Back in Time

So far I have browsed through most of the presentations on the history of the universe, the solar system, and early life on Earth, and this part is quite nice as a refresher on both the important details and the scale of time that we are able to glimpse in our brief lives. Human history, though, is already heavily Eurocentric: I have only gotten as far as the Neolithic Revolution in the Fertile Crescent, and already the app is only covering that portion of hominids whose history will lead directly to European History. We get to know Neanderthals, but not the Denisovans; likewise, we only see one Neolithic Revolution in one single “Cradle of Civilization” rather than the several separate but parallel Neolithic developments in East Asia or what came to be called the Americas. None of this is controversial. It is simply ignored. It is much too late even in Western narratives to make these kinds of omissions: this app is sold world-wide, is it not? At least it is useful for reviewing major deep time events, and I may keep it for that alone. But human history is not synonymous with European History. Quite a lost opportunity here, and extremely annoying.

Awesome way of how to communicate and visualize time as it relates to life from the birth of the universe to today. Check out the last second and ponder.

I absolutely love this app! Visually stunning, and intellectually stimulating! This is a great app for anyone who wants to understand the history of our universe according to current scientific knowledge. If you have ever read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" you will be familiar with the content of this app, as well as the quality. But this app is so much more than that excellent book (and not directly related in anyway, as far as I know) but it takes that type of information and presents it in a beautiful interface that is fun to use and with its most excellent background music, surprisingly soothing! Give to this app as a gift to anyone who appreciates history, science or just wants to learn! Perfect gift for students of probably sixth grade on up through college too!