During my trip to the Czech Republic after spring semester ended, I was able to visit the magnificent Czech National Museum. Among several long-term exhibitions, the two I remember most fondly were called “The Miracles of Evolution” and “Windows into Prehistory.” Apart from my fascination with the prehistoric world, these exhibits helped me put the accomplishments of the human race in context.
It’s remarkable to think about what humans have achieved in just the last 10,000 years. This span represents just .0018% of the geological time scale since the start of the Paleozoic era, during which the oldest invertebrates whose fossils are displayed in the museum lived.
In this sliver of time we built the pyramids (probably), domesticated cats and dogs, created music, and harnessed the power of the sun and wind. We learned how to fly, made the first pizza, eradicated smallpox, and invented democracy.
As humans, we are far from perfect. Although tribalism, violence, hatred, and slavery are still part of the world we live in today, the needle continues to move in the right direction. If we've achieved this much in the last 10,000 years, just imagine what the next 10,000 years will bring. It takes time for species to evolve and develop- just ask the first mammals who lived during the age of the dinosaurs.