Talk:Detailed logarithmic timeline

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I'm working from my long timeline and trying to choose the least controversial items, but edits are welcome. --robotwisdom 3 July 2005 22:13 (UTC)

Great list. Where is that long timeline? DirkvdM 07:17, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Contents 1 Keeping up to date 2 US bias 3 Logartihmic list of linear timelines 4 US bias

[edit] Keeping up to date

I guess as each year goes by, the events near the boundaries of the last few rows will have to be reevaluated, and moved up the chart.—GraemeMcRae^talk 16:58, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

I've added the years for clarity, plus a commented-out note that this was done in 2005. This should be adapted once a year. The problem is that one needs to know the exact years for events to determine whether they need to be moved up a step. Maybe those could be added too, also commented-out, so only editors will see it - specifically the ones who do the above, so they can more easily check that while they're at it. DirkvdM 07:17, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Also, there doesn't seem to be an order in the events mentioned. Neither alphabetically (which would be stupid), nor by importance or chronologically. By importance would be rather logical, although that has the risk of pov. So chronological seems to make most sense. DirkvdM 07:31, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] US bias

As is so often the case in the English Wikipedia (not surprising considering where most editors must live), there is a strong US bias in the events. Such as listing several US presidents and the San Francisco earthquake, but leaving out the Republic of China. That must be one of the major changes in world history - the end of the millennia old sequence of empires in the biggest and historically most significant country in the world. I've added that. Removing items might however upset some people, so I'll first wait for any reactions to this. How many events should be listed per 'era' anyway? DirkvdM 07:30, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Logartihmic list of linear timelines

I found this article while looking for something different, but similar. A list of timelines which scale up/down with a factor ten. So the first one would cover the last 10 billion years, the second one the last billion years, then the last 100 million years, etc, to the last year (after that it would become a newspaper - which would still make sense, just not in this format). The first list does not cover the Big Bang, but when, and even if, that happened is uncertain, so it could be mentioned separately at the beginning, outside the lists. Each list itself would however be linear. So there would be 11 lists. The first one would be a bit boring (just the creation of the Solar system and the first life). The second one would look like something this (mya = million years ago):

1 bya first multicellular organisms

900 mya

800 mya

700 mya

600 mya first animals

500 mya first fish

400 mya first landlife

300 mya pangea

200 mya first mammals

100 mya extinction dinosaurs

This list is based on the Timeline of evolution. And there are many other timelines, but no general ones. So, basically, what I want is a combined timeline of all the existing ones (and then some, I suppose). The third timeline would be for the last 100 milion years. Of course, there could also be such lists for periods that do not end in the present. Maybe 400-500 mya would be interresting (life creeping on land). This would then go on a separate page. Of course, this could theoretically lead to an exponential explosion of timelines, but not all would be interresting enough.

Basically, this is just a different presentation of what's on this page, just more easily readable for someone who doesn't grasp logarithms (and at the same time clarifying that). And it has a much greater potential for expansion.

Does something like this already exist and if not, what should it be called? DirkvdM 08:22, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] US bias

There is still a US bias in the last few decades. -- Beland 21:09, 4 September 2006 (UTC)