What, in your view, was the most important single theme of HSTX115: An Introduction to Big History? Give examples to support your view.

            Introduction

            An introduction to the big history gives priority to three major and important skills as well as three major concepts that the individuals are required to master. The important skills of the book include integration of several disciplines, testing and making claims and development of thought across different scales[1]. The core concepts of the book are as follows origin of stories, collective learning, and thresholds. The major theme of the book is to encourage individuals to think across different scales from the expansive of the massive universe to the tiniest atoms.  Individuals are therefore necessitated to think across distinct scales in regard to distance and time. This is, therefore, crucial in helping individuals frame experience at an individual level, community, family, geologic experience and national humanity. This is therefore achieved by incorporating different   disciplines as the content of the book encourages the utilization of interdisciplinary thoughts and procedures. Individuals should, therefore, integrate multiple discipline insights when drawing conclusions and analyze historical data while including physical, social and natural sciences[2].

            Individuals are required to draw awareness of the wide ranges of disciplines in order to fully understand the kinds of questions that they should ask, their conclusion that they made and the evidence that they utilize in supporting their results[3].  The book, therefore, encourages individuals to develop consistent, thoughtful and rigorous procedures in testing their information and thoughts. The book, therefore, holds that the techniques are useful as they can be utilized in distinct academic discourse. The book views the universe as moment’s series complexity threshold which is the core concept of the book.

            The big history focuses on giving the story of the world and the existence of the universe beginning with the stars formation, earth’s life, planets existence, modern civilization and things that may occur in the future. The book is based on understanding the complexity increase thresholds which helps in the development of its main theme which is increasing and developing the capability of thoughts. The central concept of the big story emphasizes the ever-growing complexity of the world.  The book accomplishes the concept delivery by utilizing the concept of goldilocks situations. The concept is used in the description of the right conditions that happens at a precise accurate time in triggering the changes form of essential things.  With a great view of the changes which can be seen through the provided scales lens the big history book provides an opportunity for understanding of the origin of begins, where they are heading as well as the complexity and the world’s fragility[4].

            The origin of the big history story is similar to that of others but the story is rooted in a particular geography and culture because it aims at accounting for the things that are known but have not yet been discovered[5].  The book does this in order to grow its complexity and encourage thoughts development from distinct scales of life.  Every culture is characterized with its own unique story of origin. These stories may either be anecdotes or they might be narratives that are elaborate which are essential in the provision of understanding of human’s existence mysteries.

Differently from conventional history, the big history investigates the past happening by utilizing several scales of time from the occurrence of the big bang to civilization and modernization.  Unlike the structures of conventional history which begin by exploring the typical evaluation of the introduction and modernization and examination of the records of written materials the book is based on common themes as well as pattern to help individuals in understanding the presented information fully.  The big history is centered on the development of thoughts through the increasing complexity because it holds its statements on the universe and demonstrates how humans are fit within the provided context. The book, therefore, places the beings history in the larger context of the world’s history. The book provides rapid details about the historical eras such as ancient Egypt and issuance. The latest findings of the book are drawn from environmental studies, astronomy biology, and many others[6].

            In the purpose of developing thoughts big history grew from the great desire to work beyond the self-contained and specialized emerging fields in the 20th century.  The book tries to hold history as a general thing well examining common themes across different history scales.  In order to increase the complexity as well as thoughts development, the book does not focus on written materials which are associated with limitation of the research. This characteristic, therefore, makes the book effective in triggering thoughts development via the use of complexity as it covers history data[7].

            The concept of thresholds helps in the creation of transitions which is the general creation of fresh things that have not yet been discovered from what is known by human kinds.  The big history holds more of interdisciplinary basis because it sees the civilization transition as a major gradual which holds many causes and impacts rather than abrupt changes from uncivilized cavemen to civilized and dynamic farmers. Since the recent past can only be understood in terms of the general 14 billion time spa itself the big history seeks to establish and retell the general story of humans in the scientific advances light by the utilization of methods such as genetic analysis and dating of radiocarbon[8].  In several instances, the book utilizes methods like mathematical modeling in the aim of exploring the interactions which exist between trends that are in long term form in sociological schemes.  This has led to Clio-dynamic coining which explores the actions of every individual mix environmental as well as social forces based on one view.  The big story seeks to establish the repeating patterns that existed during the 13.8 billion since the occurrence of the big bang.  For instance one of its patterns is referred to as the chaos creativity catalyzes like the impact of the asteroid while moping out the relics.

            In answering the question of time scales the big history is crucial in making comparisons that are based on distinct scales of time which is scales play[9]. The book accomplishes this with the purpose of developing human thoughts by noting the differences and similarities that are present between geological, cosmological scales and human. The book, therefore, holds that the general beliefs of Christians such as radical shifts in the human perspective may yield important insights into the common historical issues from the debate of nature to the history of the environment towards the essential nature of transformation.  This, therefore, demonstrates how the existence of humans has been triggered to change by both natural factors as well as human made factors. This is for instance  based on the natural processes which occurred more than 4  billion years ago the remains of the exploding stars led to the emerge of irons and this, therefore, would lead to the utilization of hard meta in forging hunting weapons as well as war equipment. The big history uses different disciplines to increase the understanding of human by demonstrating how things got here how to choose the things to believe in and the meaning of life with the formation of the earth[10]. Understanding and complexity is achieved as the big history provides tours of the whole group of the scientific paradigms which is crucial in allowing individuals to become literate scientifically in a speedy mode.

            The big history addresses the   cosmic evolution complexity in order to grow the understanding of beings. The major central theme of the big history is understanding and complexity increase. In the 14billion years as the universe appeared more complex things which seems to have occurred and humans are among the major complex of all of them. It is therefore a natural thing according to the big history and these things are bound to fascinate humans[11].  Additionally the civilized human society is characterized by complexity such that learning the origin and the existence of the universe creates complexity which can be crucial in teaching us on fresh discoveries about the world today as well as the future[12].  The big story helps in triggering human’s thoughts development by assuming that there is nothing unique about the world’s complicity or the fact that complex things are a necessity as compared to the simple things.  The big history holds that complexity is effective in resulting in challenges[13].

            From the changing interactions that occur between individuals, societies, and the globe individuals can  be able to  explore the transformation of the interactions that occurs between  humans and humans as well as their surroundings. This, therefore, encourages them to develop thoughts about the types of evidence which is available to the current and the past historians and the role that history plays in shaping their understanding of the global and domestic communities that they belong to in the world today. The book basis is founding’s on the fact that there is no past evidence or investigation is required in discovering new things from what is known. The book works beyond geography, a particular theme or even a particular period as it provides the widest learning scale on the history[14].  The story, therefore, begins with universe’s origin in order to be able to fully tell the linked series stories about the general universe. The big history accomplishes things by the presentation of various interactions that occurs between beings in order to increase the complexity as well as the general understanding.  This aspect is crucial in the development of thoughts as it helps individual in establishing things that have not  been discovered even in those things regarding the universe that are well known[15].

            Complexity can only be found where the conditions around an individual are right and the ingredients for developing the situation are right also.  Therefore based on the big history the complexity of the universe can best be understood because of its complexity. Individuals are therefore the book helps individuals in trying to develop thoughts in order to fully understand why the situation is in the existing form. In order for individuals to accomplish the concept of thoughts development, there must be flowing energy. This concept, therefore, results in modernization which is created by the existence of fresh discoveries.  The big history explains this by utilizing the cosmetic evolution which entails more that a single subject.  This can thus be described a qualitative assertion of a single thing after the other.  This is a uniform approach which utilizes a consistent concept in regard to all complex matters thus suggesting differences among the distinct systems which are not in the form of types but in the form of degrees.

            The book is purposed to show that although with time knowledge and ideas accumulates increasingly regarding the existence of earth from different generation it is clear that information by human upon the other and there is still space for discovery[16]. This idea has thus been effective in demonstrating the existing opportunities in discoveries even with prior discoveries.  The collective pattern of human learning follows the pattern of discoveries that are made by the big history book. For instance, the formation of new stars in the world did not just occur in a particular period of time[17]. This took several elements in combining the stars as well as in building in order to ensure that they would be able to prove that stars were capable of generating light in the space darkness. This is, therefore, similar in the learning modes of different individuals because it takes the time to prove that learning has been accomplished effectively.  This is accomplished by the utilization of different elements which aims to ensure that the purpose of learning is accomplished. This concept has been effective in accomplishing the major theme of the book which aims at triggering thoughts development from different scales[18].

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Brown, C. S. (2012). Big history: From the big bang to the present.

Christian, D. C. (2011). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berkeley: University of       California Press.

Grinin, L., Korotayev, A., Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk., & Volgograd Center for Social    Research. (2013). Evolution: Development within big history, evolutionary and world-           system paradigms.

Holton, R., & Nasson, W. R. (2010). World Civilizations and History of Human Development.     Ramsey: Eolss Publishers.

Macinnis, P., & National Library of Australia,. (2013). The big book of Australian history.

New Leaf Press. (2011). Big book of history. Green Forest, Ark: New Leaf Publishing Group.

Spier, F. (2015). Big history and the future of humanity.

 

[1] Brown, C. S. (2012). Big history: From the big bang to the present.

 

[2] Christian, D. C. (2011). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berkeley: University of    California Press.

 

[3] Spier, F. (2015). Big history and the future of humanity

[4] New Leaf Press. (2011). Big book of history. Green Forest, Ark: New Leaf Publishing Group.

 

[5] New Leaf Press. (2011). Big book of history. Green Forest, Ark: New Leaf Publishing Group.

 

[6] New Leaf Press. (2011). Big book of history. Green Forest, Ark: New Leaf Publishing Group.

 

[7] Macinnis, P., & National Library of Australia,. (2013). The big book of Australian history.

 

[8] Macinnis, P., & National Library of Australia,. (2013). The big book of Australian history.

 

[9] Holton, R., & Nasson, W. R. (2010). World Civilizations and History of Human Development.   Ramsey: Eolss Publishers.

 

[10] Holton, R., & Nasson, W. R. (2010). World Civilizations and History of Human Development. Ramsey: Eolss Publishers.

 

[11] Grinin, L., Korotayev, A., Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk., & Volgograd Center for Social             Research. (2013). Evolution: Development within big history, evolutionary and world-          system paradigms.

 

[12] Grinin, L., Korotayev, A., Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk., & Volgograd Center for Social             Research. (2013). Evolution: Development within big history, evolutionary and world-          system paradigms.

 

[13] Grinin, L., Korotayev, A., Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk., & Volgograd Center for Social             Research. (2013). Evolution: Development within big history, evolutionary and world-          system paradigms.

 

[14] Christian, D. C. (2011). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berkeley: University of   California Press.

 

[15] Christian, D. C. (2011). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berkeley: University of   California Press.

 

[16] Brown, C. S. (2012). Big history: From the big bang to the present.

 

[17] Brown, C. S. (2012). Big history: From the big bang to the present.

 

[18] Christian, D. C. (2011). Maps of time: An introduction to big history. Berkeley: University of   California Press.