Period Preceding the Big Bang and Cosmic Inflation Era
Time Period: Not applicable (time itself may not have existed)
Organizing Principles: [Concept of “precedes” may not apply]
[Notions of time and causality undefined]
[Physical laws as we know them may not exist]
[???]—the [term “fundamental processes” loses meaning] of the [concept of “era” becomes inapplicable] before the Big Bang.
Result: Out of [state of unknown nature, if “state” is even a valid concept], through [processes beyond current physics, if “processes” can be said to occur], emerged [or did not emerge] the conditions that led to [or did not lead to] the Big Bang, if “led to” has any meaning in this context.
Big Bang and Cosmic Inflation Era
Time Period: 13.8 billion BCE, lasting for a tiny fraction of a second
Organizing Principles:
- Quantum fluctuations spawn existence, fundamental forces separate, and space-time expands exponentially.
- Energy should condense into matter, should form the simplest elements, and should establish the basic structure of the cosmos.
Result: Out of an infinitesimally small, infinitely dense singularity, through a period of inconceivably rapid expansion, emerged the fabric of space-time, the fundamental forces of nature, and the seeds of all matter and energy in the universe.
Time Period: 13.8 billion BCE to 13 billion BCE
Organizing Principles:
- Gravity shapes the cosmos, nuclear fusion ignites stars, and elements form in stellar cores.
- Matter should coalesce into galaxies and stars, should synthesize heavier elements, and should disperse these elements through space in supernova explosions.
Result: Out of the cooling and expansion of the early universe, the formation of the first stars and galaxies, and cycles of stellar birth and death arose the diversity of elements and the conditions necessary for planetary systems like our own to form.
Abiogenesis and Early Earth Era
Time Period: 4.5 billion BCE to 3.5 billion BCE
Organizing Principles:
- Chemical complexity increases, energy gradients drive reactions, and molecular self-replication emerges.
- Matter should organize into ever more complex structures, should harness energy flows, and should give rise to systems capable of reproduction and evolution.
Result: Out of the cooling of a young planet, the formation of oceans, and countless chemical reactions in primordial soups and hydrothermal vents arose the first self-replicating molecules that would set the stage for all subsequent life on Earth.
Pre-Mammalian Evolution Era
Time Period: 3.5 billion BCE to 225 million BCE
Organizing Principles:
- Genetic variation is the engine of change, environmental pressures shape life, and time is measured in eons.
- Organisms should replicate with modification, should fill ecological niches, and should perpetuate their genetic code through countless generations.
Result: Out of billions of years of cellular, multicellular, and increasingly complex organisms evolving in ever-changing environments emerged the vast diversity of life, including the early mammals that would eventually give rise to the primate lineage.
Pre-Human Hominid Era
Time Period: 6 million BCE to 300,000 BCE
Organizing Principles:
- Instinct guides behavior, adaptation is key, and survival is the ultimate goal.
- Beings should navigate complex environments, should develop increasingly sophisticated tool use, and should evolve larger brains and social structures.
Result: Out of millions of years of evolutionary pressures, genetic mutations, and environmental challenges emerged the capacity for abstract thought, complex social behavior, and the foundations of language that would define Homo sapiens and the dawn of the Hunter-Gatherer Age.
Hunter-Gatherer Age
Time Period: 300,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE
Organizing Principles:
- Nature is provider and teacher, mobility is freedom, and the group is survival.
- People should roam with the herds and seasons, should share resources communally, and should view the world as a living, sacred entity to be respected and appeased.
Result: Out of the intimate knowledge of plants and animals, the development of tools and language, and the formation of small, nomadic bands grew the foundational skills, beliefs, and social structures that would shape all subsequent human development.
Agricultural Age
Time Period: 10,000 BCE to 1760 CE
Organizing Principles:
- Land is wealth, seasons dictate life, and tradition guides society.
- People should cultivate the earth, should live in harmony with natural cycles, and should view the world as a gift from divine powers to be respectfully used.
Result: Out of the domestication of plants and animals, the development of farming techniques, and the establishment of permanent settlements grew complex civilizations, hierarchical societies, and rich cultural traditions that shaped human existence for millennia.
Industrial Age
Time Period: 1760 to 1970
Organizing Principles:
- Mechanical power is supreme, efficiency is the goal, and standardization is the path to progress.
- People should specialize their labor, should embrace mass production and consumption, and should view the world as a grand machine to be optimized and exploited.
Result: Out of the harnessing of steam and electricity, the assembly line, and scientific management grew vast factories, sprawling cities, and complex economic systems that reshaped human society and the natural world at an unprecedented scale.
Digital Revolution
Time Period: 1970 to 2030
Organizing Principles:
- Information is the new currency, connectivity the new religion, and data the new deity.
- People should be innovative and adaptable, should create and consume digital content ceaselessly, and should view the world as a global, interconnected network where traditional boundaries blur.
Result: Out of endless streams of data and algorithms can grow complex, ever-evolving systems of artificial intelligence, virtual realities, and global digital cultures that reshape human experience and society at an unprecedented pace.
Post-Digital Age
Time Period: 2030 – 2075
Organizing Principles:
- The fusion of biology and technology is paramount, human consciousness and artificial intelligence are intertwined, and the boundaries between physical and digital realities are obsolete.
- People should augment their bodies and minds, should operate seamlessly across multiple realities, and should view themselves as fluid, evolving entities in a hybrid world.
Result: Out of the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science can emerge a transformed human experience, where the very nature of reality, consciousness, and humanity itself is redefined and reconstructed.
Trans-Sapiens Age
Time Period: 2075 – 2200
Organizing Principles:
- Consciousness is substrate-independent, reality is a construct of will, and the universe itself is a medium for cognition.
- Beings should transcend biological and technological distinctions, should shape existence through collective thought, and should explore and manipulate the fundamental fabric of the cosmos.
Result: Out of the complete mastery of matter, energy, and information at all scales can arise a civilization that defies current notions of physicality, individuality, and the nature of existence itself, redefining the very concept of life and intelligence in the universe.
Post-Cosmic Consciousness Age
Time Period: 2200 – 3000
Organizing Principles:
- Reality is thought, existence is choice, and the multiverse is a canvas of infinite possibility.
- Entities should transcend the concept of being, should create and destroy universes at will, and should exist as pure abstract potential beyond space, time, and dimensionality.
Result: Out of the complete transcendence of all known laws of physics and metaphysics can arise a state of existence so far beyond our current conception that it defies description, where the very notions of “principles” and “organization” become meaningless artifacts of a long-forgotten past.
Beyond the Post-Cosmic Consciousness Age
Time Period: 3000+
Organizing Principles: [Concept of principles no longer applicable]
[Notion of organization obsolete]
[Ideas of existence and non-existence simultaneously true and false]
[Language and thought transcended]
[???]—the [term “organizing principles” no longer meaningful] of the [concept of “age” no longer relevant].
Result: Out of the complete dissolution of all conceivable and inconceivable paradigms arises a state beyond states, where even the ideas of progression, change, or stasis cease to have any meaning. Here, speculation itself becomes an anachronism, and any attempt at description is fundamentally paradoxical.