The King And The Chessboard Of Wheat

“Human History at last took off around 50,000 years ago, at the time of what I have termed our Great Leap Forward. (Page 39)

We are only a brief second in the long history of the universe; many things have preceded us to make us the most complex creatures that ever walked the Earth. We are a “new level of complexity” which makes us different from all other creatures that have come before us. Our species has only been around for 250,000 years, a short time compared to the formation of the Earth at 4.5 billion years ago and the creation of the Universe at 13.7 billion years ago, but the time we have had on this Earth has greatly affected the outcome of history. In an attempt to provide an overview of human history in his book This Fleeting World, David Christian introduces it in the context of the history of the universe and then systematically breaks it down

Thinking of life back almost 40,000 years ago can be a challenge to wrap the mind around. To learn about the human species’ past, we must decipher the clues left behind of how humans used to live.

The human race advances through time, with almost no acknowledgement of the downfall they have created for themselves. Through ambition and greed we have begun to destroy the only place we can call home. Since the beginning of time we have fought for land, needlessly spilling blood to achieve pride and satisfaction. The machines we build pollute our land and air, but we continue building. We drain the resources of our land, hungry for wealth and power, but for what? We are wiping ourselves out quicker than we realize and in a matter of time, there will be no trace of human being on planet earth.

This Fleeting World is a small summary of ‘big history’. David Christian’s book is a mere 92 pages long with an included 9-page prequel (on topics during the first years without humans such as Earth’s creation and more) and 16-page appendix on the book’s use in school, historical periodization, and a 4-page list of sources. With around 120 pages, this short book seems to be the perfect size to represent how our species’ history is only miniscule fraction compared to the history of that around us. In a world that has been around for over four and a half billion years old (6) in a universe that is 13.8 billion years old (1), homo sapiens have been around for only approximately 250,000 of those years (9). It seems impossible, though, to fit those hundreds of thousands of years into the modest text. However, Christian does the impossible and makes a well written short ‘big history’. Where many other historians before him have failed at making one, Christian’s book, This Fleeting World, summarizes history from the big-bang all

Numerous advantages and disadvantages exist when explaining the history of the world in seven minutes, as seen in "The History of the World in Seven Minutes." As a result, many events are briefly looked at, or ignored completely. Both major and important occurrences in history are summarized, giving the events most influential to humans a spotlight or greater focus. On the other hand, humans have made exceptional progress over the last 15,000 years, consequently, all of the major time periods, civilisations, and confrontations cannot be observed by more than a name and a date; the lack of depth creates a sense of lacking and a gap of missing knowledge.

“My compadres dallied to memorialize their arrival at the apex of the planet … using up precious ticks of the clock. None of them imagined that a horrible ordeal was drawing nigh. Nobody suspected that by the end of that long day, every minute would matter” (Krakauer 11).

decades, but the question is, who got us here and how? Three of the main

In 1967 Billy Pilgrim was abducted by aliens called Tralfamadorians. “They had many wonderful things to teach Earthlings, especially about time” [26] Because of this Billy understands how time is structured, and changes his perception and understanding of

The evolution of that formation created the world we live in today. The earth has been in existence for a little over four point five billion years to be exact. The earth shares a story that we are still exploring. From its colorful coral reefs in bright and vibrant

In discussions of health gardening, and healthy food has not been such an impact on this community and environment. A reasonable claim to why our community has a high obesity rate is because people do not take care of their weight. In Barboza’s article he talks about the obesity rate and how it is getting out of hand, the sugary food is banned from schools. In my opinion, I agree with all authors of the different articles, but David Barboza explains a risky issue that we should all pay attention to. The risks of diabetes affect the children more because they are still young and will eat anything that tastes delicious, the children watch television and see the ads of fast food restaurants that show hamburgers, ice cream, soda, etc. For example, children want to go eat junk food at the places the ads show because the ads do not show anything that has fresh fruit or veggies just unhealthy products.

It has been 115 years since mankind bid farewell to the ground for the first

As we continue to rotate around in the solar system, we cannot help but acknowledge the underlying demise we have made for ourselves. This great downfall is not only known, but shown throughout works of literature. We have become arrogant and greedy people as time has passed. If we continue to live like this, new objects & our selfish mindsets will really kickstart our utter failure. I am not saying we cannot stop this, but signs of it already starting has raised yellow flags. So we must continually caution ourselves like a car would and slow down before a crash is to take place.

Soon after the birth of earth, it was a very different place from the one we know today.

the things that we could of done in our lives on earth when we are