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The Why Files: Operation Podcast

513: DEEP DIVE: Are Humans the First Civilization? The Silurian Hypothesis

The Why Files: Operation Podcast

The Why Files: Operation Podcast

Science, Life Sciences, Fiction, Society & Culture, Documentary, Science Fiction

4.85.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There are over 7 billion people living on the earth right now. Tens of millions are born and die each year. Every single one of us leaves signs of our existence in the air, water, soil -- even space.

But these signs won't last forever. Our buildings will be gone in a few hundred years. Our stone monuments, plastic, styrofoam, twinkies, even evidence of our inevitable nuclear destruction will eventually be gone.

So how can we be sure that we were the first advanced civilization on earth?

Well, according to the Silurian Hypothesis: we can't.

Let's find out why.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:30.0

Through over 8 billion people living on the Earth right now, tens of millions are born and die each year.

0:36.0

Every single one of us leaves signs of our existence in the air, water, soil, even space.

0:42.0

But these signs won't last forever. Our buildings will be gone in a few hundred years.

0:47.0

Our stone monuments, plastic, styrofoam, twinkies, even evidence of our nuclear destruction will eventually be gone.

0:55.0

So if there's a time in the future where there's no evidence of our civilization,

0:59.0

how can we be sure there wasn't an advanced civilization before us?

1:03.0

Well, according to the Solurian Hypothesis, we can't.

1:15.0

The Solurian Hypothesis was named after intelligent humanoid reptilians from the show Dr. Who.

1:20.0

After hibernating underground for 400 million years, they were awakened by a nuclear test on the surface.

1:27.0

After they woke up, there was a standoff for control of Earth between the Solurians and humans.

1:32.0

Did Dr. Who accidentally get it right?

1:35.0

Cubans are selfish. It's hard for us to imagine that in a very short time,

1:40.0

we as individuals won't be here. It's even harder to imagine a time where our civilization won't exist at all.

1:48.0

But if we've learned anything from archaeology, it's that every civilization has its time.

1:53.0

Think about ancient Egypt. They lived through thirty dynasties that spanned over three thousand years.

1:59.0

If you were an Egyptian living during this time, generation after generation of your family going back as far as anyone could remember,

2:07.0

walked in the shadow of the pyramids. They fished the Nile. They sailed to Mediterranean and mingled with other cultures.

...

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