Since the dawn of humankind, historians are trying to piece out the gaps in history and explain how we got here based on the events of the past. Surprisingly, historian David Christian, author of This Fleeting World, summed up the astonishments and confusions of humanity in 113 pages. This short book, about world history, tells us about the prequel of the Universe (first 14 billion years of the earth without humans) to the modern era in history (how we are today). David’s goal is to provide an easy understanding of world history for students. What to expect in this enticing book? This Fleeting World is comprised of a 7-page “Preface” (how to guide), notes of the publisher (1 page), intro (3 pages), 9-page “Prequel” (before the beginning), …show more content…
However, the Universe was insanely hot (billions of degrees), so it is bursting with energy. With that intense amount of energy, “...the Universe expanded explosively, perhaps faster than the speed of light.” Afterwards, the cooling Universe began a series of “phase changes.” During the first second of its existence, distant forces like electromagnetism and gravity forms. At first, the universe was so roughed that particles destroyed themselves, resulting in pure energy. The rate of expansion had slowed after the first second and it contains what we know today (Christian 2008, p. xxi). He kept the reading simple to its main points; he did not over complicate the book with rigorous details. This will help the reader to have an easier understanding of David’s how the universe started in the “Prequel.” Secondly, Christian’s gives the “big picture” of history by separating them into three eras, Era of Foragers, Agrarian Era, and the Modern Era. His organizational skills are incredible. He followed the timeline in chronological order perfectly, so the reader will not get confused when they read the book. Furthermore, the author helped students by making a table throughout each era, so they can understand each key event. The
I only experienced one weakness of his book, in my opinion; the book took forever to get to the solid
Overall, this section of the book, was my favorite part as the references to Greek and Roman culture were exciting to read about. For example, when he discussed things like mixing water and wine or even talking about the symposiums, this became a great interest to me, leaving me wanting to know more about these ancient
You will now read two passages and answer the questions that follow. Some of the questions may ask you to compare the two passages. This passage is based on a tale from the Ashanti people of Ghana. Anansi is a famous character, a spider, who often tricks others. Passage 1 Stories from the Sky
Elizabeth Fenn wrote Encounters at the Heart of the World because she wanted to tell the story of the Mandan people. Her goal was to tell a history story without focusing on telling it from a European perspective which typically focus on traditional settings such as the east coast when describing historical accounts of the United States. This book emphasizes the importance of the Mandan and how they were an important yet obscure part of American history. Fenn wants readers to know and care about the Mandan because it is a story about people, movement and interaction. In addition Fenn’s story challenges the perception of Indigenous people all over America and it allows the reader to get historical summary of important events while viewing
I intend to defend a version of the Kalam Cosmological Argument that does not require the use of the A-theory of time, that is, that the Kalam Cosmological Argument cannot be rejected on the grounds of this assumption. In a syllogistic fashion, Craig presents the
Throughout history, humankind has been greatly affected by religion. It has brought people together, caused wars, and helped many people find themselves. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a personal memoir about the author’s experience as a young Jewish boy during the Holocaust. At the mere age of fifteen he was taken from his home, placed in concentration camps, sent on death marches, and potentially had his whole life stripped from him. Throughout the memoir, Elie Wiesel uses Eliezer’s change in faith to show the importance and difficulty of maintaining faith through hardship by prioritizing Eliezer’s communication with his god over his interaction with those around him.
“This Fleeting World” is a summarized version of world history in a short, 92 page book. How can such a small book tell such a large story? Well this book is divided into 3 sections, “The era of foragers”, “The agrarian era”, and “The modern era”. The first era is the era of foragers you may know as the hunter-gatherer era lasted between 300,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE according to this book and was by far the longest era in human history. The second era is the agrarian era which lasted between 13000 BCE and 1750 CE and was the 2nd longest era in human history.
God is gracious in the eyes of those who are ignorant. Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, is the accounts of his experiences being taken to the Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Eliezer begins as a faithful Jew, proud to a long heritage and willing to show his devotion by studying Kabbalah, or a branch of Jewish mysticism. However, his studies are put to a halt when the Germans arrive in his village. The experiences Elie has as a Jew in the Nazi concentration camps develops his view on faith and God, through these events his look on God becomes less idealistic.
“It is impossible to outplay an opponent you can’t outthink.” This quote by Lawson Little can be used to explain how in The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay, Peekay’s ability to outthink his opponents is what drives him to victory. Furthermore, it does not have to be boxing that he out-thinks his opponents, there are numerous times where Peekay is shown thinking ahead of some situations saving him from misfortune, as well as outsmarting his opponents eventually leading him to victory. Peekay illustrates his intelligence by thinking ahead of situations, which in the end result, benefit him the most. To start off, with the judge on the brink of failing, Peekay “cast [his] mind back to when [he] had done the judges homework, just like that”
Beginning with the first chapter it stresses how the author
Goethe’s Märchen of the snake and the lily is an allegorical and highly stylized rendering of Schiller’s theory on the attainment of freedom by the soul and the promise of aesthetic and personal growth through the union of the sensible and supersensible (physical life harmonized with the actualization of the inner self), as found in his 1794 study , Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen (On the Aesthetic Education of Men), inspired by the corrupted, over-rational philosophy of the French Revolution. Goethe’s fairytale tells the intricate story of the love between a prince and a lily, mediated through elaborate details of a complex series of events that begin one late evening on the side of a river. I had not read the Märchen until after I heard the story of the man with the watch. I had not read the Märchen until after Mongolia but before the map and the Chinese boy and the insect circus.
In a future totalitarian society, all books have been outlawed by the government, fearing an independent-thinking public. Fahrenheit 451 is a futuristic novel, telling the story of a time where books and independent thinking are outlawed. In a time so unenlightened, where those who want to better themselves by thinking, are outlawed and killed. Guy Montag is a senior firefighter who is much respected by his superiors and is in line for a promotion. He does not question what he does or why he does it until he meets Clarisse.
In his book The Promise Chaim Potok leads the reader on a heartbreaking journey full of spiritual conflict and decision. As a sequel to The Chosen, The Promise picks up with Reuven Malter, the main character and a Jewish man now in his mid-twenties, attending Hirsch University, a Jewish seminary in Brooklyn, New York. Reuven keeps his friendship with Danny Saunders, whom he met on a baseball field during his teenage years and later went to college with, even though they now go their separate ways as Reuven becomes a rabbi, and Danny practices psychology. During the summer Reuven dates Rachel Gordon, the niece of Abraham Gordon, a man excommunicated from the Jewish society, and meets Abraham’s son, Michael, a stubborn teen with a mental issue. Also, over the same summer Reuven’s father, David Malter, wrote a controversial book about the Talmud.
According to Marlene Zuk many of the expectations on which it is founded are questionable. While not disregarding the position of development in shaping us, we also find that it is also quite conflicting. Zuk picks the assumptions of the ‘paleofantasists’ (paleofantasists stem from the idea that development makes tiny changes over millions of years, so we haven't had sufficient time to adapt to the modern industrial world—and that we would be healthier and happier if we lived more like our ancient ancestors.) to pieces and shows how ill-started many of their ideas are. Personally, this just proved that the current interest for life in the Palaeolithic is just a modern version of the myths of the Noble Savage or an earthly version of the legend
Energy in the universe gave rise to repulsive gravity which caused it to extend further, this brings us to the concept of the dark energy. According to this concept, the space is extending despite gravity. Physicists proposed that there is a force which contradicts gravity and named it dark energy, due to the fact that it is hidden form the direct detection. In other words, the space has a property which can drive space apart extending it further. (Wolchover)