13th September, 2011
I was shown this video the other day and I found it a very thought-provoking lecture.
I was only made aware of this 'TED: Ideas for sharing' website recently, a place full of fascinating and enlightening conferences about various ways of life that we take for granted.
This particular talk has stuck in my mind for days. There's so much in it that I feel is forgotten or unknown to many but important to all. I've often thought that history is essential to any successful progression as a race. History provides us with that double-edged sword: hindsight. I always think its important to know how we, as a race, have got this far. It's easy to forget how much we have achieved on this planet and even the most intricate of systems are taken for granted, like the national grid or our sewage system. Where would we be without electricity in the age of the internet, or sanitation in an era of health and safety mania? Our success is down to human nature, the thirst to know, and the ability to carry this learning into the future, thus, accumulating knowledge.
However, abuse of these integral systems jeopardise the 'goldilocks conditions' that David Christian speaks about in this video. Just as it is easy to forget the achievements of the human race, it is also easy to forget how fragile our planet is, and how minor changes in environment and chemical make-up have led to the planet we are able to inhabit.
This leads me to believe that it can't be just luck that has created this intricate eco-system out of nothing. It is difficult to comprehend that each of us are a result of a chemical reaction gone wrong, that there really is no meaning to life. But if this is true, why has a chemical reaction led to us searching for it?
After all, life is surely more than just exotic chemistry.
(Video taken from youtube, but you can watch the original on the TED website here)
For more information on Big History, visit their website.
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