The summary of the fascinating history of the universe:

1. Universe: Scientists are not sure but the universe probably begun about 13 billion years ago in a hardly comprehensible cosmic event known as the Big Bang
2. Solar System: As universe expanded and formed clusters of matter called galaxies, our galaxy, the Milky Way, was formed with 100 billion stars of which one is the sun
3. Earth: Around 4.5 billion years ago, a lump of matter orbiting the sun formed the Earth
4. Life: Nobody knows for sure how but the lucky combination of physical and chemical factors gave origin to organic matter from which the first forms of cellular life were created around 3.5 billion years ago
5. Homo sapiens: Through an incredibly effective change-and-pick process called the evolution (first described by Charles Darwin in his On the Origin of Species, 1859), cellular life evolved into more and more complex species that ultimately arrived at the most intelligently earthly creature: Homo sapiens (paleontologists point that the line of human ancestors became sufficiently developed around 200,000 years ago to deserve this unique name)
6. Communication: Paleontological evidence indicates that Homo sapiens became able of oral communication around 40,000 years ago (some theories put it at much earlier date)
7. Writing: First written records have been dated back to 5000 years ago
8. Print: In 1455, Johann Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, printed the Gutenberg Bible and originated the accelerated dissemination of knowledge in the form of a printed word
9. Computers: In 1946, J. Presper Eckert and and John W. Mauchly constructed what is considered the first digital electronic computer (the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania)
10. Internet: In 1969, four major computers at universities in the southwestern US have been connected under a contract let by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). This network has ultimately evolved in what is today called the Internet
11. Web: In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee proposed a new hypertext protocol for information distribution. This protocol became the World Wide Web in 1991
12. Knowledge Machine (2000-2020): Computer technology will provide humans with better interface to worldwide resources of information. This interface will account for the imperfections in human perception such as fatigue, irritability, forgetfulness, the tendency to get bored, etc. This will help the human race climb a step higher in its ability to harness information and make use of it
13. Singularity and the Eternal Quest (2020 and beyond): computers will compete with humans in an increasing number of activities. Both humans and artificial intelligence will form a harmonious tandem in unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Some questions that will be tackled in 21st century and beyond: What is the future of the universe: Heat Death, Big Crunch, a pulsating cycle? What happened before the Big Bang (if anything)? Can we communicate with other artificial forms of life elsewhere in the universe? and most of all: Is there an absolute hierarchy of value; independent of opinions, prejudices, religious background and ideology? If yes, Quo vadis Homo sapiens?

See also:

• Creativity Timeline