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How to Remember Everything: The Immortal Life of Books through Big History
Jennifer Doering
3 December 2013

Dr. Bower
Big History, FYE 2000, section 2
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Where can one battle a sea-god and monster, live in a log cabin, attempt to discover their

purpose in life, and perform magic spells all at the same time? In a book, of course. Books can

unlock imagination and also information. They hold written words, someones ideas made

concrete and permanent by the act of writing or printing them in a book. Ideas and information

can survive on their own, but everyone has felt the feeling when one had an amazing idea, but

then forgot it and hadnt written it down. That idea is lost forever. If something is written down,

it will survive, immortalized. Books contain written information and are something incredibly

important to humanitys history, and the history of the universe as a whole, Big History. Big

History spans eight thresholds, according to the text by Christian, Brown, and Benjamin (2014).

Books have been a part of every chapter, every threshold, in that history. Let me show you:

The first threshold dealt with the origin of the universe. The textbook claims that the

theory of big bang cosmology is the modern origin story. It states that the first things to be

created were matter and energy. Temperatures were so hot that the two were interchangeable.

Next were phase changes, the four forces, and plasma (electron and proton soup). After 380,000

years, things changed again: temperatures cooled enough across the universe for protons and

electrons to combine to create atoms. Cosmic Background Radiation, a major source of evidence

for the big bang theory, also happened at this point as a giant flash of energy occurred (Christian,

Brown, & Benjamin, 2014, pp. 13-20).

The second and third thresholds are closely related. They consist of the formation of

stars, then the formation of chemical elements. The first elements that existed in the universe

were hydrogen and helium. These were the components of the first stars. Gravity began pulling

clumps of matter together, and as temperatures rose to 10 million degrees Celsius, protons began

the process of fusion and the first stars were born. Heavier elements were created when these
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stars began to die. If a star is big enough, it will go through a period of expansions and collapses

as it dies, first creating carbon, then more complex elements, depending on its size (Christian, et

al., 2014, pp. 23-29).

Books are connected to thresholds one, two, and three in the same way that many modern

articles are: matter was created in the big bang, and all things are created out of matter, including

books. Stars created the conditions necessary for the creation of the more complex elements that

paper and ink are made of, the main components of books. The first inks consisted of carbon,

water, and a stabilizer such as natural gum (Kunjappu, 2003, para. 2). They are much more

complex now, but are still created with chemicals that would only be possible with the third

threshold.

Threshold four detailed the emergence of our sun and solar system. First there was a solar

nebula cloud, which contained hot gas and dust, that eventually condensed into a proto-sun. By

the process of accretion, planets began to form from the extra material in the solar nebula cloud.

The early earth was much different than modern earth: it was incredibly hot and rocky, with little

water and no life. The formation of an atmosphere was one of the first events in earths history: It

began with no atmosphere, then outgassing created an early atmosphere of carbon dioxide, then

the oxygen revolution, assisted by photosynthesis, led to our current atmosphere (Christian, et

al., 2014, pp. 38-45).

Books, including many other modern items, wouldnt be here without threshold four. The

formation of the sun created the energy force necessary for photosynthesis, an essential way of

life for trees, the predecessors of paper. In fact, Battles (2003) explains that it has been

speculated that the English word book in fact comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for beech
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(boc) a tree (p. 57). It could be said that this threshold created the name of books. The formation

of the earth, and its atmosphere, created the perfect environment for trees, books, and life.

Threshold five explained one of the most important stages: the formation of life. The

textbook explains that the theory of chemical evolution could explain the emergence of life. It

also claims that life must have three characteristics to be considered life: 1) metabolism, or the

use of energy, 2) reproduction, and 3) adaptation. DNA is essential to life and it connects all life

on earth. We all share some of the same DNA and LUCA was the first life to emerge. The stages

of life began with prokaryote cells, then continued with photosynthetic organisms, respiration,

sexual reproduction, multi-celled organisms, vertebrates, land-dwelling creatures, and finally

mammals (Christian, et al., 2014, pp. 56-76).

Threshold five was an important threshold for books. The formation of life created the

plant material for paper so books had a medium to be printed on. Battles (2003) describes some

of the first books in Alexandria as being written on papyrus, which was just hammered plant

material (p. 28). But books didnt exist in threshold five, or any of the others preceding it.

Something important to note is that much of the information and ideas discussed in the first

thresholds isnt concrete. Most of it is simply theories, guesswork. Weinberg (1993) explains that

there is an embarrassing vagueness about the very beginning and that we may never truly

understand the beginnings of our universe (pp. 8-10). There is no concrete evidence of anything

in our universes history until something appeared that could write it down: they were right

around the corner.

Threshold six explored the emergence of a new form of complex life: humans. The

textbook explained that we evolved from a common ancestor of apes and chimpanzees, but not

directly from modern apes. The early hominines were called Australopithecines and were the
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first to be bipedal, or to walk on two feet. They evolved into Homo erectus about 1.9 million

years ago, and these were the first to use fire and migrate out of Africa. The third group of

hominines was the Homo neanderthalensis (Neandertals) who were very similar to Homo

sapiens, but had limited language and were less successful at adapting than humans. Language

and our ability to adapt is what the text claims sets us, Homo sapiens, apart from other animals.

We have the power of Collective Learning, to learn during our lifetime and pass that information

on to our descendants (Christian, et al., 2014, pp. 83-92).

Books may not have been around in Threshold six, but the information that would one

day be written down in books was. Collective Learning is what books are for; books allow us to

pass on information to our descendants, because they are a tangible representation of that

information. Early humans created cave paintings to preserve their knowledge. But these

paintings were also much more: Clayton Eshleman, a man Davis (2009) consulted about early

cave paintings, explained that the art pays homage to that moment when human beings, through

consciousness, separated themselves from the animal realm, emerging as the unique entity that

we now know ourselves to be (p. 30). These paintings are a snapshot of when we became

special, from an evolutionary standpoint. These paintings were when we started to have

Collective Learning, when we thought of ourselves as different from other animals. Books, with

their ability to record knowledge, have always been essential to humans, even before they were

around.

Threshold seven began with the emergence of agriculture and revolutionized the way that

humans lived. Agriculture allowed them to take more energy than foraging from the land, raising

populations and Collective Learning. Larger populations led to the creation of cities, and the

emergence of power. Consensual power was the first type to emerge, with the inhabitants of
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cities permitting leaders to rule them in exchange for protection and organization. Coercive

power also emerged, with leaders learning that they could force subjects to do their will with

militaries. New, specialized jobs emerged with the creation of cities, including scribes,

metalworkers, warriors, and priests. Writing also appeared, with the Mesopotamians myths and

the first written literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh. The beginnings of an interconnected world

developed with trade between cities and the establishment of the Silk Roads (Christian, et al.,

2014, pp. 105-156). The world was quickly becoming more complex and interconnected.

Writing as a form of immortalizing ideas and stories was new in threshold seven. This

was the first concrete step towards books. Everything came together to lay the ground work for

books: Agriculture created division of labor and allowed for new jobs to be formed, creating

scribes, writers of books. Power emerged, and with it, leaders who had information they wanted

to keep. Trade created the conditions for many more people to meet and exchange ideas,

furthering Collective Learning and the need for books. The printing press was invented first in

Asia and then re-invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany in 1453 with the aid of several

Goldilocks Conditions: Gutenbergs mindset, and his political and social context (Christian, et

al., 2014, p. 239; Chappell, 2011, p. 26-29). The printing press revolutionized book production

and allowed Collective Learning and the economic expansion of cities to increase (Dittmar,

2011, p. 1134). It was an innovation that pushed books and the world towards the modern

revolution.

Threshold eight began with the modern revolution. Change accelerated due to three

factors: 1) total globalization, 2) the rise of commerce and markets, and 3) the discovery of fossil

fuels. Even more people could be supported by the new energy source (fossil fuels) and

Collective Learning increased. The industrial revolution revolutionized the way people lived,
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worked, and survived. People who had once been farmers became wage earners, working in

factories. Capitalism emerged in the new world economy, creating a bigger gap between the rich

and poor, but Consumer Capitalism soon followed, allowing more people than ever before to

purchase luxury goods, such as books. However, first-world and third-world countries also

emerged, based on who had become industrialized and who had not. With them arrived

discrimination, racism, and imperialism. Europeans believed that they were superior to many

other races in the world, and conducted themselves as such, creating global conflicts. Life for

humans improved globally throughout the modern revolution, although the earth may not agree:

Humans have had an enormous impact on the biosphere, not entirely positively, and the future is

uncertain (Christian, et al., 2014, pp. 233-286).

Book production was in full swing during threshold eight. Books were still a major

source of increasing Collective Learning, especially with the increase in trade and availability of

goods to a different market. However, with the changing power groups of this era, many leaders

sought to destroy books and ideas. Censorship often occurred during transferrals of power, such

as during the French Revolution (Lyons, 2011, pp. 101-102). Battles (2003) explained that book

burnings occur for two reasons, 1) to revise information and/or 2) to erase their authors and

readers from history (p. 42). Many imperialist powers burned the books of their colonies, and

instead imposed their own ideas and writings upon them. Many books were also lost during the

World Wars created by this period. Most notably, the Nazis burned, destroyed, and censored

millions of books during World War II (Battles, 2003, pp. 161-174; Lyon, 2011, p. 200). They

wanted only their ideas to be known, and destroyed everything that didnt match up. Books are

still a huge part of life in the modern era, but are changing as the future approaches.
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The future of books is unclear at the moment. Kindles, Nooks, and other electronic e-

readers have become increasingly popular in recent years. Lyons (2011) stated that books have

been cut free from their paper moorings. The electronic age has changed them more

fundamentally than the invention of the codex or the advent of printing (p. 207). But there is no

knowing if the rise of the electronic book will continue. Many people, myself included, mourn

the loss of the printed book. But it has been such at every stage of books lives. Battles (2003)

stated that when books first began to be printed on printing presses, many felt that printed by

unfeeling machines, shipped from factories in bales and stacks, the book [was] no longer the

work of an artisan (p. 128). It had lost its magic. This is happening once again with the change

from print to electronic books. It is just a natural progression of the evolution of the book.

Moreover, the electronic book is helpful for the environment, requiring us to cut down less trees,

saving the biosphere from more destruction. Books will continue on in the future, regardless of

what they are constructed of.

Books are an enormous part of the history of the universe. They first truly appeared in

threshold seven, but the ideas that are held in books, immortalized by them, began way back in

threshold one. Threshold one created the matter necessary to make books, thresholds two and

three created the elements necessary to construct them, threshold four allowed for

photosynthesis, threshold five created material for them to be printed on, threshold six created

humans to write them, threshold seven held their creation, and threshold eight helped them to

flourish. Books aided in Collective Learning, allowing humans to become increasingly powerful

and innovative, pushing us into the modern era. They hold our history, our stories, and we

wouldnt be the species we are today without them.

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References

Battles, M. (2003). Library: An unquiet history. New York: W. W. Norton.

Chappell, P. (2011). Gutenbergs press revisited: Invention and renaissance in the modern

world. Agora, 46(2), 26-30. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.dominican.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspxdirect=true&db=ehh&AN=61136442&site=eds-live

Christian, D., Brown, C. S., & Benjamin, C. (2014). Big history: Between nothing and

everything. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Davis, W. (2009) The wayfinders: Why ancient wisdom matters in the modern world. Toronto,

ON: House of Anansi Press Inc.

Dittmar, J. E. (2011). Information technology and economic change: The impact of the

printing press*. Quarterly Journal Of Economics, 126(3), 1133-1172. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.dominican.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=bth&AN=74440552&site=eds-live

Lyons, M. (2011). Books: A living history. Los Angeles: Getty Publications.

Kunjappu, J. T. (2003, March). Ink chemistry. Chemistry in Britain. Retrieved from www.rsc.org

Weinberg, S. (1977). The first three minutes: A modern view of the origin of the universe. New

York: Basic Books.