The document summarizes key points from a course on the history of humankind, including the formation of the universe billions of years ago, the evolution of early human species like Homo habilis and Homo erectus in Africa 2-2.5 million years ago, the migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa around 70,000 years ago and their dispersal worldwide, the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the rise of modern science, European imperialism aided by advances in technology, and projections that humans may evolve or be surpassed by artificial intelligence within centuries.

1. Desman Hidayat
18th May 2014
Jakarta
Based on the course: “A Brief History of Humankind” by Dr. Yuval Noah Harari, Hebrew
University of Jerusalem. Coursera.org

2.  13 billion years ago Big Bang
 Atom Physics
 Molecule Chemistry
 4 billion years ago Organism Biology
 70.000 years ago Homo Sapiens developed
culture history

3.  2.5 million years ago
 Australopithecus
 East Africa
 2 million years ago
 Left their homeland

4.  Homo Neanderthalensis
 “Neanderthal”
 Europe & Middle East

5.  Homo Floresiensis
 Flores Island, Indonesia

6.  Large Brain
 60 kilograms pig 200 CC brain
 60 kilograms human 1200-1400 CC brain
 Walk on 2 legs

9.  70,000 years ago
 Migrated from East Africa
 Reached Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, South Asia,
East Asia
 60,000 years ago
 Reached China & Korea
 45,000 years ago
 Reached Australia
 15,000 years ago
 Reached America

10.  Boats
 Needles
 Oil Lamps
 Weapons
 Religions

12.  Before human reached Australia (-50,000 years)
 24 Australian animal species (50kg+)
 After human reached Australia
 Only 1 Australian animal species (50kg+)
 Red Kangaroo

13. Agricultural Revolution

14.  Human brains are incapable of handling large amount
of information
 First script discovered:
 The name of an accountant
 Economic documents

15.  Unify the world into a single system
 3 factors:
 Money
 Politic
 Religion
 Empires’ history
 2250 BC: first empire: Akkadian Empire of Sargon the
Great, Mediterranean
 500 BC: Kiros the Great of Persia
 Alexander the Great
 Etc.

16.  3 unique characteristics of modern
science:
 Modern science assumes that we don’t
know everything
 The centrality of observation and
mathematics
 It aims to acquire new “power”

18.  Problems  Solutions
 The leading project of modern science
is to give humankind eternal life
 2050  Ammortal

19.  18th Century: European states were still weaker than
the great power of Asia
 European managed to conquer America and the
oceans mainly because Asia showed very little interest
in this areas
 How to rule the world?
 Technology
 European voyages = scientific voyages + imperial
voyages

20.  James Cook
 1778
 South Pacific Ocean & Australia
 Geographer + Naval Officer in the British Royal Navy
 Zheng He
 15th Century
 7 voyages
 Reached East Africa
 Sent by ruling faction in Beijing

21.  European empires were created and managed by
private businesses
 VOC
 Established 1602
 1603 – first arrived in Indonesia
 1800 – Indonesia became a national colony of the Dutch
state
 British East India Company
 Conquered India 1757
 1858 - the British crown nationalized India

22.  1781
 James Watt
 Steam Engine
 The problem of industrial revolution
 Increased production, lack of consumption
 Solution?
 Consumerism

25.  Main contributing factors to the new era of peace:
 The price of war has gone up dramatically
 Nuclear
 The profit of war declined
 Peace has become more profitable than ever before

28.  Within a few decades or couple of centuries at most,
Homo Sapiens will disappear
 Not extinct, but evolve
 Singularity
 Our world of meaning collapsed completely
 Our identity will become irrelevant
 When?
 Nobody really knows
 2050?
 100-300 years later?

31.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Australopithecus_afarensis.JPG
 http://www.archeolog-home.com/medias/images/1-neanderthal.jpg
 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Homo_floresiensis_a
dult_female_-_model_of_head_-
_Smithsonian_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_2012-05-17.jpg
 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Large_bonfire.jpg
 http://www.theartnewspaper.com/imgart/lion-man-ulm.jpg
 http://timewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/gossip.jpg?w=480&h=320&cr
op=1
 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Kangur.rudy.drs.jpg
 http://www.novatel.com/assets/Web-Phase-2-2012/Industry-
Pages/Agriculture.png
 http://www.qacps.k12.md.us/mms/george/gilgameshpicture.jpg
 http://www.bestmediums.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dove-of-
peace-3.jpg
 Video lectures from the course: “A Brief History of Humankind” at
Coursera.org