5/26/2009
Christian: Maps of Time
David Christian: Maps of Time - An Introduction to Big History
Paperback: 642 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (2005)
"On the cosmological scale, changes mostly occur at the stately pace of millions or even billions of years. In the biological realm, where natural selection sets the pace, significant alterations take place on scales ranging from thousands to millions of years. In human history, shaped increasingly by cultural change, the pace is more rapid. ... The extraordinary dynamism of the Modern Revolution has accelerated the pace of global historical change once more. Time itself seems to have been compressed in the twentieth century." page 441
"Colonization of other worlds may begin with the industrial exploitation of the Moon, nearby planets, and asteroids. It will continue with the planting of settlements on planets within our solar system. Both the industrial exploitation of asteroids and the initial colonization of Mars may be feasible within a century." p. 483
David Christian: Maps of Time - An Introduction to Big HistoryPaperback: 642 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (2005)
"On the cosmological scale, changes mostly occur at the stately pace of millions or even billions of years. In the biological realm, where natural selection sets the pace, significant alterations take place on scales ranging from thousands to millions of years. In human history, shaped increasingly by cultural change, the pace is more rapid. ... The extraordinary dynamism of the Modern Revolution has accelerated the pace of global historical change once more. Time itself seems to have been compressed in the twentieth century." page 441
David Christian's Maps of Time is a modern creation myth - a single explanatory narrative that contextualizes individual existence in the modern post-industrialist society to the global cosmological experience. A very entertaining book!
"Colonization of other worlds may begin with the industrial exploitation of the Moon, nearby planets, and asteroids. It will continue with the planting of settlements on planets within our solar system. Both the industrial exploitation of asteroids and the initial colonization of Mars may be feasible within a century." p. 483
Second Opinion: Heikki Patomäki / Helsinki University
¶ 5/26/2009 07:11:00 ap.
