Pushing the origins of life back nearly a billion years?!

Bridgette OConnor I was thinking the same. I’m teaching Unit 1 of Big History and introduced the big themes of the course—the fact that this is a science-based origin story and, as such, is subject to change as science evolves. I explained that Threshold # 6, Collective Learning, has recently been moved back to between 500,000 and 1,000,000 years (here’s the thread for those who want to read it). I found this article fascinating, and it adds even more to that discussion. This week I’ll be introducing the concept of claims, so the timing of this article is perfect. 

Wouldn't it be great if students had to change the threshold cards based on new scientific discoveries? 

 Bridgette OConnor I’ll mention this article in class, as it discusses advancements in radiometric dating that push back the first vestiges of life to 4.1 BYA. This marks an important development in the chronometric revolution and helps students see how scientific tools continually reshape our understanding of early life.

It would be very cool to have students revise the threshold cards based on new discoveries! There have been so many in the past 12 years since the course was launched from pushing back the Big Bang from 13.7 to 13.8 BYA, to the discovery that gold is a product of neutron star collisions, to collective learning, and now the origins of life! I’m sure there are more but those are the big ones that come to mind. If you or @Mehreen Jamal share the article or podcast episodes with your students, please let us know how they responded to them. Thanks!

 Bridgette OConnor I can share the article. For the podcast I don't have an account with these platforms.

Hey Laura Massa you can also listen to the podcast on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OERProject/podcasts 

Bridgette OConnor this is great to know because my students will be able to do it in school. Thank you for the info.

I teach AP World History and World History from 1450, so I don’t usually get much time to spend into the origin story. But I really love the idea of starting the semester with something that encourages big-picture thinking in my World History class. I’d love to find a way to bring in this article or podcast in the future.