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What is Big History?

Big History examines our past, explains our present, and imagines our future.

It's a self-guided journey through 13.8 billion years of cosmic drama, from the Big Bang to right now. This course invites learners of all ages to explore the history of science and discover not just what we know, but how we know it. It's the story of the Universe, of humanity, and of you.

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Course at a Glance

1 Free Course

3 Hours

8 Thresholds

13.8B Years

No Registration Required

A Framework for All Knowledge

Earth against the black void of space, rising above the moon.

This photograph—Earthrise—is one of the most important photos ever taken. Christmas Eve, 1968. While orbiting the Moon, Apollo 8 astronauts snap this picture. For the first time, humanity saw their home for what it was: small, blue, and fragile in a vast Universe. This single image transformed how we understood our place in the cosmos.

This picture hides a story of complexity that's billions of years old. A blue marble in space holding life. That life evolves, invents tools to reach the stars, and asks the big questions: Who are we? How did we get here?

Big History is a framework for all knowledge that can help you answer those big questions. It’s a single, unified story of the entire Universe. All 13.8 billion years of it. This story combines science and history to explain the origins, development, and interconnectedness of everything in the Universe in one epic narrative of humanity's journey from stardust to space travel.

Thresholds of Increasing Complexity

Big History divides the history of the Universe into eight thresholds. These are key moments when the Universe leveled up. Each threshold marks a leap in complexity: new ingredients meet “just-right” conditions to create new possibilities. We call these Goldilocks Conditions—not too hot, not too cold, just right for something new to emerge. But there's a catch: as complexity increases, systems get more fragile. Complex systems rely on many interconnected parts. They become more vulnerable to disruption, breakdown, and collapse when things change. Just ask the dinosaurs.

Modern Scientific Origin Story

Every superhero has an origin story—an explanation of how they're able to leap tall buildings in a single bound or harness lightning. Some stories are short: a spider bite. Big History is one epic origin story. It's everything humanity has learned so far and everything we're still figuring out. Philosophers, scientists, explorers, historians, and many others all helped piece it together. Since the Universe—and our understanding of it—is evolving, it's a story that's still being written.

The Universe began as a quiet, boring place. Over billions of years, it became chaotic and complicated. Stars lit up. Planets formed. Life happened. And eventually, so did you. You are part of a 13.8-billion-year chain of events. Big History will provide you with a framework to explain how chaos turned into chemistry, chemistry into life, and how life evolved into a species capable of spaceflight and digital watches.