Origin Story: A Big History of Everything

by David Christian

With nothing but narrow, selfish, and conflicting nationalist traditions, races and peoples are bound to drift towards conflict and destruction.

For many, nationalism offered some sense of belonging, but in today’s globally connected world, it is apparent that nationalism divides humanity even as it connects citizens within a particular country.

the maps lurking within origin stories and religions were fundamental to our sense of self. Without them, he argued, people could fall into a sense of despair and meaninglessness so profound, it might drive them to suicide.

The problem is that in a globally connected world, there are so many local origin stories competing for people’s trust and attention that they get in one another’s way.

Indeed, some have argued that entropy actually likes the idea of life (and may encourage it to appear in many parts of the universe), because life degrades free energy so much more efficiently than nonlife.