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Science is very good at explaining the “how” – how the planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits, how evolution by natural selection produces the great diversity of life forms that we see, and so on. It is much less good to answer the “why?” – why are things the way they are?
Celebrate of the new scientist 65th anniversary, we will attempt to fill this gap, immersing ourselves in the twilight zone where science meets metaphysics and philosophy as we peel away layers of understanding to find deeper truths about some of life’s most mysterious questions. , the universe and all. Or, more likely, more onion.
The concept of the big bang revolutionized 20th century cosmology. But the idea that the universe started from this point, a case of something from nothing, seems increasingly unlikely.
We are tiny specks of life in a vast, indifferent cosmos – but to say that it diminishes the value of our existence is measuring ourselves against the wrong thing.
Dig and evolution by natural selection is just a spontaneous, sustained accumulation of complexity – if life exists elsewhere, it will likely develop in the same way.
One of the great mysteries of physics is the one-way flow of time. We may see causes and effects just because our information about reality is incomplete.
The human capacity for good and evil has long mystified philosophers. Evolutionary biology suggests they’re both offshoots of one of our strangest character traits.
Physicists have long speculated on why our universe seems “right” for life. The more complex answer might be the simplest: all other universes exist as well.
It is easy to think of the human conscious experience as unique, but a better understanding of the mysteries of consciousness comes by retracing it in the evolutionary tree.
It is easy to think of the human conscious experience as unique, but a better understanding of the mysteries of consciousness comes by retracing it in the evolutionary tree.
Quantum theory is incomparable at explaining reality, but attacks our hunches of how reality should be. It seems likely that the fault lies with our intuitions.
Nothing in the cosmos can travel faster than the speed of light. By distinguishing cause and effect and by stopping everything that happens in a confused disorder, our existence depends on it.
Myths and stories trump rational reasoning when it comes to analyzing distant threats like climate change. But we have tools to fight this – and it’s a myth, irrationality is on the rise.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has continued for 60 years without success. Considering the obstacles to interstellar communication, this is just a blink of an eye.
We’ve made huge strides in understanding parts of the cosmos, but we’ve hit a brick wall with things like quantum theory and our own minds. Is there a way around?
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