David Christian - The history of our world in 18 minutes
Ted Talks
Find this talk by clicking here or going directly to the ted.com website. As with all the talks, you may download it to watch or listen to later.
Before you watch, read the title. How old is the earth? How old is the universe? Can you predict the field of study of the speaker (i.e. economics, chemistry, history, etc)?
Watch the talk all the way through without stopping- you may use English subtitles, but do not stop the video. Take notes on main ideas and important details. When you are finished, answer the questions:
1. Why does the speaker talk about entropy at the beginning of the speech? What does the video he shows tell us about entropy?
2. What does the speaker mean by “threshholds of complexity”? What are the "goldilocks conditions"?
3. What makes humans different?
4. What two things does the speaker say explain the current "staggering complexity" around us?
5. What is the central question the speaker wants to answer?
6. What is his main purpose with this speech? What does he mean by "big history"?
Watch the talk again and check your answers. Correct or add to them if necessary.
Writing - synthesize your notes and the above answers into a summary. You may continue by discussing the advantages and/or disadvantages of "big history" as the speaker describes it.
1. Why does the speaker talk about entropy at the beginning of the speech? What does the video of egg mush tell us about entropy and the universe? He intends to show with the video and the discussion of entropy how the universe tends to go from complexity to non-complexity, from structure and order to lack of structure and lack of order.
2. What is the central question the speaker wants to answer? "Can the universe create complexity?" If entropy is the tendency, how does the universe go in the opposite direction?
3. What does the speaker mean by “thresholds of complexity”? What are the "goldilocks conditions"? Thresholds of complexity are periods of transition in the history the universe in which the universe becomes more complex. Goldilocks conditions are necessary conditions for the creation of complexity - "not too hot, not too cold, but just right". (examples: the creation of stars, the creation of the solar system, the creation of living organisms, etc)
4. What makes humans different? "Collective learning," which is possible because of language. With language, we can learn collectively and pass information to new generations.
6. What two things does the speaker say explain the current "staggering complexity" around us? Collective learning and fossil fuels
7. What does he mean by "big history"? What is his main purpose with this speech? Big history is a way to look at the nature of human complexity by examining the larger context of the universe. The speaker wants to introduce this idea as an intellectual tool to understand the challenges and opportunities that we face.
Watch the talk all the way through without stopping- you may use English subtitles, but do not stop the video. Take notes on main ideas and important details. When you are finished, answer the questions:
1. Why does the speaker talk about entropy at the beginning of the speech? What does the video he shows tell us about entropy?
2. What does the speaker mean by “threshholds of complexity”? What are the "goldilocks conditions"?
3. What makes humans different?
4. What two things does the speaker say explain the current "staggering complexity" around us?
5. What is the central question the speaker wants to answer?
6. What is his main purpose with this speech? What does he mean by "big history"?
Watch the talk again and check your answers. Correct or add to them if necessary.
Writing - synthesize your notes and the above answers into a summary. You may continue by discussing the advantages and/or disadvantages of "big history" as the speaker describes it.
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Answer key:
1. Why does the speaker talk about entropy at the beginning of the speech? What does the video of egg mush tell us about entropy and the universe? He intends to show with the video and the discussion of entropy how the universe tends to go from complexity to non-complexity, from structure and order to lack of structure and lack of order.
2. What is the central question the speaker wants to answer? "Can the universe create complexity?" If entropy is the tendency, how does the universe go in the opposite direction?
3. What does the speaker mean by “thresholds of complexity”? What are the "goldilocks conditions"? Thresholds of complexity are periods of transition in the history the universe in which the universe becomes more complex. Goldilocks conditions are necessary conditions for the creation of complexity - "not too hot, not too cold, but just right". (examples: the creation of stars, the creation of the solar system, the creation of living organisms, etc)
4. What makes humans different? "Collective learning," which is possible because of language. With language, we can learn collectively and pass information to new generations.
6. What two things does the speaker say explain the current "staggering complexity" around us? Collective learning and fossil fuels
7. What does he mean by "big history"? What is his main purpose with this speech? Big history is a way to look at the nature of human complexity by examining the larger context of the universe. The speaker wants to introduce this idea as an intellectual tool to understand the challenges and opportunities that we face.
