Guest Speaker 29 August:
Ken Mullin,"Evolution in Revolutions"
Member Speaker Ken Mullin.
Picture Doug Worthington, edited by Editor.
Picture Doug Worthington, edited by Editor.
Ken delivered his first half of the talk "The Human Story" which appeared in the Heirisson Happenings April 18, 2019. After briefly reviewing that presentation Ken moved onto the "Five Human Revolutions."
[Image supplied by Ken]
230,000 homo sapiens were not special in Africa. They tried for many years but couldn't get out of Africa being prevented by the stronger Neanderthal.
[Image supplied by Ken]
Then at 75,000 there was an explosion of culture with homo sapiens able think abstractly through a Cognitive Revolution.
[Image supplied by Ken]
The 52,000 years old Stadel Lion Man discovered in 1939 in a cave in Germany as evidence of this Cognitive revolution expressed as a Cultural Revolution.
[Image supplied by Ken]
This revolution meant that homo sapiens could plan, symbolize items, create music and dance better, plan better defence and hunting through social cohesion based on gossiping, and hence were able through this organisation to spread out.
From 70,000 to 10,000 humans were hunter gathers in groups of a hundred with children spaced every three to four years apart.
[Image supplied by Editor]
Then in 10,000 BC there was an Agricultural Revolution. Limited herding of domesticated animals and agriculture had previously existed but now it became the main activity.
This resulted in population growth as the people could remain in one place and have children only a year apart. There were cost in more diseases passed from the animals to humans and living in larger groups, and in harder labour which was now from dawn to dusk compared to the hunter gathers' three to four hours a day.
In this period religious and cultural myths flourished.
Specialisations also developed, like those of soldiers, especially in the fertile areas
[Image supplied by Editor]
Kingdoms developed in the fertile areas such as Mesopotamia, Nile Valley, Indus, Yangzi and Yellow Rivers.
Writing developed in 3,000 BC in Mesopotamia. Lots of wars and the development of technologies for war like chariots from 5,000 BC on. At 1,500 BC the Ancient Greeks appear. From 500 BCE to 500 CE there are huge empires which establishes peace and allows trade with the result that civilisations spread.
[Image supplied by Ken]
The Scientific Revolution occurred 500 years ago and is based on observed repeatable events for something to be established as true. Culminating in the achievement of humans walking on the moon in 1969.
[Image supplied by Ken]
From 1950 to 2000 a great explosion with population growth, mega cities, global economy. The challenge is the finite earth with its limited resources.
[Image supplied by Ken]
The next stage or the stage that we are now entering is called the Augmentation Revolution which is demonstrated in the image above where the person wearing an exoskeleton is able to lift and handle a heavy item that one would not normally be able to handle.