Interestingly there is debatable evidence multicellular life existed a billion years earlier than thought so that sliver of nail is not the nail dust we file off https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/complex-life-15-billion-years-ago-180959247/#:~:text=Fragments%20extracted%20from%20rocks%20found,old%20rocks%20in%20north%20China.

so cool

Waaaaiiiiit.

If humans didn't evolve until the very tip of the fingernail, whose arm is it?

@katestarbird I always recall the clock visual from the large display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

This is so great, thank you

Critical Focus (Part 2 of 2)

"However, time has turned, and we cannot go back. Populations have become almost completely integrated, our technology has progressed to fantastic and globally lethal levels, and sooner or later our sheer dumb luck will run out.

Without direction, without a plan, without common goals and purpose, our species, and our world, will fail.

All our history, all our dreams, all our knowledge, our anguish, our joy, our victories, our defeats, all of our passion, everything that was human, gone forever. As if it had never existed in time at all.

Could anyone, no matter their nationality or beliefs, want their children or grandchildren to live their last anguished moments of life in this failed world?

I think not."
SearingTruth, A Future of the Brave, 2005

Critical Focus (Part 1 of 2)

"Fortunately, there is a curious and wonderful fact about humanity.

Whenever we come together to focus on and solve some seemingly insurmountable problem, we are successful.

From initially learning to navigate vast oceans, to understanding and curing disease, to placing humans on the moon and exploring the solar system beyond, our species record of technical achievement is truly stunning.

In fact, history clearly records that our progress as a species is not impeded by our inability to solve critical problems; it is instead impeded by our inability to recognize and focus on them.

We have survived thus far not by elegant planning, but simply because of our once isolated population groups, the relatively low level of past technologies, and sheer dumb luck."

SearingTruth, A Future of the Brave, 2005

this is a very useful idea when trying to get people to understand scale. Thank you for sharing, I hope I remember this when I need to lol

thinking we ought to be

Given the timeline of this graphic, plus the expectation that green planet Earth has still at least a 1.5 Billion year life expectancy (until a blown up sun evaporates all water on earth's surface), it is obvious that the possible extinction of humanity does not bother the planet at all: there is still plenty of time for the evolution of another "intelligent specie", perhaps from insects, birds or sea animals?
So, Mother Earth would give a sh..!
The universe as well!🤗

I spent my entire grad school life thinking about the first 2,000,000,000 or so years before oxygen started to accumulate in the atmosphere. It is truly bewildering how different our Earth was for such a long time. Earth has been many distinct worlds over the billions of years.

So, if the Earth finger tip was used to pick its Earth nose, then all of human life would be destroyed by a single booger. That would be a fitting ending to our existence.

Been thinking about this. Humans only recently have been able to convert materials using energy. Started with bronze age, eventually enabling nuclear power. Imagine, no life before this could alter random materials. Can you imagine how long the earth could go in relative steady state if it wasn't for us to come along and bung it up?

"Deep time"

Great image. Lets me start my day with more humbleness.

amazing

brilliant piece of #data #visualisation.

Thank you for sharing!

HEY. This arm is only 2,000 MYA there’s still 2.5 billion missing. Full graphic must be both arms extended.

Can't imagine trying to explain any of this to conspiracy addled morons or to maga cultists.

It is called a cubit.

Wow! That is an amazing visual. It honestly shows how intelligent we are. We changed the world so vastly very quickly. With great power, comes great responsibility.

I made something very similar recently, including a short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxOt-rOlfw&t=25s

@f4grx Americans will measure with anything but the metric system.
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣