Themes

A number of processes spanned the entire history of civilized thinking and deserve being treated independently. I have mentioned some of the elements in previous essays, but here I bring together those elements.

Numbers

Mathematics

Obelisks and Tentpoles: why some civilizations got science and some didn’t

Oh, Be a Fine Girl, Kiss Me Now

The Benefits of Catastrophes

Education

Law

Chinese Technological Superiority

Inconsistency

Religion

Golden Ages

Deep Learning

Story and Cognition

Commerce

Writing

Vocabulary

Techniques of calculation; the abacus and number systems

coinage systems

writing systems: uncials; punctuation; alphabetization


Table of Contents | Bibliography | Sources