Cosmic Calendar: Cosmic Calendar; All of time compressed to one year. picture from wikimedia
Astrophysicists have deduced the age of the Universe (dated from the Big Bang) to be 13.7 BILLION YEARS!
If this time line were compressed into one year, each month would be about one a billion years. What follows is a look at when import events occur during this "cosmic Year".
We have planetary exploration, computers and AI, nanotechnology, global culture, and weapons of mass destruction.
Source article: link
Wow! this is a truly amazing concept. I can't imagine how much scientifical mathematics; how many calculations and careful thoughts must have gone into writing and reassurring the article was known fact. Truly amazing!
The Universe in One Year was inspired by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan (1934-1996). Sagan was the first person to explain the history of the universe in one year-as a "Cosmic Calendar"-in his television series, Cosmos.
Joseph Wood Crutch wrote a version of the cosmic calendar in The Measure of Man (1954). Carl Sagan wasn't the first to represent history of the universe in one year.
Interesting. I wasn't immediately familiar with Krutch so I did some searching. It turns out that he was a theater critic who worked at the Nation, who went on to write several works on nature and conservation later in life. Terry, do you have any more information on his use of the year to sum up all of history. Even though The Measure of Man won the 1955 National Book Award for nonfiction I can't seem to find much more information on it, short of this teeny review...
You could call this book an extensive essay calling forth human courage in this modern age of anxiety.
I also wonder if Stephen Jay Gould named his book the Mismeasure of Man in response to this book at all.
We could order this book through Amazon for $6.40 shipped.
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