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The Present

(or at least the past five years or so)

Rioters outside the US Capitol
Rioters outside the US Capitol building holding US flags and "Make America Great Again" flags, 6th January, 2021 - Wikipedia

Introduction

In this crazy world of the 2020s, I wasn’t sure which image to go for. There was the SARS-2 virus (Covid-19), Trumpist rioters storming the American Capitol building,or a knocked out Russian BMP-3 military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine. I decided to go with the rioters, because it was the least depressing of the three images, and it represents the strange post-truth conspiracy-theory-ridden world of the 2020s, represented for a while by the cult of personality around Trump, who is now mostly forgotten in the short attention span world of digital media.

The Present, or in this case, since I’m using increments of ten, zooming in on the present moment, the last five or so years, is characterized by ongoing and rapidly changing events, including existential crises such as climate change, political polarization, and economic inequality. This period is marked by ongoing technological innovations and the growing interconnectivity of the global community, as well as increasing speculation about the future of humanity and the world.

Timeline

As we zero in on the present, events become less historical and more contemporary and current. This timeline begins in 2016, and continues to the present

The future

One can also speculate on potential future developments and the future of humanity as a whole.

Here Big History provides a way to gain a greater appreciation for the incredible journey that the universe has taken, and our place within it. We can understand the complex relationships between the different elements of the universe and how they have shaped our world. This knowledge can be used to inform our decision making and help us to build a better future for ourselves and for the planet.



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Page by M Alan Kazlev, 2023