Tarun Betala - The Things We Dont Know: How mankind found answers to some of lifes most pressing questions.: 1 (A Shared Human Future)

The Things We Dont Know

Howmankind found answers to some of

lifes most pressingquestions.

TARUN BETALA

Book 1 of A Shared Human Future series

st edition, July31 st ,2017

You can connect with the author at:

Email:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thethingswedontknowbook

Twitter: www.twitter.com/trbetala

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tarunbetala

Youtube: www.youtube.com/tarunbetala
Website: www.tarunbetala.com

Independently published by the author.

ISBN:

Paperback (Asia &Latin America): 978-93-5279-670-0

Paperback (North America& Europe): 978-197404266-1

e-Book, Smashwords: 978-1-37-041992-0

All rights reserved,including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For furtherinformation,
bulk orders or special discounts, please get in touch with theauthor at his website at

Copyright 2017 Tarun Betala

All images used in thisbook are in the public domain or

licensed under CreativeCommons as Shareable. Appendix contains furtherdetails.

To Rikki,

for giving me the courage to pursue thewriting of this book

and for her constant feedback in making thispossible

To my parents, Ratna and Roop,

who gave me the education and inclination topursue knowledge

And who taught me how to be open minded andhonest

To my sister, Ritika,

who listened to me blabber with excitementabout my work

and who helped me spread the word

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Contents

HOW IT ALL CAME TO BE

LOOK HOW FAR WEVECOME

THE EARLY LOSTKNOWLEDGE

A BEACON OF OURKNOWLEDGE

THE ROMAN WORLD

IN THE HEART OF INDIA

THE CONTEMPORARYBURNINGS

THE WAYS IN WHICH WELIE

ARE WE READY?

TO BELIEVE OR NOT TOBELIEVE

THOSE WHO FORGETHISTORY

Appendix &Endnotes

A Very Approximate Timeline

of historical events covered in thisbook

~6000 BCE Jiahu Symbols were carved (Ch.2)

~3000 BCE First epic written by humans (Ch.2)

Cuneiform Script (Ch. 2)

Enheduanna (Ch. 2)

~1500 BCE First references to the Vedas (Ch.6)

~0300 BCE Alexandria established (Ch. 4)

~0200 BCE Qin Shi Huang Unites China (Ch.3)

~0050 BCE Probable destruction of theLibrary of

Alexandria (Ch. 4)

~0300 CE Constantine unites Rome (Ch. 5)

Christianity is legalized (Ch.5)

~0500 CE Buddhism and Jainism established(Ch. 6)

~0700 CE The first ancient teachinginstitution, Nalanda,

is established (Ch. 6)

~0800 CE House of Wisdom is founded (Ch.7)

~1200 CE Nalanda is destroyed (Ch. 6)

~2015 CE The Islamic State (IS) destroys alibrary in

Mosul (Ch. 7)

I start with an idea and then it becomes something elsePabloPicasso

I accidentally bumped into this quote midwayinto the writing of The Things We Dont Know, and I couldn't relate to it any more than Ialready did. What started off as an account of the differenttheories of how our universe might operate, turned into a fusion ofhistory, philosophy, and religion. I didn't expect this to be theend result but I couldn't be any more proud of what this work hasbecome: an ode to the power of ideas, an account of the destructionof our knowledge and ideas, an in-exhaustive history ofcollaboration between societies of women and men, and the continuous perseverance of humanity to findout more about the world in which it lives.

A learning of history really does open upones eyes and brings light to the goodness of life as we live it.It shows us that some of the challenges we face today are recurringand universal and that humans throughout thecourse of history have been through, and do overcome, some of thosechallenges. We also realize that suppression of thought, andoppression of our beliefs is a recurring theme in differentsocieties and different time periods, but more importantly, welearn that, time and again, we can and doovercome it.

If there is one thing the research of thisbook has shown, it is that barbaric, tyrannical, and ideologicalsocieties eventually stagnate. Thinkers of the past shed light tofallacies of our arrogance, and historical events shed light onwhat mistakes we must avoid. The world in which we live today isincredibly exciting, full of possibilities and contains answers toquestions we didn't even know we should ask. It is the collectivecreative imagination and the drive of those who came before us thatbrought us to where we are. This should make us proud of who wevebecome; it should humble us because weveknown some dark moments; it should make us aware of the gravity ofthe responsibility that has been given to us to do somethingwith it.

A study of philosophy and religion helps inthinking about individual valueswhat do I care about? What are my beliefs? Do I blindly put my faith inothers or do I question things and find answers that make sense tome? Some of these questions and others areanswered in reading the thinkers andphilosophies of the past. It also helps create a standard belowwhich we wouldn't want our thoughts and actions to fall.

Philosophy doesn't have to be boring andtheoretical. It can be uplifting, it can helpus see the best in people and most of all, it can (and does) havepractical applications, especially in the area of people andcritical thinking skills. Religion doesnt have to be literal, itcan be a guide to living a good life, to being compassionate, topropagating goodness. Besides, everybody has a core set ofphilosophies and beliefs of the why, what, andhow of life. We just dont call these combined individual beliefsreligion.

Religion has had a turbulent history. Peopleon both sides of the tableatheists and believershave very strongreasons to support the points of view that they do. Collectively,we don't know the answer to whether religion is the be-all andend-all, let alone the ability to answer which religion is the most perfect representation of god , if any. We can't do much elsebut make peace with not knowing. We must be, and let others be,free to choose the beliefs that help make the best life for othersand for ourselves; that freedom is our individual and collectiveright. War, oppression or shaming, on the other hand, isnt.It is a terrible side of humanity we still have to deal with. It isup to each of us to leave that side in the pastwhere it belongs.I'm painfully aware of the wars and the poverty that still plaguesabout a quarter of the worlds population. Our species does stillcommit atrocities to their own kind under the banner of beliefs. Westill harbor superstitious beliefs passed on to us over millennia.Even these, as compared to our past, are fewer in number. Thatdoesn't make these actions any more acceptable. We ought to serveone another or get out of the way. But in thewriting of this book, I have seen, as you will, the way in which wehave grown up as a species, how weve evolved to this point in ourcollective narrative.

Some of the details in this book areintentionally vague. There was scope to include a lot more detail,especially around the lives of historic figures weve been introduced to over the course of this book. Whatwe know of history is what is written down and passed on to us. Inmany cases, what was written and what really happened may notalign. It is also possible that more than one factor contributed tosome events; it is impossible to write a short book and anexhaustive history at the same time.