The rise of the west and civilization collapses

Phil Plait recently announced that he was starting a new series of Crash Course videos on astronomy.  After watching it, I noticed the really cool Youtube channel that it's on.  I suspect that I'm going to end up wasting dedicating a lot of time on this channel. One series that caught my attention, because it's close to … Continue reading The rise of the west and civilization collapses

On theories of why civilizations collapse and our own times

After my post on the Bronze Age collapse and resulting discussion, I looked at other material about the collapse of civilizations, but after doing that, realized that I have some thoughts about what might be necessary for developing a theory about why collapses happen, what areas of expertise you need to have a chance at formulating … Continue reading On theories of why civilizations collapse and our own times

Cosmos and civilization collapse through climate change

So, this note might be met with skepticism, but I had no idea when I composed my Bronze Age collapse entry this weekend that Cosmos would discuss how climate change had affected various civilizations throughout history, notably the Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia.  Some of the interactions I had with people after that post makes a bit … Continue reading Cosmos and civilization collapse through climate change