If life on earth began more than 3 billion years ago, why do we cling to 2016? Should it not be 3b16? Here ‘b’ denotes billion and overall, 3b16 means three billion and 16.
Did life first start on earth, which is believed to be 4.54 billion years old, or brought on it from somewhere else like Mars, which has also a history of a similar timeframe? No one is certain of the happenings during the creation of the earth and life which have a difference of around 1500 million years. Were the early progenitors the salt of this earth or extra terrestrial? Primates, which are said to be the originators of Homo sapiens have 48 chromosomes while humans have 46. What about the two missing chromosomes?
It hashas been stated that the missing chromosome was converted into a big chromosome after thousand years of an evolutionary process and it is named chromosome 2. But this mystery is still unsettled. It is, however, indecisive whether humans are the outcome of creationism or evolution. Can a living being be created from a non-living being or can it evolve from a lifeless thing? Is the origin of all species the same? If so, why are plants different from animals and why are there different types of plants and animals? And how did just one Big Bang result in the creation of countless numbers, types and forms of organisms, substances, gasses and other matters?
The problems with the present calendar are that it neither covers the Western Big Bang theory nor adheres to the Muslims’ ‘Kun’ (be) philosophy. Is Big Bang the ‘kun’? If the Big Bang is non-living, how can it breed a living organism? It does not include the hunting and caving period, Noah’s ark and the origin of human species. The entire human history just ends up in words such as “ancient” and “primitive”. Terms such as “prehistory” and “pre-recorded history” (which denote that the incidents happened but we do not have written proofs of them) are used to denote unknown incidents. But interestingly, we are still unidentified and in disagreement about when prehistory became history. Though anthropologists, archaeologists, geologists and palaeontologists have given several theories on the origin of life and human species on the basis of excavations and found fossils, we are not much aware about humans’ history. A significant factor may be that 99% of it occurred during prehistory and pre-recorded history.
We categorize human abodes into different phases like the Stone Age, Palaeolithic era, Neolithic era, the new Stone Age, agricultural revolution (between 8000 and 5000 BCE), middle-ages, industrialism, modernism and post-modernism but we start our regular history from the time of Christ. Why do we do so? Are we human beings so little and young? Why do we not begin our history since the first human was born or when the universe was created? Scientists have made wonderful advancements in the fields of science and technology but they are still not agreeing on the point of human’s creation. When we find a new item from an excavation, our humans’ evolution or creation history is also altered.
When, where and how was the first human born? Does life only exist on earth or does it exist on some other unknown places, planets, etc. as well? Is the life support system also available on any other star?
The Muslims’ sacred book, the Quran says that the beginning of life started from water. It means that it is water which confirms the existence of life. Is life possible without water? Water is said to be integral to life because it is a solvent and it harbours most of the biological and chemical reactions but scientists claim that supercritical carbon dioxide, ammonia and formamide can replace it. Humans are composed of 70 to 80 percent water. They need some water to drink, so, how will they balance all such things in the absence of water? Will the supercritical CO2, ammonia and formamide prove to be the true replacements? Can they be consumed? Can the methane-ethane cycle on the Titan of Saturn replace or work as an alternative to the hydrologic cycle of the Earth?
It seems that there is no substitute for water, a substance so abundant, which could benefit every species and non-species at the same time. Up until now, there is no single organism that could survive without water. Even the Cyanobacteria Chroococcidiopsis needs water, though very little. Water not only gives birth to life but it promotes it as well. What would happen to the sun’s radiation, precipitation, metabolism, forests, animals and humans without water? In its answer, thoughts become protracted after meandering ubiquitously.
The theories of human origin and evolution like creationism, intelligent design, Lamarck, natural selection of Darwin, laws of Mendel, new-Darwinism like modern synthetic and punctuated equilibrium and conditional evolution, all present a greater or lesser degree of dissimilar philosophies. It is unsure if human beings are the result of evolution but it is sure that this theory is evolutionary. Thus, Charles Darwin was not the first in presenting the theory of evolution. It was first presented much before him. None of the theories are mutually accepted and endorsed. Every theory is actually incomplete.
The world has witnessed a number of civilizations which reportedly date back to at least 8,000 BC. The concept of agriculture is also around 10,000 years old. But interestingly, no one knows where it occurred first. The known civilized civilizations like Mehrgarh, Vinca, Zapotec, Mesopotamian, Indus valley, ancient Egyptian, Mayan, Chinese, ancient Greek (though burials found in the Franchthi Cave in the Argolid, Greece dates back around 7250 BC), Hattian and the Persia are 7000-2500,5500, 5000, 3300-750, 2600-1900, around 3500 and 3150, 2600, 2700, 2700-1500, 2600-1800, 550 old and all in BC respectively but we start the calendar from the birth of Jesus. If we do not consider the formation of the calendar from the emergence of life then at least we should start it from the beginning of the first known civilization. Archaeology is another important detriment in the formation of history. During the last 5,000 years, around 250 races have passed. But the rivers, lakes and mountains have not changed their positions.
If we want to survive for long, we need to spread out into space. And for humans’ grandeur, splendour, dignity and greatness, the calendar should not be clung to the mere 2016. It should be dated back either to the existence of life or to the oldest civilization. Thus, it is better that the calendar should be 3b16 instead of 2016.
