Transcript Universal Perspectives

Universal Perspectives
Developed by
Joe Naumann
UMSL
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The Historical Perspective
Compressing the geologic history of
the Earth into one calendar year.
Another way of looking at our place
in the grand scheme of things.
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The Beginnings
• Jan 1, 12:00:00 AM
– The planet takes shape
– 4,600,000,000 years ago
• Feb 9, 6:46:57 PM
– The first single-cell life forms appear
– 4,100,000,000 years ago
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The Formation of Earth
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Early Life Forms
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Biological Developments
• Nov 17, 10:38:37 AM
– shelled animals
• Nov 21, 7:40:10 PM
– fish
• Nov 27, 6:53:13 PM
– land plants
• Dec 5, 5:50:37 PM
– reptiles
– 330,000,000 years ago
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Changes in the Land Surface
• Dec 11, 7:30:47 AM
– The Appalachian Mountains are formed – they
approached the size of the Himalaya Mountains
of today.
• Dec 12, 2:36:31 AM
– Pangaea (a single super-continent) Forms
– 250,000,000 years ago
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Pangaea
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Further Biological Development
• Dec 13, 4:48:00 PM
– Dinosaurs appear
• Dec 16, 2:05:13 AM
– Mammals appear
– 200,000,000 years ago
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Time Marches On
• Dec 16, 2:05:13 AM
– Pangaea Breaks Up
• Dec 20, 1:33:55 AM
– Sierra Nevada forms
• Dec 20, 11:06:47 AM
– Birds appear
– 145,000,000 years ago
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Procession of Life Forms
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Continued Developments
• Dec 26, 10:19:50 AM
– Rockies are formed
• Dec 26, 5:58:07 PM
– Dinosaurs become extinct
• Dec 28, 7:37:03 PM
– Himalayas and Alps are formed
– 40,000,000 years ago
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Rushing Toward the Present
• Dec 31, 4:21:42 PM
– Hominids appear
• Dec 31, 8:10:51 PM
– Oahu (Hawaiian Island) is formed
– 2,000,000 years ago
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Arriving at Modern Times
• Dec 31 11:55:25 PM
– Modern man (homo sapiens) appears
• Dec 31 11:59:19 PM
– The historical period (written records) begins
– 6,000 years ago
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Evolution to Homo Sapiens
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The Spatial/Demographic
Perspective
One way of looking at our place in
the universe
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The Beginning of the Universe
• The Big Bang
– 15 Billion years ago
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An Expanding Universe
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Galaxies
• There are probably more than one hundred
billion (1011) galaxies in the observable
universe.
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Galaxy Formation
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Typical Galaxy
• Typical galaxies range from
dwarfs with as few as ten
million (107) stars up to
giants with one trillion
(1012) stars. Andromeda
shown to the right.
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The Milky Way Galaxy
• Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, sometimes
simply called the Galaxy (with uppercase),
is a large disk-shaped barred-spiral galaxy
about 30 kiloparsecs in diameter and a
kiloparsec in thickness. It contains about
two hundred billion (2×1011) stars and has a
total mass of about six hundred billion
(6×1011) times the mass of the Sun.
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The Milky Way
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Sol (our sun)
• Sol is the center of a solar system within the
Milky Way. This solar system is composed
of 9 or 10 planets (there’s been a recent
reevaluation of what constitutes a planet).
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Our Solar System
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The Earth
• The Earth is the third planet from Sol and
supports a multitude of plant and animal
species.
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Human Beings
• Currently, 2007, Earth supports a little more
than 6 billion human beings.
• Each human being is a host to a multitude
of living things.
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A Human
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The Human Ecosystem
• Within each human there are approximately
100 trillion cells. Of those cells:
– 10% are human cells
– 90% are alien cells
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Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Other microbes and parasites
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Bacteria
• 500 species live in the human gut and weigh
approximately 3.3 pounds.
• Approximately one trillion bacteria live on
the skin.
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Viruses
• The virus that causes chicken pox remains
within the nerves in a dormant state and can
be reactivated later to cause the painful
condition known as shingles.
• Fossil DNA fragments of viruses exist
within human DNA.
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Fungi
• Many humans are hosts to fungi which may
invade and grow on/in the skin, finger and
toenails, lungs and other sites.
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Mites
• A species of mites resides within the hair
follicles of the eyelashes of most older
persons.
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What does this all mean to 21st
Century Homo Sapiens?
What follows are:
Reflections,
Conclusions,
Conjectures.
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From the perspective of the universe:
• In the grand scheme of the universe, the
earth and the homo sapiens living on it are
less than an insignificant speck.
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From the perspective of the planet Earth:
• Twenty-first century homo sapiens occupy
an intermediate position within the vast,
interconnected web of life in which the
planet Earth is enmeshed.
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What is it about 21st century homo
sapiens that we must consider?
• Homo sapiens has achieved the highest levels
of both knowledge and technology that have
ever been possessed by homo sapiens.
• Homo sapiens is capable of rendering the Earth
uninhabitable by human beings.
• Will homo sapiens find the wisdom with which
to properly manage the knowledge and
technology that it currently possesses?
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