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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

• 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?