The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection

by Tamim Ansary

Everything we know is one node in a web of knowledge, which is why, when we think we’re coming to understand something, we say we’re connecting the dots. We mean we’re starting to see a constellation. Dots are all that the world gives us; connections are what we add. The big picture is in our minds, but if others see it too, it feels real. For most practical purposes, it is real. Once a big picture has formed, a dot can vanish here or there, and it doesn’t matter: the picture is still there. A few new dots can drift into the frame: it doesn’t matter. We incorporate the ones that fit and ignore the ones that don’t, and the picture is still there. But if too many dots disappear and too many more drift in, the picture gets blurry. At some point, the addition or subtraction of just a few dots can bring a whole new picture into view. And with that, the meaning of all the dots can change, for now they are nodes in a whole different web of meaning.