption.
6. Homo Sapiens ⟶ Collective learning (i.e., sharing information).
7. Agriculture ⟶ greater energy extraction.
8. Anthropocene ⟶ controlling the biosphere.
This story of the universe has only been uncovered in the last century as a result of chronometric dating, plate tectonics, the cosmic background radiation, and other recent scientific developments. These developments allow us to go beyond the written record and illuminate billions of year of history unbeknownst to our ancestors. It behooves us to learn this history.
The two most important concepts in this book are thresholds and complexity. Thresholds are used as a heuristic for understanding how increasing complexity reaches a tipping point whereby it gives rise to emergent properties.
Complexity
No real definition of a complex entity is provided, but these are its characteristics:
1. Contains diverse components.
2. Arranged within a precise structure.
3. Has emergent properties.
4. Appears in “Goldilocks” conditions.
5. Held together by flows of energy.
Thresholds
There are eight major thresholds in Big History which give rise to (⟶) emergent properties:
1. Big Bang ⟶ potential to create everything.
2. Stars ⟶ energy flows and potential for fusion.
3. Heavy chemical elements ⟶ Chemical combination.
4. Planets ⟶ greater physical and chemical complexity.
5. Life ⟶ metabolism and adaption.
6. Homo Sapiens ⟶ Collective learning (i.e., sharing information).
7. Agriculture ⟶ greater energy extraction.
8. Anthropocene ⟶ controlling the biosphere.
This story of the universe has only been uncovered in the last century as a result of chronometric dating, plate tectonics, the cosmic background radiation, and other recent scientific developments. These developments allow us to go beyond the written record and illuminate billions of year of history unbeknownst to our ancestors. It behooves us to learn this history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 791 reviews