Age of Why

An almanac of big questions

An antique brass armillary sphere, an open sketchbook and a lens in a sunlit study

For the endlessly curious

Big questions.
Remarkable stories.

History, science, technology and AI. Films that open a door to the things that make you stop and ask why.

Watch the latest film Open the contents

Contents of the almanac

7 films · 30:51 in all

  1. Cover for How tall trees lift water without a pumpI.How tall trees lift water without a pumpShort · 1:00
  2. Cover for How Polynesian sailors read the seaII.How Polynesian sailors read the seaShort · 0:53
  3. Cover for Navigating the Pacific with no compassIII.How do you cross an ocean with no compass?Film · 7:37
  4. Cover for How Venice's wood survivesIV.How Venice's wood survivesFilm · 9:01
  5. Cover for Why Neanderthals used tar glueV.Why Neanderthals used tar glueFilm · 9:03
  6. Cover for Why Rome split in twoVI.Why would one empire become two?Short · 1:54
  7. Cover for The dinosaurs that never went extinctVII.What if the dinosaurs never left?Short · 1:23

Short films from the almanac

Small films. Big questions.

A little time. A different way to see the world.

Plate III · History · The full film

How do you cross an ocean with no compass?

Cover for Navigating the Pacific with no compassWatch the film7:37 · on YouTube

Plate III.Navigating the Pacific with no compass

Stars, swells and signs of land: the knowledge that guided Pacific voyagers.

Full-length film · 7:37 · History

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Plate IV · History · The full film

How Venice's wood survives

Cover for How Venice's wood survivesWatch the film9:01 · on YouTube

Plate IV.How Venice's wood survives

A film from Age of Why about history.

Full-length film · 9:01 · History

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Plate V · Deep history · The full film

Why Neanderthals used tar glue

Cover for Why Neanderthals used tar glueWatch the film9:03 · on YouTube

Plate V.Why Neanderthals used tar glue

A film from Age of Why about deep history.

Full-length film · 9:03 · Deep history

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One question leads to the next

Come for a film.
Leave with a question.

Age of Why follows the connections between history, science, technology and AI. The surprising things. The forgotten things. The things that make you stop and ask why.

Every film lists its sources. Our pictures are original AI-generated reconstructions and our narrator is a synthetic voice, so treat the images as illustrations, not records.

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