Desman Hidayat

18th May 2014 Jakarta

A Brief Presentation of

A Brief History of Humankind

Based on the course: “A Brief History of Humankind” by Dr. Yuval Noah Harari, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Coursera.org

13 billion years ago Big BangAtom PhysicsMolecule Chemistry

4 billion years ago Organism Biology

70.000 years ago Homo Sapiens developed culture history

The Beginning

2.5 million years agoAustralopithecusEast Africa

2 million years agoLeft their homeland

The Human Family

Homo Neanderthalensis“Neanderthal”Europe & Middle East

The Human Family

Homo FloresiensisFlores Island, Indonesia

The Human Family

Large Brain60 kilograms pig 200 CC brain 60 kilograms human 1200-1400 CC

brain

Walk on 2 legs

Human Characteristics

"Marrow" ~ Human's Food

Human & Fire

70,000 years agoMigrated from East AfricaReached Middle East, Europe, Central Asia,

South Asia, East Asia60,000 years ago

Reached China & Korea45,000 years ago

Reached Australia15,000 years ago

Reached America

Homo Sapiens' Journey

BoatsNeedlesOil LampsWeaponsReligions

Homo Sapiens' Inventions

Common Stories & Gossips

Before human reached Australia (-50,000 years)24 Australian animal species (50kg+)

After human reached AustraliaOnly 1 Australian animal species (50kg+)Red Kangaroo

Australia & Homo Sapiens

Agricultural Revolution

History's Biggest Fraud

Human brains are incapable of handling large amount of information

First script discovered:The name of an accountantEconomic documents

Writings

Unify the world into a single system3 factors:

MoneyPoliticReligion

Empires’ history2250 BC: first empire: Akkadian Empire of

Sargon the Great, Mediterranean500 BC: Kiros the Great of PersiaAlexander the GreatEtc.

The Direction of History

3 unique characteristics of modern science:Modern science assumes that we

don’t know everythingThe centrality of observation and

mathematicsIt aims to acquire new “power”

The Discovery of Ignorance

The Story of Gilgamesh

Problems SolutionsThe leading project of modern science is to give humankind eternal life

2050 Ammortal

The Gilgamesh Project

18th Century: European states were still weaker than the great power of Asia

European managed to conquer America and the oceans mainly because Asia showed very little interest in this areas

How to rule the world?Technology

European voyages = scientific voyages + imperial voyages

The Marriage of Science & Empire

James Cook1778South Pacific Ocean & AustraliaGeographer + Naval Officer in the British

Royal NavyZheng He

15th Century7 voyagesReached East AfricaSent by ruling faction in Beijing

The Marriage of Science & Empire

European empires were created and managed by private businesses

VOCEstablished 16021603 – first arrived in Indonesia1800 – Indonesia became a national colony of

the Dutch stateBritish East India Company

Conquered India 17571858 - the British crown nationalized India

Relationship between Capitalism & Modern European Empire

1781 James Watt Steam Engine

The problem of industrial revolutionIncreased production, lack of consumptionSolution?Consumerism

Industrial Revolution

Main contributing factors to the new era of peace:The price of war has gone up dramatically

NuclearThe profit of war declinedPeace has become more profitable than ever

before

Peace

Are Homo Sapiens Happier Now Than They Were Before?

Within a few decades or couple of centuries at most, Homo Sapiens will disappear

Not extinct, but evolveSingularity

Our world of meaning collapsed completelyOur identity will become irrelevantWhen?

Nobody really knows2050?100-300 years later?

The End of Homo Sapiens

Thank You

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Australopithecus_afarensis.JPG http://www.archeolog-home.com/medias/images/1-neanderthal.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/

Homo_floresiensis_adult_female_-_model_of_head_-_Smithsonian_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_2012-05-17.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Large_bonfire.jpg http://www.theartnewspaper.com/imgart/lion-man-ulm.jpg http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/gossip.jpg?

w=480&h=320&crop=1 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Kangur.rudy.drs.jpg http://www.novatel.com/assets/Web-Phase-2-2012/Industry-Pages/

Agriculture.png http://www.qacps.k12.md.us/mms/george/gilgameshpicture.jpg http://www.bestmediums.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dove-of-

peace-3.jpg Video lectures from the course: “A Brief History of Humankind” at

Coursera.org

References