This TED Talk talks about the whole history of the universe and how it came to be, leading up to present day. The speaker, David Christian, focuses on how every step since the Big Bang has played a played a significant role in the development of makind. He talks about how life was created by exotic combinations of different chemicals, and how eventually DNA was formed. DNA serves as a computer that tests thousands of algorithms, copying itself an infinite amount of times and making errors along the way, recording information each time. This is why the brain was formed, in order to make the carrying of information be on the fly. However, his most interesting statement is on why humans are so special, using the theory of "collective learning" to explain this. Collective learning is the phenomenon that employs the unique use of language by humans in order to pass on information from one human to another, which then is passed on by generations, allowing mankind to record its own history, which other species cannot do. He ends the talk by comparing the modern world to a global brain, with 7 billion people learning at warp speed, showing the timeline from the creation of the universe to present day.
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