Master Timeline
30 Phil, Chapter 23, Roger Williams, Touchstone 57: Separation of Church and State. More than a historical or religious treatise, the Bloody Tenet by Roger Williams is a seminal work. It launched a full-throttle assault on the prevailing norms of religious and political intolerance that plagued both Old and New England. In it, he passionately […]
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In a cataclysmic event, a Mars-sized object named Theia collided with the early Earth, sending massive amounts of debris into orbit. This debris coalesced over time to form the Moon, which eventually became tidally locked to the Earth, stabilizing the planet’s axis and paving the way for the development of life. The Moon is comprised
30 Phil, Chapter 22, Descartes, Touchstone 55: Pragmatism. Pragmatism values practical application over intellectual accuracy. For my work and for a new look at it, there are only three types: Empirical, Rational, and Irrational. Empirical Pragmatism aligns closely with some traditional definitions of Logical Pragmatism. Both are in conflict with traditional pragmatism’s goal of resolving
30 Phil, Chapter 22, Descartes, Touchstone 54: Idea Modeling. Idea Modeling is a new look at the process of creating new ideas. It is the dynamic interplay of various cognitive functions, but especially pattern recognition and conceptual blending. For this discussion let’s add in curiosity, gap-filling, and information bias. The whole thing is guided by
30 Phil, Chapter 22, Descartes, Touchstone 56: Mind-Body Dualism. This concept splits the universe into two different substances. Cartesian Dualism splits the mind and body into separate entities that interact with each other. It fundamentally challenged the Aristotelian view that the mind and body are inseparable, laying the groundwork for modern explorations of the unknown
17 Generations From Now (from 2020 CE) The population of humans not living on land will exceed the population living on land. The non-surface population will live in floating cities, underground, on the bottom of the ocean, in orbiting space stations around Earth, the Moon, and Mars, as well as on the surfaces of the
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Human presence on Mars will transition from science fiction to reality with the successful establishment of the first permanent Martian colony. Analysis: While initial crewed missions to Mars could potentially occur by 2029 or early 2030s, achieving a fully self-sustaining, permanent colony will take a bit longer. While 2033 is a bit overly ambitious, it
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Neural interface technology advancements will enable seamless human-AI integration. These AI companions will provide real-time information access, language translation, and enhanced cognition. Analysis: These interfaces have already shown promise in helping individuals with paralysis regain movement, offering the potential for broader applications, including helping people walk again. Early adoption in these specialized medical fields will
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The world will witness a pivotal moment in computing history as quantum computers achieve “quantum supremacy,” solving problems that were previously unsolvable by classical computers. This breakthrough will herald a new era in fields such as cryptography, material science, and artificial intelligence. With these performance levels, quantum computing will revolutionize industries, leading to advancements in
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Visual Craters of the Moon! In a period known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, the solar system experienced a intense barrage of asteroid and comet impacts, with many large objects striking the Earth and Moon. This event likely occurred as the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn migrated to their current orbits, sending smaller bodies into
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30 Phil, Chapter 21, Galileo, Touchstone 54: Modern Cosmology. The story of Galileo is also the story of Copernicus, and the story of modern cosmology. To properly tell the story of Copernicus, we need to mention Aristarchus of Samos, a Greek astronomer and mathematician born around 310 BCE. Aristarchus put forth a heliocentric model, proposing
30 Phil, Chapter 21, Galileo, Touchstone 53: Infinitesimal. The infinitesimal is a form of infinity representing a theoretical value that is infinitely close to zero but not zero itself. Galileo Galilei discussed concepts related to the infinitesimal in his work “Two New Sciences”. In this work, he explored the foundations of kinematics and the strength
30 Phil, Chapter 20, Francis Bacon, Touchstone 51: The Scientific Method. Science is the ongoing study of nature through observation. It’s that simple. If you see something new in nature, that’s science. Many definitions of science tend to intertwine the “how,” but the “how” is perpetually evolving, just like science itself remains a continual journey, never settling
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30 Phil, Chapter 20, Francis Bacon, Touchstone 50: Truth Hammers. A truth hammer is a process that aims to uncover specific truths using empirical data, logic, reason, facts, and peer review. There are three truth hammers: science, law, and journalism.
Absolute truth exists in objective reality, but human claims to possess it remain provisional—always open to refinement, correction, or falsification.
30 Phil, Chapter 19, Guru Nanak, Touchstone 48: The Five Thieves. Central to Sikh philosophy is the concept of the Five Thieves. The Five Thieves assert that the path to happiness is achieved by managing or removing the negative forces in your life including lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego. The Five Thieves provide ethical guideposts,
30 Phil, Chapter 18, Peter Abelard, Touchstone 47: The Idea of Ideas. The Idea of Ideas is a new look at epistemology. It asserts empirical, rational, and irrational entities exist in the Material World, independent of the minds of beings who can discover, label, and use them as ideas. When this theory refers to “beings,”
30 Phil, Chapter 18, Peter Abelard, Touchstone 46: Pattern Recognition. Humans possess an extraordinary ability to identify patterns both in nature as well as in our minds. It is fundamental to how we understand the world, and at the core of the universals debate. Building on pattern recognition, our minds also engage in pattern ranking.
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30 Phil, Chapter 18, Peter Abelard, Touchstone 45: Object-Oriented Nature. Our minds naturally categorize the world into objects, properties, and their interactions. We mentally reduce the complexities of reality into objects. For instance, when we interact with a battery, we use its interface, the positive and negative terminals unconcerned about the details. In this somewhat
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30 Phil, Chapter 18, Peter Abelard, Touchstone 44: Intent. The concept of intent has deep roots. Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, argued that voluntary actions guided by intention were essential for moral responsibility and virtue. Similarly, Roman law incorporated the concept of “mens rea,” a guilty mind, as a vital element in determining guilt. In
