Post by bjorn on May 21, 2011 14:34:09 GMT
www.bighistoryproject.com/Big-History/Themes
"A Modern Scientific Origin StoryAll societies we know of have tried to understand themselves and the challenges they face by telling origin stories. Origin stories embrace the whole of the past and by doing so they help people identify their place in the Universe as a whole. Big history is a modern origin story. It surveys the whole of the past, from the birth of the universe 13.7 billion years ago. By telling us where we and our world came from, big history can help us understand more deeply who and what we are, and what challenges we face today. Big history differs from traditional origin stories mainly in its use of modern evidence drawn from a wide range of disciplines to substantiate its claims."
Nothing wrong with this, even if I note that one Norwegian magazine this weeks has an article on the project, calling it an alternative to religion.
And one can perhaps understand that angle when reading more:
"Though the Universe as a whole tends towards increasing simplicity, in parts of the Universe where the conditions were just right, increasingly complex things have appeared. These include stars, planets, living organisms and human beings. Each contained new qualities that had not existed before. More complex things seem to appear suddenly, at what we call ‘thresholds’, moments of sudden change. "
OK, some kind of mystical (or dialectical/Marxist?) angle where new levels of complexity suddenly arise for purely natural reasons despite going against the grain? Seems a bit religious...
And note which moments they are talking about:
"This course will be organized around 8 thresholds:
The appearance of the Universe
The creation of stars
The forging of new elements
The formation of the solar system and our earth
The appearance of life on earth
The appearance of humans who could learn collectively
The appearance of agriculture
The appearance of the modern world "
While the universe "appears" (from where? how? why?), the stars are "created"...
And speaking about "humans who could learn collectively" is a puzzling way of putting it - is this in opposite to monkeys or dogs being able to learn something in flocks? Or just a more political angle on humans being better at communicating than other animals?
As "The appearance of the modern world" also is a topic (however they define it), I guess they are extremely .... eager to show the importanse of the Medieval period as a stepping stone to the Modern.
"A Modern Scientific Origin StoryAll societies we know of have tried to understand themselves and the challenges they face by telling origin stories. Origin stories embrace the whole of the past and by doing so they help people identify their place in the Universe as a whole. Big history is a modern origin story. It surveys the whole of the past, from the birth of the universe 13.7 billion years ago. By telling us where we and our world came from, big history can help us understand more deeply who and what we are, and what challenges we face today. Big history differs from traditional origin stories mainly in its use of modern evidence drawn from a wide range of disciplines to substantiate its claims."
Nothing wrong with this, even if I note that one Norwegian magazine this weeks has an article on the project, calling it an alternative to religion.
And one can perhaps understand that angle when reading more:
"Though the Universe as a whole tends towards increasing simplicity, in parts of the Universe where the conditions were just right, increasingly complex things have appeared. These include stars, planets, living organisms and human beings. Each contained new qualities that had not existed before. More complex things seem to appear suddenly, at what we call ‘thresholds’, moments of sudden change. "
OK, some kind of mystical (or dialectical/Marxist?) angle where new levels of complexity suddenly arise for purely natural reasons despite going against the grain? Seems a bit religious...
And note which moments they are talking about:
"This course will be organized around 8 thresholds:
The appearance of the Universe
The creation of stars
The forging of new elements
The formation of the solar system and our earth
The appearance of life on earth
The appearance of humans who could learn collectively
The appearance of agriculture
The appearance of the modern world "
While the universe "appears" (from where? how? why?), the stars are "created"...
And speaking about "humans who could learn collectively" is a puzzling way of putting it - is this in opposite to monkeys or dogs being able to learn something in flocks? Or just a more political angle on humans being better at communicating than other animals?
As "The appearance of the modern world" also is a topic (however they define it), I guess they are extremely .... eager to show the importanse of the Medieval period as a stepping stone to the Modern.