Map of Knowledge

February 07 2016

My map of all human knowledge is: - Natural, Physics - stars, atoms - Natural, Chemistry - planets, elements - Natural, Geosphere - Earth, tectonics core mantle crust atmosphere - Natural, Biology - life, metabolism regulate reproduction adaptation - Social, Politics - society, justice - Social, Psychology - humans, values - Social, Philosophy - consciousness, meaning And the milestones of our universe are: - 13,800,000,000 - Present, universe - 13,800,000,000 - 13,600,000,000, stars, hydrogen helium fusion - 13,600,000,000 - 12,600,000,000, planets, heavy elements - 5,000,000,000, sun - 4,500,000,000, Earth, accretion differentiation - 3,500,000,000, prokaryotes, photosynthesis - 2,500,000,000, eukaryotes, organelles - 1,000,000,000, multi-cellular, homeostasis - 500,000,000, brains, coordination - 475,000,000, land, skins breath reproduction - 250,000,000, mammals, warm blood fur birth - 25,000, humans, collective learning - 5,000 - 1,000, agrarian, language malthusian cycles - 1,000 - Present, modern, global energy I separate all human knowledge into two types, the Natural and the Social. The Natural are focused on the external physical universe we live in. The Social are focused on the interpersonal and internal lives of humans. Natural knowledge is inter-dependent. Physics is the study of atomic forces that govern the fusion process at the heart of stars. This hydrogen-helium cycle produce heavier elements necessary for more complex structures. Chemistry is the study of molecular interactions of the heavier elements in the formation of planets. The Geosphere is the study of the environmental systems of our particular planet, and Biology is the study of self-propagating living systems that developed on Earth. Natural knowledge also deals with ever-increasing complexity. Even the most rudimentary living things on Earth are more complex than any star and planetary system. Life on Earth is the culmination of complexity in the universe. Social knowledge focuses on humans as biological beings who have mastered our planet. We captured all of the energy on Earth and dominated the food chain; our only existential threats are extreme cosmic events and ourselves. Politics is how humans apportion the resources of the planet. This includes government, economics and political systems of distribution as well as the science and engineering required to extract energy and refine it for use. The fundamental idea is justice and fairness. Once a society has figured out a relatively stable system of allocation, we turn inward. Psychology is the study of our internal lives and the values we choose to live by. Collective learning has enabled factual knowledge to be passed down through generations, but each human being is born anew with basic instincts to distrust instruction and live by experience. So we grow: together and alone. Once mature, having a calibrated value system and with acceptance by the political system at large, we turn to the existential. Philosophy is reflection on what is means to be alive, on consciousness itself. The study of consciousness seems to wrap itself around to the natural sciences. Physics suggests our mental state has a physical effect on the natural world, and Philosophy suggests the natural world is a projection of our mental selves. So the quest for living an examined life brings us back to the study of atomic particles. The vast majority of the universe's history was spent in the atomic domain: the birth, death, and resurrection of countless stars and planets. These meaningless cycles have given rise our arrival: the most complex social beings that have ever looked upon the universe, yet trapped in physical bodies as insignificant as specks of sand on the infinite shores of time. The universe beckons us to reconcile our enlightened mental selves to our ephemeral existence, to find meaning in a meaningless world.