"THISISTHEEPICSTORYOFOUR  WORLD..." "BUT IT'S NOT THE ONE WE'RE USED TO." "IT'S THE STORY OF HOW WE ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN." "WE TURN BACK TIME 4.5 BILLION YEARS..." "TO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM STILL FORMING AROUND THE SUN." "THIS PLANET IS EARLY EARTH." "IT'S AT A CRITICAL DISTANCE FROM" "THE SUN." "IT IS IN THIS ZONE THAT LIQUID" "WATER WILL BE ABLE TO EXIST." "ANY CLOSER AND OUR FUTURE CITIES" "WOULD BURN AND OUR OCEANS BOIL." "ANY FURTHER OUT AND OUR FUTURE" "FREEZES OVER." "EARTH'S LOCATION IS JUST ONE OF" "MANY LUCKY BREAKS." "THE NEXT COMES IN THE FORM OF" "COSMIC DISASTER." "A MASSIVE OBJECT THE SIZE OF" "MARS COLLIDES INTO EARLY EARTH." "IF THE COLLISION WERE HEAD-ON," "OUR PLANET WOULD HAVE SHATTERED." "INSTEAD, THE DEBRIS FORMS OUR" "MOON." "THE MOON IS A COUNTERBALANCE," "STABILIZING EARTH'S ROTATION, WHICH WILL PREVENT CATASTROPHIC" "SWINGS IN CLIMATE." "ANOTHER LUCKY BREAK." "AS EARTH COOLS, THE HEAVIEST METALS SINK AND FORM A SPINNING" "CORE..." "SENDING A GIANT INVISIBLE FORCE" "FIELD AROUND THE PLANET, A MAGNETIC FIELD THAT WILL ONE" "DAY PROTECT US FROM DEADLY RADIATION..." "AND KEEP OUR ATMOSPHERE FROM BLOWING AWAY." "BUT SINCE MOST HEAVY METALS SANK TO THE CORE, EARTH'S SURFACE IS" "DEVOID OF THE VITAL MATERIALS-- THE IRON, TIN, LEAD, AND GOLD" "THAT WE WILL ONE DAY NEED." "THAT IS, UNTIL JUPITER AND" "SATURN STEP IN TO HELP." "MILLIONS OF MILES AWAY, THESE" "MASSIVE PLANETS SHIFT IN THEIR ORBITS..." "SENDING BILLIONS OF METAL-RICH ASTEROIDS THROUGH SPACE..." "SHOWERING EARTH AND REPLENISHING OUR SUPPLY." "THEN, ANOTHER LUCKY BREAK." "JUPITER'S ORBIT STABILIZES, AND" "ITS MASSIVE GRAVITY BEGINS TO VACUUM UP MOST OF THE REMAINING" "ROCKS, KEEPING OUR FUTURE HOME SAFE." "WITHOUT A GIANT NEIGHBOR LIKE JUPITER, EARTH WOULD STILL BE" "UNDER CONSTANT ASTEROID ATTACK." "IF JUST A SINGLE ONE OF THESE" "THINGS HAD NOT HAPPENED IN PRECISELY THE RIGHT WAY, OUR" "STORY WOULD UNFOLD DIFFERENTLY, OR NOT BEGIN AT ALL." "EARTH WOULD NOT HAVE THE MINERALS AND METALS," "THE STABILITY..." "THE SEASONS TO SUPPORT THE" "AMAZING SAGA THAT IS TO COME." "IN THIS SPECIAL PRESENTATION," "WE'LL SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED." "[plane flying overhead] YOUCAN'TLOOKATTHIS AS" "TINY, LITTLE REMOTE EVENTS." "THESE ARE HUGE, COUPLED ASPECTS," "EVENTS THAT THEMSELVES ARE PART OF A LARGER HISTORY." "THEY ARE BIG HISTORY." "WETHINKOF HISTORYASA" "TIMELINE, A SERIES OF EVENTS STRETCHING A FEW THOUSAND YEARS" "INTO THE PAST." "IT'S TIME TO THINK BIGGER." "INSTEAD OF A LINE, IMAGINE A WEB OF INFINITE CONNECTIONS" "INTERACTING OVER BILLIONS OF YEARS, LINKED TOGETHER TO CREATE" "EVERYTHING WE'VE EVER KNOWN:" "OUR UNIVERSE, OUR PLANET, AND" "US." "HISTORY AS WE KNOW IT IS ABOUT" "TO GET BIG." "BIGHISTORYTAKESEVENTSALL" "OVER THE COSMOS, ALL OVER THE SOLAR SYSTEM, ALL OVER OUR" "PLANET, AND CONNECTS THEM TOGETHER INTO A SEAMLESS WHOLE" "AND THEN CONNECTS THOSE EVENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY INTO THE" "CONTEXT OF THE PLANET, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE UNIVERSE." "THESTORYWE JUSTSAW ,THE  SERIES OF LUCKY BREAKS THAT LED" "TO THE FORMATION OF THE EARTH, IS WHAT BIG HISTORY CALLS A" "THRESHOLD MOMENT." "THEIDEAIS BASICALLYTHAT" "THE EARLY UNIVERSE, IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS, WAS REALLY QUITE" "SIMPLE--NO STARS, NO LIFE, NO PLANETS, AND THEN, GRADUALLY," "OVER 13 BILLION YEARS, NEW THINGS APPEAR." "AND THAT IDEA PROVIDES A GREAT SHAPE AND STRUCTURE AND A SORT" "OF PLOTLINE." "WE FOCUS ON A NUMBER OF MOMENTS" "WHEN SOMETHING CRITICAL APPEARED, AND THAT'S WHAT WE" "MEAN BY THRESHOLD MOMENTS." "INTHESTORYOFBIGHISTORY," "THERE ARE A TOTAL OF EIGHT THRESHOLD MOMENTS, MOMENTS WHEN" "THE UNIVERSE CROSSES A LINE AND CAN NEVER TURN BACK." "THE CREATION OF THE EARTH IS THE FOURTH THRESHOLD." "WE'LL REVEAL THEM ALL AND UNCOVER THE SURPRISING SECRET" "THAT LINKS THEM TOGETHER." "BUT TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO GO" "BACK TO THE BEGINNING, THE FIRST THRESHOLD MOMENT..." "NEARLY 14 BILLION YEARS AGO, A MOMENT THAT HAD ONLY A SPLIT" "SECOND TO UNFOLD PRECISELY AS IT DID, OR THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE" "MIGHT HAVE ENDED SHORTLY AFTER IT BEGAN." "IT IS THE QUIETEST QUIET THERE HAS EVER BEEN." "AND THEN SUDDENLY, OUT OF NOTHING, EVERYTHING BEGINS." "IT IS BIG HISTORY'S FIRST THRESHOLD" "THE BIG BANG." "THE ENERGY THAT WILL EVER EXIST" "APPEARS IN AN INCONCEIVABLE FLASH." "EVERYTHINGBEGINS,AS FARAS WE KNOW, AT THIS MOMENT." "AND FROM THE MOMENT IT APPEARS, PHYSICISTS CAN OFFER A VERY" "COHERENT ACCOUNT OF EVERYTHING THATINCE." "BEFORETHEFIRSTSECONDHAS PASSED, THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES" "APPEAR THAT WILL GOVERN ALL EXISTENCE FOREVER." "ONE IS THE GRAVITY THAT HOLDS US TO THE EARTH..." "AND THAT WE WILL NEED TO OVERCOME IN ORDER TO FLY." "ANOTHER, THE ELECTROMAGNETISM THAT LETS YOU MAKE A CELL PHONE" "CALL." "THEBIGBANGISTHECREATION" "EVENT THAT LAYS THE GROUND RULES." "IT LAYS THE GROUND RULES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL FORCES:" "THE STRENGTH" "OF GRAVITY, THE SPEED OF LIGHT, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WILL" "SHAPE THE REST OF THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE." "ANDINTHESEFIRSTFEW SECONDS, A LOT COULD HAVE GONE" "WRONG." "IF GRAVITY HAD BEEN JUST A TINY" "BIT STRONGER, ALL OF EXISTENCE WOULD HAVE COLLAPSED IN ON" "ITSELF." "A BIT WEAKER..." "AND STARS WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO FORM." "BUT THE BIG BANG OCCURRED AT JUST THE RIGHT FORCE TO SET OUR" "ENTIRE HISTORY IN MOTION, WHICH IS WHY IT'S THE FIRST OF" "EIGHT THRESHOLDS." "WE WILL SEE THAT THEY ARE ALL" "MYSTERIOUSLY CONNECTED." "EIGHT THRESHOLDS THAT EXPLAIN" "EVERYTHING." "EIGHT PORTALS THAT LEAD TO US... [heart beating] INCLUDING THE NEXT ONE..." "THE MOMENT WHEN THE IMMENSE HEAT, DARKNESS, AND CHAOS OF THE" "EARLY UNIVERSE SUDDENLY EXPLODES INTO A TRILLION TRILLION POINTS" "OF LIGHT." "BIGHISTORYHASBEGUNTO" "REVEAL THE EIGHT BIGGEST TURNING POINTS IN THE STORY OF OUR" "UNIVERSE, EIGHT THRESHOLD MOMENTS THAT WILL MYSTERIOUSLY" "LEAD TO US." "[heart beating]" "THE FIRST..." "THE BIG BANG..." "EXPLODING IN JUST THE RIGHT WAY TO CREATE FORCES LIKE GRAVITY," "BUT IT'S STILL TOO HOT TO FORM ATOMS." "ALL THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE." "WE ARE ABOUT TO REVEAL THE" "SECOND THRESHOLD MOMENT." "ONLYATTHEPOINTOFABOUT  380,000 YEARS HAVE THINGS COOLED ENOUGH THAT WE CAN FINALLY GET" "MATTER AS WE RECOGNIZE IT." "WITHOUTA COOLINGUNIVERSE," "THERE'S NO WAY THAT WE OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS REAL" "STRUCTURE WOULD EXIST." "THEFIRSTATOMSTOAPPEARARE" "HYDROGEN AND HELIUM, THE TWO MOST BASIC ELEMENTS." "BUT THEIR FORMATION IS NOT THE SECOND THRESHOLD." "HYDROGEN AND HELIUM ARE JUST THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE PORTAL" "YET TO COME." "SINCE ALL MATTER EXERTS A" "GRAVITATIONAL PULL, GIANT CLOUDS OF THESE ATOMS BEGIN TO CLUMP" "TOGETHER INTO FORMS WE RECOGNIZE TODAY." "GRAVITYISTHESCULPTOROF THE UNIVERSE, AND SMALL" "VARIATIONS IN THE DENSITY OF THE UNIVERSE AT EARLY TIMELED TO" "THE FORMATION OF THESE GIGANTIC STRUCTURES, GALAXIES, AND" "CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES AND SUPER CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES, SEPARATED" "BY ENORMOUS VOIDS." "THIS IS MEGA ENGINEERING ON THE" "LARGEST SCALES." "NOW,WITHINTHESE" "MEGA-STRUCTURES..." "TRILLIONS OF SMALLER CLOUDS OF" "HYDROGEN AND HELIUM BEGIN TO CONDENSE AND SPIN." "SOGRAVITYIS WORKINGON THESE CLOUDS, CRUSHING," "CONDENSING, COMPRESSING." "INSIDE THEM, TEMPERATURES ARE" "INCREASING, PRESSURE IS HEATING UP." "AND EVENTUALLY, ONCE A CERTAIN TEMPERATURE IS REACHED INSIDE" "THESE VAST CLOUDS--ROUGHLY 10 MILLION DEGREES CELSIUS" "NUCLEAR FUSION WILL TAKE PLACE." "ONCETHESECONDITIONSARE" "MET AND THE CRITICAL AMOUNT OF ATOMS, TEMPERATURE, AND PRESSURE" "COME TOGETHER, WE REACH ANOTHER TURNING POINT, BIG HISTORY'S" "SECOND GREAT THRESHOLD..." "THEREWASNO LIGHT" "IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THIS BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE" "UNIVERSE TO CREATE LIGHT, AND WE HIT A VERY SIGNIFICANT THRESHOLD" "IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE-- LET THERE BE LIGHT." "FROMTHISPOINTONWARD,THE UNIVERSE CROSSES THROUGH A" "PORTAL FROM WHICH THERE WILL BE NO TURNING BACK." "BEFORE STARS, ALL THE ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSE EMANATED FROM ONE" "SOURCE--THE BIG BANG." "NOW, THERE ARE SITES SCATTERED" "THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE, HOT SPOTS OF ENERGY, WARMTH," "DENSITY." "THE FIRST GENERATION OF STARS" "LIGHT UP THE UNIVERSE, BUT THEIR FUEL BEGINS TO RUN LOW." "THEY START TO BURN OUT." "IT IS WITH THE DEATH OF THIS" "FIRST GENERATION OF STARS THAT WE CROSS ANOTHER PORTAL IN OUR" "EPIC STORY." "BIG HISTORY'S THIRD GREAT" "THRESHOLD..." "THE CREATION OF COMPLEX" "ELEMENTS." "WITHIN THE DYING CORES OF STARS," "SIMPLE ELEMENTS FUSE INTO LARGER AND MORE COMPLEX ATOM" "FOR THE FIRST TIME, HYDROGEN AND HELIUM CREATE BRAND-NEW ELEMENTS" "THAT WILL MAKE THE MODERN UNIVERSE POSSIBLE." "ASSTARSBEGINTORUNOUTOF  HYDROGEN, THEY HEAT TO HIGHER" "AND HIGHER TEMPERATURES, THEY START CONVERTING HELIUM TO MORE" "COMPLEX ELEMENTS, AND THIS WHOLE PROCESS CONTINUES RIGHT UP THE" "PERIODIC TABLE." "ASITDIES,EACHSTAR BECOMES" "AN ELEMENT FACTORY..." "CREATING JUST THE RIGHT" "CONDITIONS TO FORM THE ELEMENTS." "AND ONCE THEY'RE FORMED, THE" "UNIVERSE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME." "ASTARUSESTHE ASHESOFONE" "SET OF NUCLEAR REACTIONS AS THE FUEL FOR THE NEXT SET." "HYDROGEN TO HELIUM, HELIUM TO CARBON AND OXYGEN, CARBON AND" "OXYGEN TO NEON AND MAGNESIUM, THEN SILICON AND SULFUR AND" "THEN IRON." "SOMORETHAN12BILLIONYEARS" "AGO, STARS ARE CREATING THE ELEMENT THAT WILL MAKE POSSIBLE" "EVERYTHING FROM THE IRON AGE TO THE IRONCLADS." "BUT THESE DYING STARS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO CREATE ANYTHING" "HEAVIER THAN IRON UNTIL THEY EXPLODE AS" "SUPERNOVAS..." "THE BIGGEST BLASTS SINCE THE" "BIG BANG." "THE INTENSE HEAT AND PRESSURE" "PRODUCES ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN IRON." "BUT EVEN THESE MEGA-BLASTS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO CREATE THE" "HEAVIEST ELEMENTS..." "LIKE THE GOLD THAT WILL DRAW" "EUROPEANS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND CAUSE MILLIONS TO FLOOD" "INTO CALIFORNIA." "FOR THAT, YOU NEED THE BIGGEST" "BLAST OF ALL, THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE RUINS OF TWO" "SUPERNOVAS KNOWN AS NEUTRON STARS." "THESE NEW ELEMENTS BILLOW OUT INTO SPACE, FORMING NEW CLOUDS" "THAT COME TOGETHER IN NEW, SECOND-GENERATION STARS." "EACH TIME THE PROCESS REPEATS, MORE ELEMENTS ARE CREATED." "ASYOUHEADFURTHERUPTHAT PERIODIC TABLE, YOU ARE" "BASICALLY SEEING THE ORDER OF CREATION AND THE DIFFICULTY OF" "CREATION AND HOW MUCH ENERGY IS REQUIRED TO CREATE THEM." "SOMEELEMENTSWILLBE ABUNDANT, OTHERS RARE." "THEIR PROPORTIONS WILL HAVE PROFOUND EFFECTS ON ALL OF" "HISTORY TO COME." "FOREXAMPLE,THEREISMORE" "SILVER IN THE UNIVERSE THAN THERE IS GOLD BECAUSE IT" "REQUIRES MORE ENERGY AND IS MORE RARE TO GET THOSE EVENTS" "WHERE GOLD CAN BE CREATED." "BUTTHATIS ALLWAITINGFORA" "DISTANT FUTURE." "IT WILL TAKE EONS BEFORE DYING" "STARS CREATE ENOUGH OF THE RAW MATERIALS--LIKE IRON, NICKEL," "AND CALCIUM--TO FORM ROCKY PLANETS LIKE EARTH." "SO DURING THE FIRST FEW GENERATIONS OF STARS," "EARTH-LIKE PLANETS CAN'T EXIST, AND NEITHER CAN LIFE." "BUT BILLIONS OF YEARS AFTER THE BIG BANG, A NEWER GENERATION OF" "STARS APPEARS, INCLUDING OUR SUN." "THIS TIME, THERE ARE ENOUGH NEW MINERALS AND METALS TO CREATE" "ROCKY PLANETS AS WELL." "ITISTRULYMIND-BLOWINGWHEN" "YOU REALIZE THAT THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE PRESENT ON OUR EARTH" "AND IN OUR SUN CANNOT EXIST UNLESS THERE HAS BEEN AT LEAST" "TWO GENERATIONS OF STAR SYSTEMS BEFORE US THAT HAVE LIVED AND" "DIED." "CAN YOU IMAGINE, THE ELEMENTS IN" "OUR BODY HAVE TO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS EVENT TWICE BEFORE," "BEFORE YOU CAN GET A CREATURE LIKE US?" "EARLYTHRESHOLDSREVEALTHAT THE FIRST ATOMS IN THE UNIVERSE" "ARE REINCARNATED THROUGHOUT BILLIONS OF YEARS FROM ONE" "ELEMENT TO ANOTHER, FROM STAR TO EXPLODING STAR, FROM ISOLATED" "EARLY ATOMS TO THE ELEMENTS THAT FORM EVERYTHING AROUND US." "SOME OF THE ATOMS IN OUR BODIES ARE MORE THAN 13 BILLION YEARS" "OLD." "THESE ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS" "THAT WILL LEAD US TO THE NEXT THRESHOLD AND THE MOST" "MYSTERIOUS TURNING POINT IN THE BIG HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, THE" "ONE THAT WILL FINALLY LEAD TO US." "BIGHISTORYIS ANEW STORYOF MANKIND THAT TRACES OUR ORIGINS" "THROUGH EIGHT PIVOTAL MOMENTS." "THE FIRST THREE--THE BIG BANG," "THE BIRTH OF STARS, THE CREATION OF COMPLEX ELEMENTS--TRANSFORM" "EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE..." "AND LEAD US TO THE FOURTH" "MONUMENTAL TURNING POINT IN OUR BIG HISTORY..." "THE FORMATION OF EARTH." "THIS IS OUR GALAXY MORE THAN 4 1/2 BILLION YEARS AGO." "AN ANCIENT STAR COLLAPSES AND" "EXPLODES..." "LAUNCHING A MASSIVE SHOCKWAVE" "INTO A NEARBY CLOUD OF GAS AND DUST." "ITS FORCE CAUSES THE CLOUD TO SPIN." "GRAVITY CRUSHES AND COMPRESSES IT..." "SCULPTING THE CLOUD AND HEATING IT UP TO 10,000 DEGREES." "AND FROM THE REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT STAR, A NEW ONE BURSTS" "INTO LIGHT." "OUR SUN ILLUMINATES EIGHT YOUNG" "PLANETS FORMING AROUND IT." "AS WE'VE SEEN, A SERIES OF" "IMPROBABLE EVENTS NOW LINE UP TO PUSH US ACROSS THE FOURTH" "THRESHOLD..." "LIKE PIECES OF A GRAND AND" "INFINITE PUZZLE LEADING TO AN EARTH CAPABLE OF SUSTAINING" "LIFE." "FIRST, A MASSIVE COLLISION." "ITCREATEDAHUGEMOLTENDISC OF ROCK AROUND THE EARTH, WHICH" "RAPIDLY COALESCED TO FORM THE MOON." "BYA STROKEOF LUCK,OUR MOON IS ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE" "SOLAR SYSTEM, SO ITS GRAVITY IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO AFFECT HOW" "THE EARTH BEHAVES, GIVING US A STEADY CLIMATE AND PREDICTABLE" "SEASONS." "IFITHADN'TBEENFORTHE" "PRESENCE OF THE MOON, EARTH'S AXIS OF ROTATION WOULD UNDERGO" "CHAOTIC, GIANT CHANGES IN TILT." "AND THIS WOULD LEAD TO HUGE" "DISRUPTIONS IN CLIMATE, AND IT'S UNLIKELY THAT ADVANCED, COMPLEX" "CREATURES SUCH AS OURSELVES COULD HAVE EVOLVED." "BUTEVENWITHTHE STABILITY CREATED BY THE MOON, THIS YOUNG" "PLANET ISN'T READY TO BECOME A HOME." "BIG HISTORY CAN'T MOVE TO THE NEXT THRESHOLD WITHOUT WATER," "AND MOST OF IT WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY BY THE HEAT OF THE" "MOON-FORMING IMPACT." "BUT THE CHAOTIC EARLY SOLAR" "SYSTEM COMES TO THE RESCUE." "METEOROIDSANDASTEROIDSRICH" "IN WATER COME FROM THE OUTER PARTS OF THE ASTEROID BELT AND" "ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE BROUGHT A LOT OF THE WATER TO THE EARTH." "YOUTURNON ATAP ,AND YOU  MAY WELL BE DRINKING STUFF THAT" "WAS DELIVERED TO YOU PERSONALLY BY AN ASTEROID ABOUT 4 1/2" "BILLION YEARS AGO." "ANDNOW,DEEPINTHEOCEAN" "WATERS CARRIED TO EARTH BY COMETS AND ASTEROIDS..." "WE ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS THE FIFTH AND MOST MYSTERIOUS OF THE" "BIG HISTORY THRESHOLDS..." "LIFE." "HOW EXACTLY DOES LIFE EMERGE?" "IT'S ONE OF OUR MOST PROFOUND" "QUESTIONS." "SOME BELIEVE THAT LIFE MAY HAVE" "CRASH-LANDED ON EARTH IN METEORS OR COMETS." "BUT MOST BELIEVE THAT LIFE ON EARTH STARTS WITH A CHEMICAL" "REACTION..." "DOWN IN THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF" "THE OCEAN..." "WHERE HEAT RISING FROM THE" "PLANET'S MOLTEN CORE TEARS APART THE SEA FLOOR." "SUPERHEATED GAS AND LAVA VENT THROUGH THE CRACKS AND IGNITE A" "REVOLUTION." "IN THIS BROILING SOUP, A NEW" "KIND OF CHEMISTRY EMERGES, A BIOLOGICAL BLUEPRINT FOR EVERY" "LIVING THING THAT WILL EVER EXIST..." "A SECRET CODE CALLED DNA." "JUST FOUR CHEMICALS WILL COMBINE" "IN MILLIONS OF WAYS TO INSTRUCT EVERY CELL ON HOW TO DO" "EVERYTHING..." "BEGINNING WITH BACTERIA," "THE SIMPLEST AND OLDEST FORM OF LIFE." "HERE'SWHEREEARLYFORMSOF BACTERIA APPEARED, FEEDING OFF" "THE ENERGY AND THE HEAT THAT WAS COMING OUT OF THESE VOLCANIC" "ERUPTIONS." "HERE, WE THINK THE FIRST LIFE ON" "EARTH APPEARED BESIDE THESE GREAT UNDERSEA MOUNTAIN RANGES." "LIFEISTHEONLYTHINGINTHE  UNIVERSE THAT CAN STORE AND PASS" "ALONG INFORMATION, REPRODUCE ITSELF, AND EVOLVE." "BUT HOW DOES A SIMPLE MICROSCOPIC ORGANISM EVOLVE INTO" "SOMETHING AS COMPLEX AS A HUMAN?" "THE PATH FROM BACTERIA TO MAN IS" "A MYSTERIOUS SERIES OF TRANSFORMATIONS WITH AN INFINITE" "NUMBER OF POSSIBLE OUTCOMES, BUT ONLY ONE THAT LEADS TO US." "THE SEEDS OF EVERYTHING THAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE FUTURE EARTH" "ARE ALL DESCENDED FROM THESE SIMPLE BEGINNINGS." "EARTH, 542 MILLION YEARS AGO, 3 BILLION YEARS AFTER LIFE FIRST" "APPEARS." "IN A GEOLOGICAL INSTANT, THE" "SEAS EXPLODE WITH COMPLEX PLANTS AND ANIMALS." "ALL THE BASIC BODY TYPES THAT WILL EVER EXIST--HEADS, MOUTHS," "EYES, FINS THAT WILL EVOLVE INTO LIMBS, JAWS, AND TEETH" "ALL OF THEM SUDDENLY APPEAR." "475 MILLION YEARS AGO, PLANTS" "BEGIN TO SPREAD ACROSS THE LAND, TRANSFORMING THE EARTH INTO A" "WORLD OF LUSH FORESTS WITH ABUNDANT FOOD AND SHELTER." "SOME PLANTS EVOLVE INTO TREES THAT, ALONG WITH METALS BROUGHT" "BY METEORS..." "WILL BECOME KEY BUILDING BLOCKS" "OF CIVILIZATION." "TO ESCAPE THE CARNAGE IN THE" "SEAS, SOME CREATURES CRAWL ONTO LAND AS WELL." "AT FIRST, THEY'RE FORCED TO RETURN TO THE SALTY SEAS TO" "REPRODUCE..." "BUT THEN THEY DISCOVER A WAY TO" "BRING A BIT OF THE OCEAN WITH THEM" "THE EGG." "WHENWESTARTEDCRAWLINGONTO" "THE LAND, CERTAIN CREATURES FIGURED OUT--BIRDS, REPTILES" "THAT THEY COULD LAY EGGS THAT HAVE A NICE, HARD SHELL THAT" "KIND OF KEEPS THE SALTWATER CONTAINED IN A SMALL SPACE FOR" "THEM." "THEEGGIS ACRITICAL" "DEVELOPMENT." "IT ALLOWS ANIMALS TO MOVE" "PERMANENTLY ONTO LAND-- ANIMALS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO" "EVOLVE AND GROW MORE COMPLEX." "BUT NOW, BIG HISTORY REVEALS A" "FUNDAMENTAL SECRET THAT GOVERNS ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET." "THE MORE COMPLEX YOU ARE, THE MORE FRAGILE YOU BECOME." "SOME SIMPLE BACTERIA CAN SURVIVE BEING FROZEN, BOILED, CRUSHED," "OR DRIED OUT." "COMPLICATED ANIMALS LIKE US" "CANNOT." "SO WHEN THE EARTH IS SHAKEN BY A" "DRASTIC CHANGE IN CLIMATE OR VOLCANOES POISON THE AIR OR A" "GIANT METEOR STRIKES, LIFE FACES THE ULTIMATE THREAT" "EXTINCTION." "FIVE TIMES SINCE COMPLEX ANIMALS" "APPEAR, MORE THAN 50% OF ALL LIFE IS WIPED AWAY." "BUT THESE CATASTROPHES CLEAN THE SLATE FOR NEW CREATURES TO" "EVOLVE AND FILL THE VOID." "WITHOUT THEM, BIG HISTORY'S" "FUTURE THRESHOLDS COULD NEVER OCCUR." "AGOODWAYTOPUTITISTHAT  EVERY EXTINCTION DOES RESHUFFLE" "THE DECK." "YOU JUST TAKE ALL OF THE PLAYING" "CARDS, PUT 'EM BACK, MIX IT UP, AND DEAL YOURSELF A NEW HAND." "[chirping] ONECATASTROPHICRESHUFFLING" "ENDS THE 165-MILLION-YEAR REIGN OF THE DINOSAURS..." "WHEN A HUGE ASTEROID PLUNGES INTO EARTH 65 MILLION YEARS AGO." "TEMPERATURESPLUNGE." "PLANTS DON'T GROW." "[wind howling] AGREATERAINEARTH'S" "HISTORY HAS COME TO A FIERY END... [squeaking] CLEARING THE WAY FOR THE AGE OF" "MAMMALS..." "THE AGE OF US." "BUT WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW..." "IS THAT IT ALMOST DIDN'T HAPPEN." "BIGHISTORYREVEALS" "HOW A SERIES OF RARE AND UNLIKELY CONNECTIONS ACROSS 3 BILLION YEARS..." "MAKE EARTH A THRIVING PLANET." "BUT WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR THE PLANET TO MAKE US?" "AND WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?" "IT ALL STARTS WITH A LUCKY BREAK THAT KILLS THE DINOSAURS..." "AND CLEARS THE WAY FOR THE ULTIMATE RISE OF MANKIND." "[animals chittering] WITH THE DINOSAURS GONE, TINY" "MAMMALS BEGIN TO TAKE THEIR PLACE." "HUMANSAREULTIMATELY EVOLVED, DESCENDED FROM THESE" "MAMMALS." "IF THERE HAD BEEN NO ASTEROID" "COLLISION 65 MILLION YEARS AGO, WOULD THE HUMAN SPECIES EVEN" "EXIST?" "PROBABLY NOT." "BUTASWE 'VESEENWITHSO MUCH BIG HISTORY, THINGS COULD" "HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT." "IFTHATASTEROIDHAD BEENON" "A TRAJECTORY FIVE MINUTES EARLIER OR FIVE MINUTES LATER," "IT WOULD HAVE MISSED THE EARTH." "AND THE DINOSAURS WOULD PROBABLY" "STILL RULE THE EARTH." "INSTEAD,LIFEBEGINSANEW" "CHAPTER." "50 MILLION YEARS AGO, THE SPREAD" "OF A NEW PLANT, GRASS, DRAWS MAMMALS OUT OF THE FOREST." "OVER THE NEXT 45 MILLION YEARS, THE ANCESTORS OF HORSES GROW" "LARGER, STRONGER, AND FASTER." "[horse whinnies]" "SHEEP, GOATS, AND AUROCHS--THE ANCESTORS OF COWS--EVOLVE." "[mooing] MANKIND WILL USE THEM FOR FOOD" "AND POWER TO BUILD CIVILIZATIONS." "BUT FIRST, ON THE SAVANNAHS OF AFRICA MORE THAN 4 MILLION YEARS" "AGO..." "SOME PRIMATES TAKE THE FIRST" "STEPS TOWARD BECOMING HUMAN." "WELEFTTHETREES,ANDTHE" "GRASS WAS REALLY TALL." "WE HAD TO SEE OVER IT." "AND WALKING ON OUR HIND FEET ALLOWED US TO HOLD BABIED" "TOOLS AND HUNT AND FREE HANDS AND OUR OPPOSABL" "SINCEWENO LONGERNEEDTO WALK USING OUR KNUCKLES OR" "SWING FROM TREES, OUR SHOULDERS AND WRISTS EVOLVED TO DO" "SOMETHING UNIQUE IN NATURE-- THROW ACCURATELY..." "MAKING IT EASIER TO HUNT AND KILL FOR MEAT." "LOOKATTHENATURALWORLD." "HOW DO YOU KILL SOMETHING?" "ALMOST ALWAYS, YOU KILL SOMETHING BY GETTING UP CLOSE" "AND PERSONAL." "YOU DO IT WITH YOUR CLAWS." "YOU DO IT WITH YOUR TEETH." "NOW, LOOK AT YOUR CLAWS." "LOOK AT YOUR TEETH." "DO YY WANT TO GET UP" "CLOSE AND PERSONAL AND TRY TO KILL SOMETHING WITH THESE" "PATHETIC TEETH, THESE PATHETIC CLAWS?" "I DON'T THINK SO." "[men shouting]" "THISCHANGEIN OURARMSLEADS TO AN ARMS RACE THAT WILL DEFINE" "HUMAN HISTORY." "WECANCAUSEDEATHATA" "DISTANCE IN WAYS THAT NO OTH SPECIES CAN." "THEREARETHOUSANDSOF SPECIES ON EARTH THAT EAT MEAT" "BUT ONLY ONEHAT COOKS IT." "EARLY MAN USES FIRE AND TOOLS TO" "MAKE MEAT EASIER TO DIGEST, A BEHAVIOR THAT CHANGES OURBIOLOGY." "HIGHLY CONCENTRATED ENERGY, BUT IT'S HARD TO DIGEST AND CHEW." "NOW, IF YOU COOK IT, THAT'S LIKE PREDIGESTING IT." "THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE GUT CAN GET SMALLER." "IF THE GUT GETS SMALLER, THERE'S ENERGY AVAILABLE FOR ANOTHER" "ORGAN TO GROW, SUCH AS THE BRAIN, SO THIS MAY BE A VERY" "NEAT EXPLANATION FOR" "THEHUMANBRAINISNOTTHE LARGEST ON EARTH, BUT POUND FOR" "POUND, IT'S THE MOST POWERFUL, ABLE TO PROCESS 1 QUADRILLION" "PIECES OF INFORMATION IN A LIFETIME, MORE THAN ANY OTHER" "LIVING CREATURE." "SO LIFE ON THE AFRICAN SAVANNAH" "TRANSFORMS OUR BODIES AND OUR BRAINS." "AND ITS LEGACY IS STILL IMPRINTED IN OUR MINDS." "IN NEED OF WATER, WE CONSTANTLY SEARCH FOR THE SHINY SPARKLE OF" "SUNLIGHT ON RIVERS ANDREAMS..." "ONE REASON WHY TODAY WE ARE" "ATTRACTED TO SHINY SUBSTANCES LIKE GOLD." "AFON IN AFRICA, OUR ANCESTORS HAVE" "SEPARATED THEMSELVES FROM EVERY OT" "WE HAVE CROSSED A THRESHOLD THAT MAKES US UNIQUELY HUMAN." "WHAT SETS US APART?" "IT'S THE KEY THAT UNLOCKS THE" "SIXTH BIG HISTORY THRESHOLD, AND IT BEGINS WHEN ONE PERSON MAKES" "A DISCOVERY, LIKE A NEW WAY TO KINDLE FIRE OR A NEW KIND OF" "TOOL AND SHARES IT WITH HIS CLAN." "THE IDEA SPREADS THROUGH THEEN ACROSS GENERATIONS." "HUMANS BEGIN TO BU OF KNOWLEDGE BUILT OENCE." "WHAT STARTS WITH CHANGES LIKE COOKING MEAT AND GROWING LARGER" "BRAINS PROPELS US ACROSS THE NEXT GREAT THRESHOLD IN BIG" "HISTORY, A THRESHOLD AS IMPORTANT FOR HUMANITY AS THE" "FORMATION OF EARTH..." "OR THE BIRTH OF LIFE." "BIG HISTORY CALLS IT COLLECTIVE LEARNING." "HERENOWWE HAVETHE FIRST SPECIES IN THE HISTORY OF OUR" "PLANET IN WHICH INFORMATION CAN ACCUMULATE FROM GENERATION TO" "GENERATION, AND THAT, I THINK, TELLS US EVERYTHING ABOUT WHAT" "MAKES HUMANS DIFFERENT." "60,000YEARSAGO,THE PLANET" "HAS MOLDED OUR ANCESTORS INTO MODERN HUMANS WITH BRAINS AND" "SKELETONS IDENTICAL TO OUR OWN." "COLLECTIVE LEARNING HAS GIVEN US" "THE TOOLS AND SKILLS WE NEED TO DOMINATE THE PLANET." "BUT DESPITE ALL OUR ADVANCES, THE HUMAN STORY COULD HAVE ENDED" "HERE, ISOLATED IN AFRICA." "SPECIES THAT ARE CONFINED TO" "ONLY ONE CONTINENT CAN EASILY GO EXTINCT." "BUT BIG HISTORY REVEALS HOW THE EARTH SHIFTS IN A WAY THAT WILL" "SPREAD MAN AND ALL THE THINGS HE'S LEARNING ALL AROUND THE" "PLANET." "THE ICE AGE LOWERS THE SEA LEVEL" "BETWEEN AFRICA AND ARABIA, CREATING A GATEWAY TO AN" "OTHERWISE UNPOPULATED WORLD." "A TINY GROUP, PERHAPS JUST A FEW" "HUNDRED, GET ON A HANDFUL OF RAFTS AND CROSS THESE NARROW" "STRAITS." "THIS AFRICAN EXODUS ONLY HAPPENS" "ONCE." "IN THE FUTURE, ALL HUMANS" "OUTSIDE AFRICA WILL BE DESCENDED FROM THIS ONE TINY CLAN." "IN THESE NEW LANDS, THE ICE AGE WILL TEST THE LIMITS OF" "COLLECTIVE HUMAN LEARNING." "FACED WITH EXTREME COLD, PEOPLE" "INNOVATE." "INVENTION--HEAD-TO-TOE CLOTHES," "TAILORED WITH NEEDLES AND THREAD." "THEIR DARK SKIN GETS ALMOST NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT, WHICH IS" "CRITICAL IN CREATING VITAMIN D. ONEWAYOF DEALINGWITHTHAT" "WAS TO EVOLVE LIGHTER SKHAT THE RAYS OF THE SUN AS MUCH." "THISCHANGEBEGINSTOCREATE THE FUNDAMENTAL DIVISIONS WE" "THINK OF TODAY AS RACE." "INSTEAD OF BEING SLOWED BY THE" "ICE AGE, HUMANS ADAPT AND SPREAD." "ONE GROUP MAKES IT TO SIBERIA AND CROSSES A BRIDGE OF LAND TO" "NORTH AMERICA." "10,000 B.C., GLACIERS START TO" "MELT." "THE BRIDGE TO SIBERIA IS" "SUBMERGED." "THE AMERICAS ARE CUT OFF." "SUDDENLY,WATERENTERSTHE  BERING STRAITS, SO POPULATIONS" "NOW GET SORT OF LOCKED INTO THE REGIONS THEY'VE MIGRATED TO." "FROMNOWON ,FORTHOUSANDSOF YEARS, IT WILL BE AS IF HUMANITY" "LIVES ON DIFFERENT PLANETS." "BUT THAT SEPARATION WILL" "ULTIMATELY PROVE OUR SIMILARITIES, AS HUMANS" "EVERYWHERE DO REMARKABLY SIMILAR THINGS..." "LAUNCH EMPIRES, BUILD PYRAMIDS, MASTER NEW TECHNOLOGIES," "CROSS NEW THRESHOLDS, AND BEGIN BIG HISTORY'S FATEFUL MARCH TO" "THE MODERN WORLD." "BIGHISTORYREVEALS..." "HOW COLLECTIVE LEARNING, THRESHOLD NUMBER SIX IN BIG" "HISTORY, GIVES MAN THE TOOLS WE NEED TO SURVIVE THE ICE AGE." "NOW, AS THE GLACIERS RETREAT, THE VERY SUCCESS THAT ALLOWS" "HUMANITY TO SPREAD TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE PLANET" "MIGHT ALSO BE OUR DOWNFALL." "THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE ON" "PLANET EARTH AND NOT ENOUGH FOOD." "THE SOLUTION IS THE SEVENTH THRESHOLD OF BIG HISTORY." "IT MIGHT BE HARD TO IMAGINE HOW IT FITS IN WITH SUCH EPIC EVENTS" "AS THE BIG BANG..." "AND THE ORIGINS OF LIFE," "BUT FOR MANKIND, IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING, A TRUE TURNING" "POINT THAT REVOLUTIONIZES HOW WE LIVE." "FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE STOP MOVING AND SETTLE DOWN." "IT'S A STEP TOWARD BUILDING THE CIVILIZATIONS THAT WILL DOMINATE" "THE ENTIRE PLANET." "THRESHOLD NUMBER SEVEN..." "THISISARGUABLYTHE MOST IMPORTANT REVOLUTION IN ALL OF" "HUMAN HISTORY, PERHAPS EVEN IN THE HISTORY OF OUR PLANET." "BEGINNING10,000YEARSAGO , THE CHANGEOVER FROM HUNTING AND" "GATHERING FOOD TO FARMING IS A TRIUMPH OF COLLECTIVE LEARNING." "WE SEIZE CONTROL OF EVOLUTION BY BREEDING WILD GRASSES INTO OUR" "MOST IMPORTANT FOODS LIKE CORN, WHEAT, BARLEY, AND RICE." "OFCOURSE,THEYDIDN'T UNDERSTAND ABOUT GENES, THEY" "DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING." "BUT ONCE HUMANS START REALLY CONCENTRATING ON A PARTICULAR" "SPECIES AND LOOKING AFTER IT, THEN YOU CAN FIND VERY QUICKLY," "WITHIN JUST A FEW GENERATIONS, THE SPECIES ITSELF STARTS" "CHANGING." "THENATURALWORLDBECOMESOUR" "LABORATORY." "WILD BEASTS ARE NO LONGER JUST" "ENEMIES TO BE FEARED OR HUNTED." "THEY ARE CREATURES TO BE TAMED" "AND BRED, TURNED INTO VITAL ALLIES." "WE DOMESTICATE WILD WOLVES INTO DOGS, WILD PHEASANTS INTO" "CHICKENS, WILD BOARS INTO PIGS, THE FIERCE AUROCHS INTO THE" "MODERN COW." "[cow moos]" "ALL MODERN COWS--MORE THAN 1 BILLION ANIMALS, 250 DIFFERENT" "BREEDS, PROVIDING ALL OF THE 130 BILLION POUNDS OF BEEF THAT WE" "EAT EVERY YEAR--DESCEND FROM A HERD OF JUST 80 AUROCHS THAT OUR" "ANCESTORS DOMESTICATE 10,000 YEARS AGO." "THIS REVOLUTION ALSO GIVES US OUR MOST POWERFUL ANIMAL ALLY," "THE HORSE..." "[horse whinnies]" "WHICH TODAY HAS A HUGE AND SURPRISING IMPACT ON HOW WE" "SPEAK." "THE HORSE IS FIRST TAMED BY" "ASIAN TRIBES THAT SPEAK AN ANCIENT LANGUAGE CALLED" "PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN." "WITH THIS RADICAL NEW WAY OF" "GETTING AROUND, THEY FAN OUT, SPREADING THEIR LANGUAGE FAR AND" "WIDE." "OVER TIME, IT BRANCHES INTO" "HUNDREDS OF LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY ALMOST HALF THE WORLD." "WEWOULDN'TBE HAVINGTHIS CONVERSATION, AT LEAST NOT IN" "ENGLISH, IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE ROLE OF THE HORSE IN SPREADING" "LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND HUMANS." "THEFARMINGREVOLUTIONALSO" "DEPENDS ON CHEMISTRY..." "AND THE SUPERPOWER OF SALT." "TO SURVIVE AS A FARMER, THE FOOD YOU HARVEST IN THE FALL HAS TO" "LAST ALL YEAR." "SALT PULLS MOISTURE OUT OF FOOD," "WHICH KILLS OFF MICROBES AND KEEPS IT FROM ROTTING." "ONEOFTHEGREATPROBLEMSFOR AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES IS HOW TO" "PRESERVE THINGS, AND SALT IS THE ANSWER." "PRESERVATIONTURNSFARMING FROM A LIFESTYLE CHANGE INTO A" "REVOLUTION." "FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE ONLY" "JOBS THAT EXISTED INVOLVED HUNTING OR GATHERING FOOD." "NOW, WITH THE ABILITY TO STORE FOOD AND BUILD UP A STOCKPILE" "FOR THE FUTURE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, PEOPLE CAN" "DEVOTE THEIR ENERGY TO SOMETHING MORE THAN SURVIVAL." "IT IS THE BEGINNING OF MANKIND'S FIRST JOB MARKET." "YOUSTARTGETTINGADIVISION OF LABOR." "SOME PEOPLE SPECIALIZE AS SOLDIERS, SOME AS PRIESTS, SOME" "AS METAL WORKERS, AND EVENTUALLY, SOME AS RULERS." "ANDWHATMAKESTHE FARMING REVOLUTION EVEN MORE MOMENTOUS" "IS THAT BY PLANTING SEEDS, WE BEGIN TO PUT DOWN ROOTS," "CAUSING MUCH MORE THAN JUST FOOD TO GROW." "VILLAGES BECOME TOWNS, TOWNS BECOME CITIES, AND CITIES BECOME" "CIVILIZATIONS..." "USHERING IN AN AGE OF" "ALL-POWERFUL RULERS." "ONE OF THOSE RULERS, AN ACADIAN" "KING CALLED SARGON THE GREAT, RAISES A HUGE ARMY, CONQUERS HIS" "NEIGHBORS, AND CREATES SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW, WHERE ONE KING" "RULES OVER MANY DIFFERENT CITIES AND PEOPLES." "IT IS THE WORLD'S FIRST EMPIRE." "IT'S A PATTERN WE SEE ACROSS THE" "ANCIENT WORLD--WHERE CITIES RISE, EMPIRES FOLLOW." "THISIMPETUSTO CONSTRUCT EMPIRES APPEARS TO GET DEEPLY" "EMBEDDED IN THE CULTURAL DNA OF ALL THESE CIVILIZATIONS." "EMPIRESDEPENDON LOYALTY FROM THOUSANDS OF SUBJECTS OVER" "VAST TERRITORIES, SO EARLY RULERS BUILD GIANT" "MEGA-STRUCTURES TO SIGNAL THEIR AWE-INSPIRING POWER." "THOUSANDS OF COMMON LABORERS PILE GIANT STONES INTO ENORMOUS" "ARTIFICIAL MOUNTAINS, ANCIENT PYRAMIDS THAT RISE" "AROUND THE WORLD--A PATTERN THAT LINKS HUMAN CIVILIZATIONS" "ACROSS THE GLOBE." "AS CIVILIZATIONS GROW ANDNNECT, OUR WEALTH OF" "COLLECTIVE LEARNING EXPANDS, AND WE SOON NEED A WAY TO RECORD AND" "SHARE KNOWLEDGE." "ALLTHEWORLD'SMAJOR" "CIVILIZATIONS AT SOME POINT CONFRONTED THE PROBLEM OF THERE" "BEING TOO MUCH INFORMATION TO KEEP IT IN YOUR HEAD, THAT THEY" "HAD TO DEVELOP PERMANENT WAYS OF RECORDING INFORMATION." "SOWEBEGINMAKINGMARKSON CLAY, STONE, PAPYRUS, AND BAMBOO" "TO HELP US REMEMBER THINGS." "WRITING IS A BREAKTHROUGH THAT" "ALLOWS US TO PASS ON OUR EXPERIENCES DIRECTLY TO FUTURE" "GENERATIONS." "FROM WRITING TO PYRAMIDS TO" "THE RISE OF THE MODERN METROPOLIS, EVERYTHING WE CALL" ""CIVILIZATION" CAN TRACE ITS ORIGINS BACK TO THE FARMING" "REVOLUTION, A BIG HISTORY THRESHOLD THAT TRANSFORMS THE" "WAY WE LIVE." "BUT ALTHOUGH COMMON HUMAN TRAITS" "UNITE US, THE NATURAL WORLD OF CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY WILL" "DIVIDE US AND PLUNGE THE WORLD INTO AN EPIC CLASH THAT" "THREATENS TO BRING ENTIRE CIVILIZATIONS CRASHING DOWN." "BIGHISTORYIS AN EPICNEW  WAY TO LOOK AT THE WORLD," "CONNECTING THE TRADITIONAL HISTORY OF EMPIRES AND" "CIVILIZATIONS TO THE GEOLOGY OF MOUNTAIN RANGES..." "THE EVOLUTION OF ANIMALS..." "EVEN THE EARTH'S TILT AND" "CLIMATE." "CITIES AND CIVILIZATIONS TAKE" "HOLD IN WARMER CLIMATES, PLACES WHERE IT'S EASIER TO GROW FOOD." "IN THE NORTH, WHERE IT'S TOO COLD FOR MOST CROPS, GRASS IS" "ONE OF THE FEW PLANTS THAT CAN SURVIVE." "HERD ANIMALS THRIVE ON IT, SO PEOPLE HERE SADDLE UP INSTEAD OF" "SETTLING DOWN AND BECOME EXPERT HERDERS AND RAIDERS." "HORSE-BASEDWARRIORCULTURES ARE GOING TO BE THE OPTIMAL MODE" "OF EXISTENCE." "SOCLIMATEDIVIDESTHE OLD" "WORLD AND GIVES US DIFFERENT DESTINIES" "WHERE IT'S WARM, PERMANENT PROSPEROUS SETTLEMENTS BUILT ON" "FARMING." "WHERE IT'S COLDER, ROVING BANDS" "OF NOMADS WHO SOMETIMES LOOT AND PILLAGE RICHES FROM THE SOUTH" "AND EVEN BRING ENTIRE CIVILIZATIONS CRASHING DOWN." "[men shouting] FROM THE TRIBES THAT SWARM OVER" "CHINA'S GREAT WALL TO THE HUNS, GOTHS, AND VANDALS WHO DESTROY" "THE ROMAN EMPIRE, TO THE MONGOLS WHO CONQUER MOST OF THE KNOWN" "WORLD, IT'S AN EPIC CONFLICT THAT LASTS 5,000 YEARS." "BUT CLIMATE IS NOT THE ONLY FORCE WITH A PROFOUND IMPACT ON" "BIG HISTORY." "GEOLOGY, THE SHAPE AND MOVEMENT" "OF CONTINENTS, AND THE LOCATION OF FORMIDABLE MOUNTAIN BARRIERS" "PLAYS A VITAL ROLE." "IN EUROPE AND ASIA," "CIVILIZATIONS GROW FASTER AND MORE MASSIVELY THAN THEIR" "COUNTERPARTS IN THE AMERICAS." "SO WHAT DOES THE OLD WORLD HAVE" "THAT THE NEW WORLD DOESN'T?" "THE EARTH REVEALS THAT IN THE" "EASTERN HEMISPHERE, PLATE TECTONICS ALIGNS THE LAND FROM" "EAST TO WEST, AND A SINGLE MOUNTAIN SYSTEM, THE ALPIDE" "BELT, STRETCHES ACROSS TWO CONTINENTS, FROM THE ALPS TO THE" "HIMALAYAS AND BEYOND." "BECAUSE THE OLD WORLD AND ITS" "MOUNTAINS ARE ORIENTED FROM EAST TO WEST, PEOPLE CAN MIGRATE" "EASILY ALONGSIDE THEM FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES, BRINGING" "THEIR CROPS, ANIMALS, AND IDEAS." "HUMANMIGRATIONTENDSTORUNCAUSETHELENGTH OF" "THE DAYS REMAINS THE SAME, THE TEMPERATURE TENDS TO REMAIN" "ABOUT THE SAME." "THE RAINFALL TENDS TO BE PRETTY" "CONSISTENT." "THAT MEANS THAT WHATEVER YOU" "WERE GROWING IN ONE PLACE WILL PROBABLY TRANSFER." "HERE,THEBUSIESTLANDTRADE ROUTES IN HISTORY CARRY NEW" "TECHNOLOGY FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, CONNECTING EVERYONE IN" "A VAST WEB THAT ENRICHES CIVILIZATIONS FROM CHINA TO" "EUROPE." "ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD," "THE AMERICAN CONTINENTS ARE ORIENTED IN A NORTH-SOUTH" "DIRECTION, SO CROPS GROWN IN NORTH AMERICA RARELY SURVIVE IN" "THE DIFFERENT CLIMATES OF THE SOUTH." "AND NORTH AMERICA'S GREAT MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS, THE" "APPALACHIANS IN THE EAST AND THE ROCKIES AND SIERRAS IN THE WEST," "SPLIT THE CONTINENT WITH NORTH-SOUTH BARRIERS THAT" "OBSTRUCT MIGRATION AND TRADE." "BY LOOKING TO GEOLOGY, BIG" "HISTORY REVEALS WHY IT'S HARDER FOR CIVILIZATIONS IN THE" "AMERICAS TO EXCHANGE IDEAS." "BUT THERE'S ANOTHER OBSTACLE" "THAT SETS THE NEW WORLD APART FROM THE OLD" "THERE ARE NO LARGE ANIMALS TO DOMESTICATE FOR FOOD OR" "TRANSPORTATION." "A SMALL THING LIKE THE LACK OF" "HORSES CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON CIVILIZATION." "MOSTTRANSPORTATIONIS STILL BY HUMAN PORTERS." "THAT MAY HAVE LIMITED THE POSSIBILITIES FOR COMMERCE," "TRADE, AND EXCHANGE IN THOSE AREAS." "ONA HORSE,YOUCAN GET FROM POINT "A" TO POINT "B," AND" "THEY'RE 100 MILES APART, RELATIVELY EASILY." "IT'S NOT A HUGE DEAL." "FOR PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, RUNNING," "THAT'S A VERY, VERY BIG DEAL." "SOBYCONNECTINGTRADITIONAL" "HISTORY TO SCIENCE, BIG HISTORY REVEALS WHY NEW WORLD EMPIRES" "LAG BEHIND THOSE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC IN SIZE AND TECHNOLOGY." "THE OLD WORLD ALIGNMENT OF CONTINENTS AND MOUNTAINS AND" "ACCESS TO ANIMALS LIKE HORSES AND CAMELS CREATE CONDITIONS" "THAT ARE JUST RIGHT." "THEY LINK US ACROSS THOUSANDS OF" "MILES LIKE SYNAPSES IN A VAST, INTERCONNECTED BRAIN OF HUMAN" "KNOWLEDGE..." "AMPLIFYING THE UMAN" "SKILL OF ACCUMULATING AND SHARING INFORMATION--E BIG HISTORY THRESHOLD" "CALLED COLLECTIVE LEARNING." "SO AN IDEA THAT STARTS IN ONE" "SMALL PART OF THE GLOBE HAS THEORLD." "SOME NEW IDEAS CAN BE EXPLOSIVE." "850 A.D., THE CHINESE UNLOCK THE CHEMISTRY OF GUNPOWDER..." "AND IT SPREADS ACROSS THE CONTINENT ALL THE WAY TO EUROPE" "IN JUST 300 YEARS." "AND IN 1450, WHEN A GERMAN" "BLACKSMITH NAMED JOHANNES GUTENBERG DEVELOPS A RADICALLY" "IMPROVED METHOD OF MECHANICAL PRINTING, IT BECOMES THE" "GREATEST BOOST TO COLLECTIVE LEARNING SINCE THE INVENTION OF" "WRITING 5,000 YEARS BEFORE." "PRINTINGENCOURAGEDMASS" "EDUCATION." "MASS EDUCATION ENCOURAGED MORE" "EXCHANGES OF IDEAS AND MADE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL" "INNOVATIONS PERHAPS SLIGHTLY EASIER IN EUROPE THAN IN OTHER" "PARTS OF THE WORLD." "TECHNOLOGYTEARSDOWN" "BARRIERS, SO AFTER MILLENNIA OF DISCOVERY AND INVENTION, WE'RE" "FINALLY READY TO CONQUER EARTH'S GREATEST DIVIDE--THE OCEANS." "FOR 15,000 YEARS, THE OCEANS SEPARATE HUMANITY INTO ISOLATED" "ZONES--THE AMERICAS, AFRICA AND EURASIA, AUSTRALIA--WHWE" "DE DIFFERENT WORLDS, EACH UNAWARE OF THE OTHERS." "BUT TECHNOLOGY USHERS IN A NEW AGE, WHERE NATURE'S MOST" "FORMIDABLE BARRIER BECOMES A HIGHWAY." "EUROPEANS CROSS THE ATLANTIC FOR THE FIRST TIME." "EQUIPPED WITH A SERIES OF BIG HISTORY'S LUCKY BREAKS, THEY" "WILL DOMINATE THE AMERICAS USING HORSES, GUNS, AND A TERRIBLE" "SECRET WEAPON-- DISEASE." "THE EUROPEANS BRING MICROBES TO WHICH THE AMERICANS HAVE NO" "IMMUNITY." "WITHIN A HUNDRED YEARS OF" "COLUMBUS, UP TO 90% OF THEM WILL DIE." "IT'S A DEFINITIVE CONQUEST." "BUT BY MASTERING THE OCEAN," "EUROPEAN EXPLORERS UNITE THE WORLD." "MANKIND TRADES NEW CROPS, ANIMALS, AND RESOURCES LIKE GOLD" "AND SILVER IN AN UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL EXCHANGE." "THELASTTIMEINTHEPLANET'S HISTORY WHEN THERE WAS A" "BIOLOGICAL EXCHANGE OVER THE WHOLE GLOBE WAS 250 MILLION" "YEARS AGO WHEN ALL THE CONTINENTS WERE GATHERED" "TOGETHER IN PANGAEA." "BUT THIS TIME, IT'S CAUSED NOT" "BY GEOLOGY BUT BY HUMAN BEINGS, BY ONE PARTICULAR SPECIES THAT'S" "MOVED GOODS ALL AROUND THE WORLD." "OUREPICSTORYHAS TAKENUS AROUND THE GLOBE THROUGH SEVEN" "THRESHOLDS." "BUT WHAT IS THE EIGHTH AND" "FINAL THRESHOLD IN BIG HISTORY, AND WHAT SECRET CONNECTS THEM" "ALL?" "[heart beating]" "BYTHEYEAR1500..." "MANKIND IS BREAKING THE OCEAN" "BARRIER." "AND THESE NEW LIQUID HIGHWAYS" "AMPLIFY THE VERY THING THAT MAKES MAN SO SPECIAL" "THE SHARING AND SPREADING OF KNOWLEDGE..." "WHAT BIG HISTORIANS CALL COLLECTIVE LEARNING." "ITHINKGLOBALIZATIONFROM 1500 IS A SORT OF A GEAR SHIFT" "IN THE SPEED OF COLLECTIVE LEARNING." "THISISTHEFIRSTWORLDWIDE WEB." "BUT THE NETWORK IS SLOW." "INFORMATION, IDEAS, INVENTIONS" "CAN ONLY SPREAD AS FAST AS A HORSE CAN RUN OR A SHIP CAN" "SAIL." "TO CIRCLE THE GLOBE TAKES OVER A" "YEAR." "BUT SOON, IT ALL BEGINS TO" "CHANGE." "BY REVEALING CONNECTIONS ACROSS" "SPACE AND TIME..." "BIG HISTORY SHOWS HOW MANKIND" "WILL CROSS ANOTHER PORTAL, THANKS TO A REVOLUTIONARY" "MACHINE." "TO CREATE THIS MACHINE, BIG" "HISTORY CONNECTS METALS BROUGHT BY METEORS..." "ANCIENT PLANTS REINCARNATED AS COAL..." "AND THE ALMOST MAGICAL PROPERTY OF WATER AS IT SHAPE-SHIFTS INTO" "A NEW FORM." "THAT REVOLUTIONARY MACHINE?" "THE STEAM ENGINE." "BYHEATINGWATER,YOU CREATE" "THIS STEAM PRESSURE." "IT CAN FORCE A PISTON, FOR" "EXAMPLE, TO START MOVING UP AND DOWN, MACHINES TO DRIVE SPINNING" "MACHINES THAT WILL CREATE TEXTILES MUCH, MUCH FASTER." "[train horn blows] AND THEN, YOU CAN PUT IT ONTO A" "PLATFORM WITH WHEELS AND LAY IRON RAILS ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE." "ALL OF THIS IS A PRODUCT OF UTILIZING THIS EXTRAORDINARY" "PROPERTY OF HEATED WATER AGAIN." "THESTEAMENGINELEADSTOTHE" "GASOLINE ENGINE..." "AND IGNITES A NEW THRESHOLD IN" "BIG HISTORY..." "[indistinct chatter]" "FOR ALL OF HISTORY, WE HAVE BEEN LIMITED ALMOST COMPLETELY TO" "POWER FROM HUMAN AND ANIMAL MUSCLES..." "WIND AND FLOWING WATER." "NOW, MECHANICAL ENGINES, FUELED" "BY THE POWER OF THE SUN CAPTURED IN ANCIENT PLANTS, MAKE US FAR" "MORE PRODUCTIVE AND POWERFUL." "BY 1900, THE WORLD'S STEAM" "ENGINES WILL EQUAL THE POWER OF 5 BILLION MEN." "THE MODERN REVOLUTION ACCELERATES EVERYTHING" "HOW WE PRODUCE AND GROW THINGS, HOW WE TRAVEL... [beeping] AND COMMUNICATE... [beeping] AND IT ELEVATES MAN TO A UNIQUE" "STATUS IN THE STORY OF OUR PLANET." "ASINGLESPECIES,FOR THE  FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 4 BILLION" "YEARS, HAS BECOME SO POWERFUL THAT IT DOMINATES THE BIOSPHERE." "AND THAT'S A FANTASTICALLY INTERESTING PERIOD IN HISTORY," "AND WE'RE LIVING IN IT RIGHT NOW." "ITISAN ERAUNLIKEANY BEFORE." "BUT POWER IS NOT THE ONLY KEY TO OPEN THIS PORTAL." "THE OTHER IS INFORMATION." "ICEBERGSTRAIGHTAHEAD!" "THROUGHOUTALLPREVIOUS HISTORY, WE WERE TETHERED TO OUR" "VOICES, WHICH COULD ONLY TRAVEL AS FAR AS A SOUND WAVE COULD" "CARRY THEM, A MAXIMUM OF 600 FEET." "[radio static] BUT NOW OUR VOICES AND IDEAS CAN" "RIDE ON RADIO WAVES MADE POSSIBLE BY THE ELECTROMAGNETIC" "FORCE BORN IN THE BIG BANG." "TODAY, THERE ARE 7 BILLION CELL" "PHONES IN THE WORLD..." "ONE FOR EVERY PERSON ON EARTH." "WE ARE EACH CONNECTED TO A GLOBAL NETWORK..." "THAT TRANSMITS INFORMATION AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT." "IMEAN,SHORTOF TELEPORTATION, I REALLY CAN'T" "THINK OF ANYTHING MORE MAGICAL THAN THAT." "INOURMODERNERA ,THE PACE OF PROGRESS EXPLODES, LEADING TO" "A STAGGERING FACT." "DURING THE ERA OF THE STEAM" "ENGINE, IT TOOK 150 YEARS FOR MAN'S COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE TO" "DOUBLE." "TODAY, IT TAKES TWO YEARS." "BY 2020, IT WILL TAKE 72 HOURS." "BIG HISTORY BRINGS US FROM THE" "BIG BANG THROUGH A SERIES OF AMAZING THRESHOLDS..." "TO THE WORLD AROUND US TODAY." "BUT CAN IT FORESEE MANKIND'S" "NEXT MOMENTOUS TURNING POINTS, AND DO THEY PROMISE EVEN FASTER" "PROGRESS..." "OR THE END OF EVERYTHING?" "BIGHISTORYTELLSTHE STORY OF EVERYTHING, FROM THE" "BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE TO THE WORLD AROUND US TODAY IN WHAT" "BIG HISTORIANS CALL THRESHOLD MOMENTS." "BUT WHAT IS THE SECRET KEY, THE FUNDAMENTAL MYSTERY, THAT LINKS" "THEM ALL TOGETHER?" "TO REVEAL THAT SECRET, WE FIRST" "HAVE TO UNDERSTAND A BASIC LAW THAT GOVERNS EVERYTHING IN THE" "UNIVERSE." "THE NATURAL TENDENCY OF ALL" "THINGS IS TO MOVE FROM ORDER TO DISORDER..." "FROM STRUCTURE TO DISINTEGRATION..." "FROM THE COMPLEX TO THE SIMPLE." "AN EGG CAN BREAK, BUT ITS PIECES" "CAN'T FORM A NEW EGG." "A NEWSPAPER CAN BURN TO ASHES," "BUT THE ASHES CAN'T BECOME A NEWSPAPER." "SCIENTISTS CALL IT THE LAW OF ENTROPY." "THROUGHOUT ALL TIME AND SPACE, THE UNIVERSE HAS BEEN RULED BY" "THIS LAW." "BUT WHEN WE CONSIDER THE NEARLY 14 BILLION YEARS OF BIG HISTORY, WE DISCOVER WHAT APPEAR TO BE" "RARE AND REMARKABLE EXCEPTIONS, MOMENTS WHEN EVERYTHING LINES UP" "IN JUST THE RIGHT WAY..." "AND SEEMS TO DEFY THIS NATURAL" "LAW OF ENTROPY..." "TO GO FROM THE MASSIVE" "EXPLOSION OF THE BIG BANG TO THE STRUCTURE OF A STAR..." "FROM THE SWIRL OF CHEMICALS IN ANCIENT SEAS..." "TO A STRAND OF LIVING DNA..." "FROM A SIMPLE UNIVERSE" "TO A COMPLEX WORLD." "FOR BIG HISTORY, THAT IS THE" "SECRET HIDDEN IN THE HEART OF EVERY THRESHOLD, A PATTERN THAT" "LINKS US THROUGH ALL OF TIME AND SPACE, EIGHT MOMENTS WHEN THE" "UNIVERSE SEEMS TO DEFY ITS MOST BASIC LAW AND INSTEAD MOVES" "FROM THE SIMPLE TO THE COMPLEX, EIGHT MOMENTS WHEN WE MOVE FROM" "CHAOS..." "TO ORDER." "BUT A MYSTERY REMAINS-- HOW AND WHY IN THESE INSTANCES" "DID THE UNIVERSE SEEMINGLY DEFY ITS OWN LAW OF CHAOS?" "THE ANSWER LIES IN A COSMIC FORCE THAT EMERGED FROM THE BIG" "BANG..." "GRAVITY." "BECAUSE OF GRAVITY, OUR UNIVERSE IS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED." "INSTEAD, THERE ARE HUBS, GALAXIES, STARS, AND SOLAR" "SYSTEMS..." "DIVIDED BY MASSIVE VOIDS." "IN THOSE HUBS, ENERGY AND MATTERGE, TRILLIONS OF INTERACTIONS OCCUR, AND IN A" "SWARMING HUB, THE IMPROBABLE BECOMES POSSIBLE." "GRAVITYCANFORMSTARSTHAT  FORM ENERGY THAT BATHES THE" "PLANETS SURROUNDING THEM, WHICH GIVES RISE TO LIFE, AND LIFE" "ITSELF THEN HAS ALL THESE INTERACTIONS THAT LEAD TO" "INCREASING COMPLEXITY." "MOSTOFTHEUNIVERSEISSTILL" "VERY SIMPLE, SO THINGS GET COMPLEX ONLY IN PARTICULAR" "POCKETS OF THE UNIVERSE WHERE WE HAVE THE GOLDILOCKS CONDITIONS," "WHERE CONDITIONS ARE JUST PERFECT." "THESEHUBSAPPEARTHROUGHOUT SPACE AND TIME IN STARS THAT" "FORGE ELEMENTS, ANCIENT SEAS THAT PRODUCE LIFE..." "AND EVEN IN CITIES ON EARTH." "GIANTCITIESFORMWITHHUGE" "AMOUNTS OF ACTIVITY, AND THEN THERE ARE, OF COURSE, THESE" "GREAT EXPANSES AND NOT MUCH ACTIVITY." "ALL THESE THINGS COME ABOUT AS A RESULT OF JUST REPEATED" "INTERACTIONS OF PARTICLES OBEYING THE LAWS OF PHYSICS, AND" "THERE'S JUST A FEW LAWS OF PHYSICS." "SOWHATIS THENEXT THRESHOLD?" "WILL LIFE, COMPLEXITY, AND THRESHOLDS GO ON FOREVER?" "OR DOES BIG HISTORY FORESEE NEW MOMENTS WHERE MANKIND, LIFE" "ITSELF, EVEN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE COME TO AN END?" "BIGHISTORYHASREVEALEDHOW A SERIES OF EIGHT GIANT" "THRESHOLDS..." "ULTIMATELY LEAD TO THE ADVANCED" "CIVILIZATION THAT SURROUNDS US TODAY." "BUT WHAT THRESHOLDS LIE IN THE FUTURE?" "TO BE CONSIDERED A THRESHOLD IN BIG HISTORY, AN EVENT HAS TO" "ALTER THINGS FUNDAMENTALLY, IRREVERSIBLY CHANGING OUR MODERN" "WORLD." "SO WHAT THRESHOLDS LIE AHEAD?" "WHAT WILL THE NINTH BE?" "ONE POSSIBLE CANDIDATE..." "THE POINT WHEN HUMANS BEGIN TO LIVE ON OTHER PLANETS, LIKE" "MARS." "ANOTHER POSSIBILITY, THE MOMENT" "OUR OWN TECHNOLOGY OVERTAKES US." "STILL ANOTHER POSSIBLE THRESHOLD" "WOULD BE DISCOVERING INTELLIGENT CREATURES FROM OTHER PLANETS..." "OR BEING DISCOVERED BY THEM." "BUT WE'VE ALSO SEEN THAT" "THRESHOLD MOMENTS CAN OCCUR IN THE AFTERMATH OF CATASTROPHE," "LIKE A COSMIC COLLISION." "THEREARESTILLSORTOFROGUE" "ASTEROIDS WANDERING AROUND OUR EARTH." "SCIENTISTSCALCULATETHATAN ASTEROID 6 MILES WIDE COULD" "WIPE OUT HUMANITY JUST AS A SIMILAR IMPACT WIPED OUT THE" "DINOSAURS 65 MILLION YEARS AGO." "THE EXPLOSION OF A NEARBY STAR" "COULD ALSO CAUSE A PLANETWIDE CATACLYSM, BUT DISASTER DOESN'T" "ONLY COME FROM SPACE." "HERE ON EARTH, THE NEXT" "THRESHOLD MIGHT FOLLOW A WORLDWIDE NATURAL DISASTER," "LIKE THE DAWN OF A NEW ICE AGE OR THE TOXIC BLAST OF A" "SUPERMASSIVE VOLCANO, AND EVEN A CATACLYSM OF OUR OWN" "INVENTION..." "FROM THERMONUCLEAR WAR" "TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION." "BUTONTHEOTHERHAND ," "THE STORY OF HUMAN INNOVATION IS FANTASTICALLY CREATIVE." "I MEAN, WE ARE STAGGERINGLY CREATIVE." "WE ARE SO CLEVER AS A RESULT OF COLLECTIVE LEARNING, THAT IF OUR" "SPECIES CAN'T SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS, I HAVE NO IDEA WHO" "CAN." "BIGHISTORYIS ABOUTLOOKING" "AT OUR WORLD AND OUR FUTURE IN DIFFERENT WAYS." "ON AN ASTRONOMICAL SCALE ACROSS BILLIONS OF YEARS, OUR FATE IS" "MUCH MORE CLEAR." "OUR STORY OF MOVING FROM" "SIMPLICITY TO COMPLEXITY IS ONLY TEMPORARY." "BILLIONS OF YEARS FROM NOW, THE SUN WILL EXPAND AND STERILIZE" "THE EARTH." "ALLTHESEASWILLBOIL AWAY ." "THEN THE SUN WILL SHRINK AND CONTRACT AND THEN END UP AS A" "WHITE DWARF AND THEN A BLACK DWARF, NO ENERGY, JUST THIS" "DEAD, LIFELESS OBJECT FLOATING IN SPACE." "OUTINTHEUNIVERSE,ALREADY TODAY, 90% OF THE MATERIAL TO" "MAKE NEW STARS HAS BEEN USED UP, SO FEWER WILL BE FORMED." "THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE, THE SERIES OF THRESHOLDS THAT LED TO" "OUR WORLD TODAY..." "WILL BEGIN TO REVERSE." "INSTEAD OF BECOMING MORE COMPLEX, THINGS WILL BECOME MORE" "SIMPLE." "STARSWLSTOPFORMING." "THEY WILL STOP CREATING NEW ELEMENTS." "EVENTUALLY,IFTHEUNIVERSE EXPANDS FOREVER, IT'LL COOL DOWN" "TO ESSENTIALLY ABSOLUTE ZERO EVERYWHERE." "THESTORYOF BIGHISTORYWILL  COME TO AN END IN A DARKENED" "COSMOS WHERE NOTHING WILL BE CREATED." "ANDINTHEFAR DISTANT FUTURE, THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO" "BE EXTRAORDINARILY SIMPLE AGAIN, AND IT WILL CEASE TO BE ABLE TO" "CREATE COMPLEX THINGS." "SO THAT MEANS SOMETHING QUITE" "MAGICAL ABOUT THE TIME WE LIVE IN." "WE LIVE IN THE SPRINGTIME OF OUR UNIVERSE." "THAT'S A TIME WHEN OUR UNIVERSE WAS CAPABLE OF CREATING" "BEAUTIFUL THINGS LIKE HUMMINGBIRDS OR REDWOODS OR" "YOU AND ME." "ANDIT'SALSOTHE TIMEWHEN" "MANKIND UNDERTAKES A PROFOUND QUEST..." "TO UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE, TO FIND OUR PLACE IN THE GRAND" "CONTINUUM OF TIME..." "OUR INFINITE LINK TO THE" "BRILLIANT BEGINNINGS..." "THE QUIET END AND THE" "TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF THIS MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE..." "THE STORY WE CALL BIG HISTORY."