Stephen Jay Gould's "Punctuated equilibrium."

The equilibrium stage selects for complexity and specialization, as every niche and resource is filled and used.

The punctuation stage is the resources run low, the specializations no longer function as a whole, then something starts the house of cards collapsing.

We are caught in the same evolutionary loop.

As linear, goal oriented creatures in this cyclical, circular, reciprocal, feedback generated reality, we are still living in a flat world, on a round planet.

https://johnbrodixmerrymanjr.medium.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-western-mind-906dc73cffe2