What we normally define as history doesn't interest me. It's a constraint. David Christian constraintdefinehistory Change image and share on social
Modern scientific knowledge appeared piecemeal. Historians wrote about human history; physicists tackled the material world; and biologists studied the world of living organisms. But there were few links between these disciplines, as researchers focused on getting the details right. David Christian appearbiologistdetail share on social
Learning to domesticate the horse was a sort of energy revolution. David Christian domesticateenergyhorse Change image and share on social
Big History studies the history of everything, offering a way of making sense of our world and our role within it. David Christian bighistorymake Change image and share on social
I believe human beings mark a threshold in the development of the planet, of course, but it is only part of the picture. What Big History can do is show us the nature of our complexity and fragility and the dangers that face us, but it can also show us our power, with collective learning. David Christian beingbigcollective share on social
Unfortunately, historians have become so absorbed in detailed research that they have tended to neglect the job of building larger-scale maps of the past. David Christian absorbbuilddetail Change image and share on social
All religions, all indigenous traditions, all origin stories provide a large map of where you are. David Christian indigenouslargemap Change image and share on social
Every kid goes to school full of questions about meaning. You know, 'What's my place in the universe? What does it mean to be a human being? What are human beings?' Existing courses cannot help you answer those questions. They can't even help you ask them. David Christian answerbeingcourse share on social
Living organisms are created by chemistry. We are huge packages of chemicals. David Christian chemicalchemistrycreate Change image and share on social
In literature classes, you don't learn about genes; in physics classes you don't learn about human evolution. So you get a fragmented view of the world. That makes it hard to find meaning in education. David Christian classeducationevolution share on social