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Colossal beauty.
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Awe-inspiring intricacy.
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Are the wonders of our universe
a cosmic accident
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or the result
of intelligent design?
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00:00:15,330 --> 00:00:19,599
For centuries, religion
and science were bitter foes.
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Now science actively searches
for our creator.
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Some physicists think
he's hidden in the math.
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Neurologists think
she might be in our brains.
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And computer coders believe God
is one of them
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and that our world is nothing
more than his simulation.
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Through the Wormhole 1x01
with Morgan Freeman
Is There a Creator?
Original air date on June 9, 2010
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00:00:45,393 --> 00:00:46,927
Space.
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Time.
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Life itself.
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The secrets of the cosmos
lie through the wormhole.
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00:00:57,171 --> 00:01:00,173
Through the Wormhole 1x01
with Morgan Freeman
Is There a Creator?
Original Air Date on June 9, 2010
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00:01:00,183 --> 00:01:01,303
-- sync, corrected by elderman --
-- for www.Addic7ed.Com --
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every culture claims a God,
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an all-powerful entity
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that created the world
and directs our fate.
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But why do we share this belief
in a cosmic creator?
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Did we dream it up to serve
a need in our psyche or culture?
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Is God really out there --
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up there?
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This is a journey
into the science of God.
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I promise you
it's quite a trip.
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Some of what we'll find
almost defies belief.
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Sometime in the early '70s,
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I bought my daughter
an ant farm.
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She soon got bored, but not me.
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I was memorized
by this little menagerie
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squeezed between two panes
of glass.
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And I wondered, what could
they ever know about me,
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the one who built their world?
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What can we ever learn
about who or what created us,
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stranded as we are
in this colony of humanity?
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For as long as scientists
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have struggled to understand
our place in the universe,
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there have been those who've
hoped to get a glimpse of God.
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400 years ago, the great
astronomer Galileo Galilei
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had a ground-breaking insight.
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Nature's grand book is written
in the language of mathematics.
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From that time to this,
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scientific geniuses
like Newton and Einstein
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used math to dig deep
into the workings of nature,
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to search for God
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through the equations that
defined the laws of physics.
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The latest mind hoping
to join these illustrious ranks
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is Garrett Lisi.
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The universe
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can very successfully
be described mathematically.
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You have to imagine
how the world's working
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in a certain circumstance
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and then use reason
and mathematics
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to develop a description
of how that might be happening.
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But it's imagination
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that breaks the trail
before reason enters.
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After earning his Phd,
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Garrett escaped
the confines of academia
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in search of adventure
and a space in which to think.
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Rather than go into
a normal academic-track job,
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I just split off for Maui,
became a surf bum,
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and did the research
I wanted to --
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mostly spent time doing
physics research and surfing.
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But all of our attempts
to understand nature
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so far have been fragmentary.
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There's one set of rules
for tiny atoms,
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another for giant objects
like stars and galaxies.
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And the two sets of math
don't fit together.
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What physicists like Lisi seek
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is a single, overarching theory,
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a mathematical design
that explains everything.
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Garrett thinks
he may at last have found
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this theory of everything.
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And if he's right, God could be
one heck of a mathematician.
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Garrett's work is
at a leading edge of physics.
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Before we plunge
into this mind-bending math,
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we first need to back up a bit,
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because it's possible
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there's already evidence
for a creator in the math.
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Andy Albrecht
is a leading cosmologist.
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Hello, how are you?
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He's also
a renowned chocoholic.
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I'll have the chocolate soufflé
and a latte.
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Just as a perfect
chocolate soufflé
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relies on a precise mixture
of ingredients
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baked at a specific temperature
for an exact time,
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so our universe
looks the way it does
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because of a precise balance
between four fundamental forces.
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The four forces we know and love
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in the world around us
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are gravity,
electromagnetism --
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those you've probably heard of.
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Then there's also the weak force
and the strong force.
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They're a little bit
more specialized
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but absolutely essential
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to make the world work
the way it does.
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Gravity, in many ways,
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is the force we know first.
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We try to walk,
and we fall down.
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That's because of gravity.
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When you carry something
a little too heavy and it falls,
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it's because of gravity.
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Electromagnetism tells us
how the chemistry works.
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When you cook something,
the energy you use
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is ultimately
electromagnetic energy.
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Weak force is about
a billion times less strong
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than electromagnetism,
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00:05:57,571 --> 00:06:01,274
and it's responsible
for radioactivity.
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The potassium in a banana
is radioactive.
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If the rate were too high,
it could destroy us.
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00:06:09,684 --> 00:06:12,719
The sun is basically
a nuclear reactor.
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The strong forces release energy
in the nuclear reactions.
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One of the remarkable things
is, when you add it all up,
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all these forces have to be
exactly the way they are
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for life as we know it
to exist.
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Change any one of them,
dial the parameters,
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and something will go wrong --
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the planet will disappear,
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the sun will shut down,
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the DNA will come unraveled.
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Some people call it
the Goldilocks paradigm --
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not too much, not too little,
everything's just right.
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Oh, that's perfect.
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Some physicists believe
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this precise calibration
of forces is evidence of God.
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Dr. John Polkinghorne did
pioneering work on the quark,
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a fundamental
subatomic particle.
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00:07:02,403 --> 00:07:08,141
He is also a knight commander
of the British Empire, a Sir.
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00:07:08,142 --> 00:07:10,643
And after a lifetime
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of distinguished
scientific inquiry,
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he was inspired to follow
a new line of work...
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As a priest.
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I do indeed believe in God,
yes, indeed.
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Yes, in fact,
I'm an Anglican priest,
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so it would be rather shocking
if I didn't.
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Those four fundamental forces
are the portfolio of things
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that bring about the physical
processes of the world.
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00:07:34,168 --> 00:07:36,669
And a very interesting fact
about the world
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is that those forces,
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in their specific strengths
that they have,
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have to be very close
to what we actually observe
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if we were to be here
to observe them,
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because it turns out
that only a world
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whose forces are very similar
to the ones that we experience
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would be capable of producing
carbon-based life.
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John finds it
difficult to imagine
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that the fine-tuning
of our universe
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has happened by accident,
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00:08:02,963 --> 00:08:06,132
that there is no divine hand
behind it.
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00:08:06,133 --> 00:08:09,869
This fine-tuning makes it clear
we don't live in any old world.
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We live in
a very particular universe.
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And why is that?
Why are we so lucky?
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Of course,
religious belief offers you
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a very straightforward
and attractive explanation.
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But scientists are split
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over whether this balance
of forces
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is a sign of intelligent design.
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In fact,
it could be nothing more
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than a roll of the cosmic dice.
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Dr. Alan Guth is
a revered figure in cosmology.
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His theory of inflation
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is the accepted idea of how
the early universe formed.
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Inflation says that
right after the big bang,
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the universe expanded
phenomenally fast,
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doubling in size 100,000 times
in just a fraction of a second.
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Inflation helps explain
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00:08:59,787 --> 00:09:03,590
how the world we know could
have come into existence.
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00:09:03,591 --> 00:09:07,193
But inflation has another
head-spinning implication --
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there ought to be
more than one universe.
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00:09:13,367 --> 00:09:16,703
An important feature
of this process of inflation
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is that when inflation stops,
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it doesn't stop
all over at the same time.
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What tends to happen
is it stops in some places,
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and those then become universes.
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And elsewhere, in what we now
call a multiverse,
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inflation would go on,
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and only later, more pocket
universes would form.
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And there can be an infinite
number of these pocket universes
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formed altogether
by this process
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that we call eternal inflation.
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The point is that
if there really is a multiverse,
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we would be living in just one
of these many pocket universes.
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That could be, for example,
our universe right there.
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Each of these pocket universes
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could have different laws
of physics.
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In our universe,
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the four forces are aligned
in a perfect way.
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Together, they allow life
to coalesce and flourish.
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00:10:07,855 --> 00:10:12,258
But each pocket universe
in Alan's multiverse
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could have a completely
different balance of forces.
192
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Maybe electromagnetism
is weaker,
193
00:10:19,166 --> 00:10:22,235
and perhaps gravity is
way more powerful.
194
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The result --
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an entirely different universe
with no chance of human life.
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To Alan, our universe
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00:10:31,312 --> 00:10:34,380
is not carefully crafted
by a divine being.
198
00:10:34,381 --> 00:10:38,284
It's just a lucky roll
in a cosmic crap shoot.
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This debate for and against
an intelligently designed cosmos
200
00:10:48,262 --> 00:10:52,865
has raged inside the world
of physics for decades.
201
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And that's where Garrett Lisi
comes in.
202
00:10:55,803 --> 00:10:59,238
A single mathematical theory
to explain everything
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could bring science
closer than ever
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00:11:01,342 --> 00:11:04,177
to understanding our creation.
205
00:11:04,178 --> 00:11:07,080
And right now,
it's all in the head
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of a beach bum in Hawaii.
207
00:11:14,038 --> 00:11:16,073
One universe.
208
00:11:16,074 --> 00:11:17,474
Four forces.
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00:11:17,475 --> 00:11:19,543
Billions of galaxies.
210
00:11:19,544 --> 00:11:22,513
The precision and complexity
of our world
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is enough to make
even the sanest cosmologist
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go just a little bit crazy.
213
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How does it all fit together?
214
00:11:31,656 --> 00:11:37,127
Is there a single, overarching
design to the cosmos?
215
00:11:37,128 --> 00:11:40,197
And if we find it,
216
00:11:40,198 --> 00:11:43,634
will we glimpse
the mind of God?
217
00:11:43,635 --> 00:11:47,838
Scientists have spent decades
and billions of dollars
218
00:11:47,839 --> 00:11:49,172
on this quest.
219
00:11:49,173 --> 00:11:52,843
They've build giant
atom-smashing machines to probe
220
00:11:52,844 --> 00:11:56,179
how the four fundamental forces
actually work.
221
00:11:56,180 --> 00:11:59,583
They've found that
down at the microscopic level,
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00:11:59,584 --> 00:12:02,252
billions of times
smaller than atoms,
223
00:12:02,253 --> 00:12:04,855
forces are actually caused
224
00:12:04,856 --> 00:12:08,892
by the movement
of tiny particles.
225
00:12:08,893 --> 00:12:12,829
Electromagnetism
is carried by photons.
226
00:12:12,830 --> 00:12:17,334
The strong force is carried
by particles called gluons,
227
00:12:17,335 --> 00:12:22,573
the weak force by particles
called the "w" and "z" bosons.
228
00:12:22,574 --> 00:12:27,477
But they've never found
the force carriers for gravity,
229
00:12:27,478 --> 00:12:31,682
the elusive gravitons.
230
00:12:31,683 --> 00:12:33,784
And that's where their efforts
231
00:12:33,785 --> 00:12:35,886
to unify
the math of the universe
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00:12:35,887 --> 00:12:39,823
are stuck treading water.
233
00:12:39,824 --> 00:12:43,694
But renegade physicist and
compulsive surfer Garrett Lisi
234
00:12:43,695 --> 00:12:46,930
could be on the cusp
of succeeding.
235
00:12:46,931 --> 00:12:50,400
Right after people got the idea
236
00:12:50,401 --> 00:12:53,537
that there were these
electromagnetic, weak,
and strong forces,
237
00:12:53,538 --> 00:12:55,439
which was
toward the end of the '70s,
238
00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:57,941
almost immediately people saw
how they fit together
239
00:12:57,942 --> 00:13:02,245
to make a grand unified theory
unifying those three forces.
240
00:13:02,246 --> 00:13:05,015
Now, it's much trickier
241
00:13:05,016 --> 00:13:06,717
to try to bring gravity
into the picture
242
00:13:06,718 --> 00:13:07,985
because it's slightly different.
243
00:13:10,488 --> 00:13:12,923
Tricky is an understatement.
244
00:13:12,924 --> 00:13:15,559
The greatest minds in physics
have all but given up
245
00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,062
on unifying gravity
and its unseen gravitons
246
00:13:19,063 --> 00:13:21,264
with the other three forces.
247
00:13:21,265 --> 00:13:24,001
But then Garrett had a vision,
248
00:13:24,002 --> 00:13:27,738
a vision of twisted circles.
249
00:13:27,739 --> 00:13:31,642
I was working on just how this
whole algebraic structure
250
00:13:31,643 --> 00:13:35,579
fit together, of gravity
and the other forces,
251
00:13:35,580 --> 00:13:39,316
and I started to wonder
if this thing
252
00:13:39,317 --> 00:13:41,018
could be understood as a whole,
253
00:13:41,019 --> 00:13:43,253
if this entire structure
could be described
254
00:13:43,254 --> 00:13:46,189
as part
of some larger lie group.
255
00:13:48,126 --> 00:13:51,728
A lie group
is a mathematical shape
256
00:13:51,729 --> 00:13:54,965
that is a collection of circles
twisting around each other
257
00:13:54,966 --> 00:13:57,367
in a specific pattern.
258
00:13:57,368 --> 00:14:01,471
Now, the simplest lie group
is just a circle.
259
00:14:01,472 --> 00:14:03,273
Now, if you take a second circle
260
00:14:03,274 --> 00:14:05,676
and you wrap it
around that inner circle,
261
00:14:05,677 --> 00:14:08,845
keeping it perpendicular,
you get what's called a torus.
262
00:14:08,846 --> 00:14:11,014
It looks like the surface
of a doughnut.
263
00:14:11,015 --> 00:14:12,816
But if you take a third circle
264
00:14:12,817 --> 00:14:15,585
and keep that perpendicular
to the other two,
265
00:14:15,586 --> 00:14:18,121
and you Twist it
around the inner circle
266
00:14:18,122 --> 00:14:19,489
as you wrap it around,
267
00:14:19,490 --> 00:14:21,258
you can get all three
of those circles
268
00:14:21,259 --> 00:14:22,426
to Twist around each other
269
00:14:22,427 --> 00:14:24,027
to form
a three-dimensional shape.
270
00:14:24,028 --> 00:14:28,365
But this is only the beginning.
271
00:14:28,366 --> 00:14:31,702
Garrett kept on twisting circles
around one another
272
00:14:31,703 --> 00:14:35,906
until he'd done it 248 times.
273
00:14:35,907 --> 00:14:37,941
The end result is a shape
so complex
274
00:14:37,942 --> 00:14:40,110
that it can't even be
fully appreciated
275
00:14:40,111 --> 00:14:41,678
in three dimensions.
276
00:14:41,679 --> 00:14:45,182
It's called the e8 lie group.
277
00:14:45,183 --> 00:14:49,619
To us, it's just
a mind-bending pattern.
278
00:14:49,620 --> 00:14:51,822
But Garrett Lisi realized
279
00:14:51,823 --> 00:14:54,324
the way the circles
twisted around one another
280
00:14:54,325 --> 00:14:58,729
looked just like the way various
fundamental particles interact.
281
00:14:58,730 --> 00:15:01,131
In physics, each one of
these circles can be associated
282
00:15:01,132 --> 00:15:03,967
with a different kind
of elementary particle.
283
00:15:03,968 --> 00:15:07,137
One circle could correspond
to electrons.
284
00:15:07,138 --> 00:15:09,106
The other circles
could correspond
285
00:15:09,107 --> 00:15:10,373
to the force particles,
286
00:15:10,374 --> 00:15:12,576
such as photons
or weak-force particles
287
00:15:12,577 --> 00:15:14,945
or strong-force particles,
the gluons.
288
00:15:16,147 --> 00:15:17,948
For months,
289
00:15:17,949 --> 00:15:21,718
Garrett turned this kaleidoscope
over and over in his mind.
290
00:15:21,719 --> 00:15:24,087
And then it hit him.
291
00:15:24,088 --> 00:15:26,089
He found a set of circles
292
00:15:26,090 --> 00:15:29,459
that seemed to act like
the never-yet-seen graviton.
293
00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:32,729
And for the first time
in the history of physics,
294
00:15:32,730 --> 00:15:36,366
a mere mortal saw
how gravity might fit in
295
00:15:36,367 --> 00:15:39,269
with all the other forces
and particles.
296
00:15:39,270 --> 00:15:42,706
You know, seeing how gravity
could be combined
297
00:15:42,707 --> 00:15:44,941
with these other lie groups
during this unification
298
00:15:44,942 --> 00:15:48,378
was one of the greatest moments
of my life.
299
00:15:54,585 --> 00:15:59,356
Dr. Lee Smolin
is a world-renowned physicist.
300
00:15:59,357 --> 00:16:01,491
He's watching with keen interest
301
00:16:01,492 --> 00:16:03,994
as Lisi struggles
with his attempt
302
00:16:03,995 --> 00:16:05,796
to put all the forces of nature
303
00:16:05,797 --> 00:16:09,099
into a single
mathematical framework.
304
00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:12,169
My view
of Garrett Lisi's work
305
00:16:12,170 --> 00:16:13,870
is that he's doing something
306
00:16:13,871 --> 00:16:16,540
which is very high risk,
high payoff.
307
00:16:16,541 --> 00:16:18,875
If he's right
or if even something
308
00:16:18,876 --> 00:16:21,945
in the direction
that he's going down is right,
309
00:16:21,946 --> 00:16:23,713
it's very important
310
00:16:23,714 --> 00:16:26,850
because it's
a kind of hypothesis
311
00:16:26,851 --> 00:16:29,619
that most of us
have given up working for --
312
00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:31,421
that is, a unique unification
313
00:16:31,422 --> 00:16:34,090
within a beautiful
mathematical structure.
314
00:16:34,091 --> 00:16:35,792
Garrett calls
315
00:16:35,793 --> 00:16:38,762
this dizzying
geometrical relationship
316
00:16:38,763 --> 00:16:41,865
between all the particles
and forces in the universe
317
00:16:41,866 --> 00:16:45,368
an exceptionally simple theory
of everything.
318
00:16:45,369 --> 00:16:49,806
It predicts several
as yet undiscovered particles.
319
00:16:49,807 --> 00:16:52,175
And scientists across the world
320
00:16:52,176 --> 00:16:55,145
are on the hunt for those
right now.
321
00:16:55,146 --> 00:16:59,182
One is the most sought-after
particle in all of physics,
322
00:16:59,183 --> 00:17:01,618
the Higgs Boson.
323
00:17:01,619 --> 00:17:05,522
There are some parts
that are in this larger group
324
00:17:05,523 --> 00:17:09,192
that are not clearly these
elementary particle forces.
325
00:17:09,193 --> 00:17:11,494
But what they are is
exactly what you need
326
00:17:11,495 --> 00:17:12,996
to describe the higgs field.
327
00:17:12,997 --> 00:17:16,933
And the Higgs field is
this geometric particle field
328
00:17:16,934 --> 00:17:19,636
that gives mass to all known
elementary particles.
329
00:17:19,637 --> 00:17:22,272
And it's exactly the missing
puzzle piece you need
330
00:17:22,273 --> 00:17:23,673
to tie everything together.
331
00:17:25,776 --> 00:17:28,745
The center
of the action in the Higgs hunt
332
00:17:28,746 --> 00:17:33,083
is halfway around the world
from Garrett's beaches.
333
00:17:33,084 --> 00:17:37,220
In the cooler but no less scenic
city of Geneva, Switzerland,
334
00:17:37,221 --> 00:17:39,289
researchers are peering
335
00:17:39,290 --> 00:17:42,025
through the most advanced
scientific microscope
336
00:17:42,026 --> 00:17:43,927
in human history --
337
00:17:43,928 --> 00:17:48,698
the LHC,
or Large Hadron Collider.
338
00:17:48,699 --> 00:17:52,202
They're throwing everything they
have at finding the Higgs Boson,
339
00:17:52,203 --> 00:17:56,806
the particle that is supposed
to give everything mass.
340
00:17:56,807 --> 00:17:59,276
But they should also be able
to detect
341
00:17:59,277 --> 00:18:02,646
some of those new particles
predicted by Garrett Lisi.
342
00:18:02,647 --> 00:18:05,749
If they do exist,
343
00:18:05,750 --> 00:18:08,351
the exceptionally simple theory
of everything
344
00:18:08,352 --> 00:18:13,556
could finally offer a blueprint
of the entire universe.
345
00:18:13,557 --> 00:18:19,296
This dizzying geometry
might also be divine geometry,
346
00:18:19,297 --> 00:18:23,967
a unified math
that created you, me,
347
00:18:23,968 --> 00:18:26,536
the sun, the stars,
348
00:18:26,537 --> 00:18:30,507
everything
in the known universe.
349
00:18:30,508 --> 00:18:34,945
It would be another
important factor showing us
350
00:18:34,946 --> 00:18:37,347
that we live in a world
of wonderful order,
351
00:18:37,348 --> 00:18:40,317
and that is highly suggestive
that that is because it is
352
00:18:40,318 --> 00:18:44,354
a creation with a divine mind
behind it.
353
00:18:44,355 --> 00:18:46,356
The irony is
354
00:18:46,357 --> 00:18:49,693
that the man who's taking us
so close to the creator
355
00:18:49,694 --> 00:18:51,895
is not himself a believer.
356
00:18:51,896 --> 00:18:56,933
It's much more satisfying
to me that this bit of geometry
357
00:18:56,934 --> 00:18:59,302
could have come into existence
358
00:18:59,303 --> 00:19:02,605
than to imagine
some complicated creator
359
00:19:02,606 --> 00:19:05,942
with some sort of personality
and complex structure
360
00:19:05,943 --> 00:19:10,680
brought this simple thing
into existence.
361
00:19:10,681 --> 00:19:13,383
Garrett's mind-bending search
362
00:19:13,384 --> 00:19:15,051
could be getting closer,
363
00:19:15,052 --> 00:19:16,820
or it could all be a bust.
364
00:19:16,821 --> 00:19:20,223
There's a process
of give and take,
365
00:19:20,224 --> 00:19:23,426
of construction and criticism,
that makes science work.
366
00:19:23,427 --> 00:19:26,930
And it depends on courage
and audacity to get started.
367
00:19:26,931 --> 00:19:28,932
And a thing that I admire about
368
00:19:28,933 --> 00:19:31,835
is that Lisi
has that courage and audacity,
369
00:19:31,836 --> 00:19:34,771
which doesn't mean
I think he's right, okay?
370
00:19:34,772 --> 00:19:38,308
But I think that people have
to propose ideas
371
00:19:38,309 --> 00:19:40,477
of the ambition of this idea
372
00:19:40,478 --> 00:19:43,246
if we are ever to solve
these big problems.
373
00:19:43,247 --> 00:19:45,982
Garrett Lisi
may be the first man
374
00:19:45,983 --> 00:19:49,119
to discover
the mathematics of creation,
375
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:54,057
succeeding where great minds
like Einstein failed.
376
00:19:54,058 --> 00:19:57,027
But what if he's wrong?
377
00:19:57,028 --> 00:20:01,598
Or, worse, what if there is no
math that unifies the universe?
378
00:20:01,599 --> 00:20:04,034
Well, that wouldn't trouble
this man,
379
00:20:04,035 --> 00:20:06,436
because he believes
that the creator
380
00:20:06,437 --> 00:20:08,772
is not out there in the cosmos.
381
00:20:08,773 --> 00:20:12,675
He believes God exists
inside our minds
382
00:20:12,676 --> 00:20:15,211
and that he might be able
to summon him
383
00:20:15,212 --> 00:20:17,781
by throwing a switch.
384
00:20:19,438 --> 00:20:21,773
For thousands of years,
385
00:20:21,774 --> 00:20:23,908
we have meditated, fasted,
and communed.
386
00:20:23,909 --> 00:20:26,177
We have prayed and chanted
387
00:20:26,178 --> 00:20:30,014
to make contact
with the divine.
388
00:20:30,015 --> 00:20:31,983
But what if all you need
389
00:20:31,984 --> 00:20:34,318
is a magnet on the right
hemisphere of your brain
390
00:20:34,319 --> 00:20:35,953
to see God?
391
00:20:38,457 --> 00:20:40,191
This is Dominica.
392
00:20:40,192 --> 00:20:44,595
She's a nursing student
in Sudbury, Ontario.
393
00:20:44,596 --> 00:20:48,666
She's about to experience God.
394
00:20:48,667 --> 00:20:51,903
Dominica is not a visionary
395
00:20:51,904 --> 00:20:54,405
or a priest or a nun
396
00:20:54,406 --> 00:20:57,208
or even particularly religious.
397
00:20:57,209 --> 00:20:58,376
I do believe in God.
398
00:20:58,377 --> 00:20:59,711
However, I don't believe
399
00:20:59,712 --> 00:21:02,280
that you have to go into church
to talk to him
400
00:21:02,281 --> 00:21:03,614
'cause he's everywhere.
401
00:21:03,615 --> 00:21:06,718
Dominica has agreed
to participate
402
00:21:06,719 --> 00:21:11,189
in what she has been told is
a simple relaxation experiment.
403
00:21:11,190 --> 00:21:13,357
And this is the man
404
00:21:13,358 --> 00:21:16,094
who's going to lead Dominica
into the light,
405
00:21:16,095 --> 00:21:20,231
Dr. Michael Persinger.
406
00:21:20,232 --> 00:21:24,135
He runs
the mind consciousness lab
407
00:21:24,136 --> 00:21:26,070
in the basement
of the science building
408
00:21:26,071 --> 00:21:27,605
at Laurentian University.
409
00:21:27,606 --> 00:21:29,674
Our primary research is involved
410
00:21:29,675 --> 00:21:31,409
with understanding
the relationship
411
00:21:31,410 --> 00:21:33,845
between brain structure
and function and experience.
412
00:21:33,846 --> 00:21:37,348
And more specifically, is there
a biological and brain basis
413
00:21:37,349 --> 00:21:39,550
to some of the concepts
that are called
414
00:21:39,551 --> 00:21:41,719
the God belief
and the God experience?
415
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:46,157
Dr. Persinger
is a neuroscientist.
416
00:21:46,158 --> 00:21:49,627
He believes that God
resides in our brains.
417
00:21:49,628 --> 00:21:54,098
In fact, he even thinks he knows
in which part of the brain.
418
00:21:54,099 --> 00:21:56,734
One of the things we were
really excited about was
419
00:21:56,735 --> 00:21:59,303
what's the brain basis
sense of self?
420
00:21:59,304 --> 00:22:02,106
After all, that's the great
human definition -- who we are.
421
00:22:02,107 --> 00:22:03,307
And we knew it was tied
422
00:22:03,308 --> 00:22:05,409
to language
and left-hemispheric processes.
423
00:22:05,410 --> 00:22:06,878
But then we asked the question
424
00:22:06,879 --> 00:22:09,781
what's the right-hemisphere
equivalent?
425
00:22:09,782 --> 00:22:13,718
So we have this second sense
in the right hemisphere.
426
00:22:13,719 --> 00:22:15,520
And when you experience it,
427
00:22:15,521 --> 00:22:17,522
it's called the sense presence.
428
00:22:17,523 --> 00:22:21,726
And we think that's the
prototype of the God experience.
429
00:22:21,727 --> 00:22:26,631
All he has to do
to create this God experience
430
00:22:26,632 --> 00:22:30,067
is place this yellow helmet
on his subject's head.
431
00:22:30,068 --> 00:22:32,270
He calls it the God helmet.
432
00:22:32,271 --> 00:22:35,473
Okay, so we're gonna
put on the helmet.
433
00:22:35,474 --> 00:22:39,577
Our approach was very simple --
434
00:22:39,578 --> 00:22:41,479
if you want to study the brain,
435
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,214
then let's look at the brain
436
00:22:43,215 --> 00:22:45,216
in the laboratory
with an experiment.
437
00:22:45,217 --> 00:22:46,717
Just follow the experience
438
00:22:46,718 --> 00:22:48,786
and let it come to you,
all right?
439
00:22:48,787 --> 00:22:49,887
Okay.
440
00:22:51,990 --> 00:22:53,257
After putting Dominica
441
00:22:53,258 --> 00:22:56,561
into a sealed chamber
with no light,
442
00:22:56,562 --> 00:22:58,963
the research team will monitor
her brain-wave activity
443
00:22:58,964 --> 00:23:00,865
for one hour.
444
00:23:00,866 --> 00:23:03,267
In a few minutes,
Dominica's brain waves
445
00:23:03,268 --> 00:23:06,304
start to order themselves
into a relaxed pattern.
446
00:23:06,305 --> 00:23:10,308
Then Dr. Persinger activates
a magnetic coil
447
00:23:10,309 --> 00:23:13,911
sitting over the right side
of her brain.
448
00:23:13,912 --> 00:23:16,647
It's no more powerful
than a hair dryer,
449
00:23:16,648 --> 00:23:20,251
but it's designed
to focus its energy
450
00:23:20,252 --> 00:23:24,088
on a small set of brain cells
in the right temporal lobe.
451
00:23:24,089 --> 00:23:26,424
Those cells, he believes,
452
00:23:26,425 --> 00:23:29,026
will stimulate in Dominica
453
00:23:29,027 --> 00:23:32,930
a sense that someone
or something is present.
454
00:23:32,931 --> 00:23:34,632
We hypothesize
455
00:23:34,633 --> 00:23:37,401
that, as the human being
developed the ability
456
00:23:37,402 --> 00:23:41,172
to forecast
their own self-dissolution,
457
00:23:41,173 --> 00:23:42,340
their own death,
458
00:23:42,341 --> 00:23:44,008
which is tremendously
anxiety-generating,
459
00:23:44,009 --> 00:23:45,810
that another concept emerged
460
00:23:45,811 --> 00:23:48,512
which allowed
that anxiety to be reduced.
461
00:23:48,513 --> 00:23:52,316
And whatever that concept was,
it had certain parameters.
462
00:23:52,317 --> 00:23:55,686
It had to be infinite
and forever and everywhere.
463
00:23:55,687 --> 00:23:57,755
Otherwise it would have an end.
464
00:23:57,756 --> 00:23:59,657
If you have an end,
then you have anxiety.
465
00:23:59,658 --> 00:24:01,092
So there had to be a concept
466
00:24:01,093 --> 00:24:02,994
inculcated
within the brain itself
467
00:24:02,995 --> 00:24:05,830
that there is something
out there that goes on forever.
468
00:24:05,831 --> 00:24:08,699
And if you somehow relate to it
and can be a part of it,
469
00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:13,337
the idea of anxiety
becomes a nonevent.
470
00:24:13,338 --> 00:24:15,139
Dr. Persinger believes
471
00:24:15,140 --> 00:24:17,608
the efforts of our brains'
right temporal lobe
472
00:24:17,609 --> 00:24:20,444
to relieve the anxiety of death
473
00:24:20,445 --> 00:24:25,383
is what we sense when we think
we are sensing the divine.
474
00:24:25,384 --> 00:24:27,752
And he's designed his God helmet
475
00:24:27,753 --> 00:24:31,923
to produce that sense
on demand.
476
00:24:31,924 --> 00:24:34,959
Dominica?
477
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:36,327
Yes?
478
00:24:36,328 --> 00:24:38,362
Okay, I'm about ready
to come in. Just relax.
479
00:24:39,898 --> 00:24:41,365
For one hour,
480
00:24:41,366 --> 00:24:43,434
Dominica has been shut
inside the chamber
481
00:24:43,435 --> 00:24:45,770
without light or sound,
482
00:24:45,771 --> 00:24:48,139
alone with her thoughts...
483
00:24:48,140 --> 00:24:52,376
And perhaps also with God?
484
00:24:54,379 --> 00:24:58,149
You said you felt
the presence of something.
485
00:24:58,150 --> 00:25:01,385
Yeah, there's, like,
other things around me.
486
00:25:01,386 --> 00:25:03,521
Okay,
can you describe them?
487
00:25:03,522 --> 00:25:08,793
Not -- there were
just bodies of nothing,
488
00:25:08,794 --> 00:25:11,862
not doing anything,
just chilling.
489
00:25:11,863 --> 00:25:14,198
How many
were just chilling?
490
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,134
Um...
491
00:25:17,135 --> 00:25:18,803
She actually counted them.
492
00:25:18,804 --> 00:25:20,438
You see her move her hand?
Yeah.
493
00:25:20,439 --> 00:25:22,239
She was
actually recreating it.
Yeah.
494
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,142
More than 80%
of Dr. Persinger's subjects,
495
00:25:25,143 --> 00:25:28,212
whether they are
religious believers or not,
496
00:25:28,213 --> 00:25:31,482
sense a presence
from the God helmet.
497
00:25:31,483 --> 00:25:33,884
When the right
hemisphere is being stimulated,
498
00:25:33,885 --> 00:25:36,554
she felt a presence
of things around her,
499
00:25:36,555 --> 00:25:38,789
five entities
that were faceless.
500
00:25:38,790 --> 00:25:42,393
I can see, like,
down my body was,
501
00:25:42,394 --> 00:25:47,098
like, up more so I could
only see, like, above.
502
00:25:47,099 --> 00:25:48,866
How -- above?
503
00:25:48,867 --> 00:25:50,201
Yeah.
Okay.
504
00:25:50,202 --> 00:25:52,169
She had these marked,
intense feelings
505
00:25:52,170 --> 00:25:55,373
of visual sensations in the --
always the upper visual field.
506
00:25:55,374 --> 00:25:56,707
Did you notice that?
507
00:25:56,708 --> 00:25:59,577
That's typical of the temporal
lobe being activated.
508
00:25:59,578 --> 00:26:01,479
I see
you checked here that,
509
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,448
"the experiences did not come
from my own mind."
510
00:26:04,449 --> 00:26:06,117
Can you describe that?
511
00:26:06,118 --> 00:26:08,986
I was, like,
watching myself.
512
00:26:08,987 --> 00:26:12,023
So it wasn't
me feeling like --
513
00:26:12,024 --> 00:26:15,760
I was watching myself
lying on the road.
514
00:26:15,761 --> 00:26:17,595
I didn't feel like my head
was attached to me.
515
00:26:17,596 --> 00:26:20,064
You felt like what?
My head wasn't attached.
516
00:26:20,065 --> 00:26:23,034
Okay, so you felt like your head
was attached somewhere else?
517
00:26:23,035 --> 00:26:24,268
Yeah.
Okay.
518
00:26:24,269 --> 00:26:27,905
Now, also it says you saw
vivid images this time.
519
00:26:27,906 --> 00:26:29,974
Yeah, there's, like,
520
00:26:29,975 --> 00:26:34,845
heat coming up,
like fire coming up around.
521
00:26:36,481 --> 00:26:37,815
Which one
did you like the best,
522
00:26:37,816 --> 00:26:39,350
the first or the second?
The first one.
523
00:26:39,351 --> 00:26:40,818
You liked the first one?
Okay.
524
00:26:40,819 --> 00:26:42,253
I want to float again.
That was cool.
525
00:26:42,254 --> 00:26:44,488
Okay, well.
526
00:26:44,489 --> 00:26:48,726
I'm not too much liking
the fire part, the second one,
527
00:26:48,727 --> 00:26:50,227
but I don't know.
528
00:26:50,228 --> 00:26:52,997
The first one
was awesome.
529
00:26:52,998 --> 00:26:56,534
She had a classic experience
that takes place in the chamber.
530
00:26:56,535 --> 00:26:59,070
Now imagine what that would be
531
00:26:59,071 --> 00:27:01,038
if she was sitting
in a church pew
532
00:27:01,039 --> 00:27:03,741
or a synagogue or a mosque
533
00:27:03,742 --> 00:27:05,976
or, for that matter,
laying by herself at night
534
00:27:05,977 --> 00:27:08,145
in the middle of her bed,
and this happened.
535
00:27:08,146 --> 00:27:10,047
Can you imagine
how she would label it
536
00:27:10,048 --> 00:27:14,752
and the impact it would have
on her entire life?
537
00:27:14,753 --> 00:27:17,121
There we go.
538
00:27:20,592 --> 00:27:22,359
Dr. Persinger's work
539
00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:24,695
raises
the extraordinary possibility
540
00:27:24,696 --> 00:27:27,798
not just that spiritual
experiences can be induced,
541
00:27:27,799 --> 00:27:29,166
but that some
542
00:27:29,167 --> 00:27:32,570
of the most intense and
influential religious visions
543
00:27:32,571 --> 00:27:34,171
in history
may have their root
544
00:27:34,172 --> 00:27:38,275
in nothing more than the wiring
of the human brain.
545
00:27:38,276 --> 00:27:40,478
Abraham,
546
00:27:40,479 --> 00:27:42,646
Moses,
547
00:27:42,647 --> 00:27:45,382
native American shamans --
548
00:27:45,383 --> 00:27:48,352
almost all religious leaders
and spiritual guides
549
00:27:48,353 --> 00:27:50,621
have attested
that they were struck
550
00:27:50,622 --> 00:27:55,092
by vivid and thunderous messages
from the creator himself.
551
00:27:58,763 --> 00:28:02,032
In the history
of religious experience,
552
00:28:02,033 --> 00:28:04,935
many of the great
religious thinkers
553
00:28:04,936 --> 00:28:08,572
have had electrical ability
in the temporal lobe.
554
00:28:10,142 --> 00:28:13,043
Luther, as you know,
who started Lutheranism,
was struck by lightning.
555
00:28:13,044 --> 00:28:17,114
These are brief events that have
a powerful impact on people
556
00:28:17,115 --> 00:28:19,650
during those critical times
of their life.
557
00:28:19,651 --> 00:28:22,153
And, really, the great challenge
to science --
558
00:28:22,154 --> 00:28:23,821
and this is the exciting part --
559
00:28:23,822 --> 00:28:25,055
is not so much the fact
560
00:28:25,056 --> 00:28:27,525
that the brain's generating
the experiences --
561
00:28:27,526 --> 00:28:28,826
is what are the stimuli?
562
00:28:28,827 --> 00:28:31,395
You've seen a few examples
of the crude stimuli,
563
00:28:31,396 --> 00:28:33,063
when we apply magnetic Fields.
564
00:28:33,064 --> 00:28:34,865
But what about natural stimuli?
565
00:28:34,866 --> 00:28:36,167
What about stimuli
566
00:28:36,168 --> 00:28:38,235
that are manufactured
or manipulated by societies?
567
00:28:38,236 --> 00:28:40,571
What about intrinsic
chemical changes?
568
00:28:40,572 --> 00:28:43,274
And what about all those stimuli
we don't know yet
569
00:28:43,275 --> 00:28:45,743
that can produce
the most powerful experience
570
00:28:45,744 --> 00:28:49,180
in the history of humankind,
the God experience?
571
00:28:56,321 --> 00:28:58,455
For thousands of years,
572
00:28:58,456 --> 00:29:00,658
billions of humans
have built their lives
573
00:29:00,659 --> 00:29:02,960
around the cherished idea
574
00:29:02,961 --> 00:29:06,630
that a creator is out there
looking down on them,
575
00:29:06,631 --> 00:29:08,966
caring for them,
576
00:29:08,967 --> 00:29:12,603
a God who is both creator
and protector.
577
00:29:12,604 --> 00:29:15,439
Dr. Persinger's God helmet
forces us to consider
578
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,475
a radical reimagining
of human experience.
579
00:29:18,476 --> 00:29:21,545
God may not have created us.
580
00:29:21,546 --> 00:29:23,914
He may not be protecting us.
581
00:29:23,915 --> 00:29:27,918
God may simply be in our minds.
582
00:29:29,654 --> 00:29:32,990
But one scientist
has an even more radical take
583
00:29:32,991 --> 00:29:35,559
on the creator,
584
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,096
one that flips Dr. Persinger's
theory on its head.
585
00:29:39,097 --> 00:29:44,935
This time, it's God that's real
and we that are imaginary.
586
00:29:44,936 --> 00:29:49,139
Our creator may actually be
a cosmic computer coder,
587
00:29:49,140 --> 00:29:53,110
and we might be nothing more
than a simulation.
588
00:29:56,186 --> 00:29:58,587
The search for God continues.
589
00:29:58,588 --> 00:30:03,492
Will we find him hidden in the
deepest recesses of our brain?
590
00:30:03,493 --> 00:30:08,431
Or can we uncover the creator
in a mathematical theory?
591
00:30:08,432 --> 00:30:10,132
Let's take a closer look
592
00:30:10,133 --> 00:30:13,169
at perhaps the strangest
possibility of all.
593
00:30:13,170 --> 00:30:15,271
We'll start here.
594
00:30:15,272 --> 00:30:18,240
Will Wright is a creator...
595
00:30:18,241 --> 00:30:21,110
Of one universe, at least.
596
00:30:22,312 --> 00:30:25,514
In the blockbuster hit
video game "The Sims,"
597
00:30:25,515 --> 00:30:28,717
this software genius
created a world
598
00:30:28,718 --> 00:30:33,122
filled with digital people not
too different from you and me.
599
00:30:33,123 --> 00:30:34,356
Well, the Sims
inside the computer
600
00:30:34,357 --> 00:30:35,891
really are digital recreations.
601
00:30:35,892 --> 00:30:38,060
They're simulations of humans.
602
00:30:38,061 --> 00:30:41,163
And so we basically have
to describe to the computer
603
00:30:41,164 --> 00:30:42,998
all the kind of overall aspects
604
00:30:42,999 --> 00:30:46,902
that we think, you know,
encompass humanity.
605
00:30:46,903 --> 00:30:49,472
I think humans are very good
606
00:30:49,473 --> 00:30:51,874
at displacing
our identity into others.
607
00:30:51,875 --> 00:30:53,342
We call that empathy.
608
00:30:53,343 --> 00:30:54,844
And so a lot of the game
is based
609
00:30:54,845 --> 00:30:56,645
around the empathy that you're
feeling with the Sims
610
00:30:56,646 --> 00:30:59,315
so that what
they experience basically is
611
00:30:59,316 --> 00:31:02,618
what you're experiencing
at one level removed.
612
00:31:02,619 --> 00:31:04,653
But consider this.
613
00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:09,892
How much empathy do you think
you could feel with this SIM...
614
00:31:09,893 --> 00:31:12,561
And how much with this one?
615
00:31:12,562 --> 00:31:16,332
The rate of increase
in computing power
616
00:31:16,333 --> 00:31:18,868
that we've seen
in the past few decades
617
00:31:18,869 --> 00:31:21,570
shows no sign of abating.
618
00:31:21,571 --> 00:31:24,907
And the level of realism
of computer simulations
619
00:31:24,908 --> 00:31:27,409
is bound to keep pace with that.
620
00:31:27,410 --> 00:31:30,546
When our Sims look as real
as our friends,
621
00:31:30,547 --> 00:31:32,147
won't the lines
622
00:31:32,148 --> 00:31:34,416
separating our real lives
from our virtual lives
623
00:31:34,417 --> 00:31:36,418
begin to blur?
624
00:31:36,419 --> 00:31:38,521
Computers and games
and simulations
625
00:31:38,522 --> 00:31:41,724
are kind of on this path
of increased reality.
626
00:31:41,725 --> 00:31:44,627
You can see this
in computer graphics and movies.
627
00:31:44,628 --> 00:31:46,328
As we experience these things
628
00:31:46,329 --> 00:31:48,764
at these very granular levels
of detail,
629
00:31:48,765 --> 00:31:51,233
again, these experiences,
I think,
630
00:31:51,234 --> 00:31:53,168
are starting to blur the line
631
00:31:53,169 --> 00:31:56,472
between real experiences
and virtual experiences.
632
00:31:56,473 --> 00:32:00,442
Well, who's to say
we're not there already?
633
00:32:01,511 --> 00:32:03,712
One scientist
634
00:32:03,713 --> 00:32:06,215
from the Jet Propulsion Lab
in Pasadena, California,
635
00:32:06,216 --> 00:32:08,384
believes we might be
636
00:32:08,385 --> 00:32:12,087
and that the evidence
could be all around us.
637
00:32:12,088 --> 00:32:17,126
Rich Terrile has helped design
missions to Mars,
638
00:32:17,127 --> 00:32:21,196
discovered four new moons around
Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus,
639
00:32:21,197 --> 00:32:24,700
and taken pictures
of a distant solar system.
640
00:32:24,701 --> 00:32:29,605
He has a logical mind
and a love for technology.
641
00:32:29,606 --> 00:32:32,708
Now he's bringing that logic
to a bigger question --
642
00:32:32,709 --> 00:32:37,346
who or what is the creator?
643
00:32:37,347 --> 00:32:39,915
For a god-centered universe,
one has to think,
644
00:32:39,916 --> 00:32:42,518
well, first, what are
the requirements for God?
645
00:32:42,519 --> 00:32:45,254
God is an interdimensional being
646
00:32:45,255 --> 00:32:47,222
connected with everything
in the universe,
647
00:32:47,223 --> 00:32:49,725
a creator responsible
for the universe,
648
00:32:49,726 --> 00:32:50,893
and, in some way,
649
00:32:50,894 --> 00:32:55,097
can change the laws of physics
if he wanted to.
650
00:32:55,098 --> 00:32:56,665
I think those
are pretty good requirements
651
00:32:56,666 --> 00:32:57,900
for what God ought to be.
652
00:33:01,571 --> 00:33:04,506
Terrile thinks
those requirements for God,
653
00:33:04,507 --> 00:33:08,177
making the laws of the universe
and changing things at will,
654
00:33:08,178 --> 00:33:12,047
sound an awful lot
like what programmers do
655
00:33:12,048 --> 00:33:14,650
when they create
simulated environments.
656
00:33:14,651 --> 00:33:16,285
And then he started thinking
657
00:33:16,286 --> 00:33:18,754
about how much computing power
it would take
658
00:33:18,755 --> 00:33:21,523
to create our world, our planet,
659
00:33:21,524 --> 00:33:24,393
all its life,
and all of our brains.
660
00:33:24,394 --> 00:33:27,630
Moore's law is
that computational power
661
00:33:27,631 --> 00:33:31,066
tends to double about
every two years or 18 months.
662
00:33:31,067 --> 00:33:32,768
Actually, in the last 18 years,
663
00:33:32,769 --> 00:33:35,604
it's been doubling
every 13 months.
664
00:33:35,605 --> 00:33:38,440
Right now, the fastest computers
on the planet
665
00:33:38,441 --> 00:33:40,743
are now comparable
or even exceeding
666
00:33:40,744 --> 00:33:44,413
the computational ability of the
human brain as we estimate it.
667
00:33:44,414 --> 00:33:48,250
That's about one million billion
operations per second.
668
00:33:48,251 --> 00:33:51,787
Where it's taking us is that in
the next year, that'll double.
669
00:33:51,788 --> 00:33:54,056
In the next decade,
670
00:33:54,057 --> 00:33:55,958
that'll increase
by a factor of 500.
671
00:33:55,959 --> 00:33:58,927
So a decade from now,
our supercomputers will be
672
00:33:58,928 --> 00:34:01,430
about 500 times faster
than the human brain.
673
00:34:01,431 --> 00:34:05,267
Rich is sure that
computers a decade from now
674
00:34:05,268 --> 00:34:08,103
will be able to create
a photoreal simulation
675
00:34:08,104 --> 00:34:10,706
of all that we see around us.
676
00:34:10,707 --> 00:34:14,510
But can a computer
ever populate a simulated world
677
00:34:14,511 --> 00:34:18,247
with thinking beings like us?
678
00:34:18,248 --> 00:34:21,684
The answer is inside this box.
679
00:34:21,685 --> 00:34:25,487
Suppose I have a box.
680
00:34:25,488 --> 00:34:27,990
And in the box I've got,
you know, a human brain,
681
00:34:27,991 --> 00:34:30,125
which is the mind, or a person,
682
00:34:30,126 --> 00:34:32,094
and I've got a laptop computer.
683
00:34:32,095 --> 00:34:34,029
The human brain
and a laptop computer
684
00:34:34,030 --> 00:34:35,330
are about the same weight.
685
00:34:35,331 --> 00:34:36,832
They're about the same volume.
686
00:34:36,833 --> 00:34:39,101
And they take
about the same amount of power.
687
00:34:39,102 --> 00:34:42,871
Yet the human brain is about
100,000 times more powerful
688
00:34:42,872 --> 00:34:44,406
than a current-day laptop.
689
00:34:44,407 --> 00:34:48,010
Well, suppose this is a laptop
computer from 50 years from now,
690
00:34:48,011 --> 00:34:49,845
and I have them both in the box,
691
00:34:49,846 --> 00:34:51,847
and I start asking them
questions,
692
00:34:51,848 --> 00:34:54,283
and I don't know
which one is answering.
693
00:34:54,284 --> 00:34:56,018
If I can't tell the difference
694
00:34:56,019 --> 00:34:58,487
between a human being
answering questions
695
00:34:58,488 --> 00:35:00,656
and a computer
answering questions,
696
00:35:00,657 --> 00:35:03,459
then, qualitatively,
they're equivalent.
697
00:35:03,460 --> 00:35:07,062
And if I believe that the human
is conscious and self-aware,
698
00:35:07,063 --> 00:35:11,567
I must also believe that the
machine has the same qualities.
699
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:18,073
Once computers have the power
700
00:35:18,074 --> 00:35:20,609
to simulate
artificially intelligent beings
701
00:35:20,610 --> 00:35:24,513
inside a photorealistic
representation of planet earth,
702
00:35:24,514 --> 00:35:27,983
the ramifications
are truly profound.
703
00:35:27,984 --> 00:35:30,619
Suppose we have
an enormous simulation
704
00:35:30,620 --> 00:35:33,322
and we're simulating
artificial intelligence.
705
00:35:33,323 --> 00:35:34,823
We created this universe.
706
00:35:34,824 --> 00:35:36,458
We're able to change
the laws of physics.
707
00:35:36,459 --> 00:35:38,527
We're able to do all the things,
708
00:35:38,528 --> 00:35:41,096
all of those requirements
that we put on God.
709
00:35:45,301 --> 00:35:47,870
We're on the brink
of creating worlds
710
00:35:47,871 --> 00:35:50,038
inside the computers,
711
00:35:50,039 --> 00:35:51,940
filling them
with sentient beings,
712
00:35:51,941 --> 00:35:54,143
and becoming their gods.
713
00:35:54,144 --> 00:35:57,780
But this is not where Rich Terrile's
quest for the creator ends.
714
00:35:57,781 --> 00:36:01,116
The next step
is truly mind-bending.
715
00:36:01,117 --> 00:36:05,921
He believes that if science
shows God can exist,
716
00:36:05,922 --> 00:36:08,290
than maybe he already does.
717
00:36:08,291 --> 00:36:11,293
Maybe we are the Sims
718
00:36:11,294 --> 00:36:16,465
and our creator is sitting at
the controls of a supercomputer.
719
00:36:21,210 --> 00:36:24,078
The rise of the machines
is close at hand.
720
00:36:24,079 --> 00:36:26,781
Already, computers
are taking over many
721
00:36:26,782 --> 00:36:29,584
of the day-to-day functions
in our world.
722
00:36:29,585 --> 00:36:32,453
Are they already in charge?
723
00:36:32,454 --> 00:36:38,392
Is our creator some kind
of cosmic computer genius?
724
00:36:38,393 --> 00:36:41,629
Rich Terrile thinks
we might be living
725
00:36:41,630 --> 00:36:44,265
in some kind
of giant simulation,
726
00:36:44,266 --> 00:36:46,434
that our creator might be using
727
00:36:46,435 --> 00:36:49,170
a supercomputer
with godlike powers.
728
00:36:49,171 --> 00:36:53,674
And he thinks he's found
evidence for it in nature.
729
00:36:53,675 --> 00:36:56,777
There is
one surefire way to tell
730
00:36:56,778 --> 00:36:59,213
if you're looking
at a computer simulation.
731
00:36:59,214 --> 00:37:00,982
Zoom in.
732
00:37:00,983 --> 00:37:04,418
Every computer-generated image,
no matter how realistic,
733
00:37:04,419 --> 00:37:07,822
breaks down into pixels
when you get close enough.
734
00:37:07,823 --> 00:37:11,225
You might think this doesn't
happen in the real world,
735
00:37:11,226 --> 00:37:13,527
but you'd be wrong.
736
00:37:13,528 --> 00:37:15,963
In the past century,
737
00:37:15,964 --> 00:37:17,732
physicists have discovered
738
00:37:17,733 --> 00:37:21,102
that matter really is made
of tiny, little pixels,
739
00:37:21,103 --> 00:37:23,804
fundamental,
indivisible particles
740
00:37:23,805 --> 00:37:26,874
billions of times smaller
than an atom.
741
00:37:26,875 --> 00:37:30,678
The theory that explains
all this, quantum mechanics,
742
00:37:30,679 --> 00:37:35,249
applies not just to matter,
but to the entire universe.
743
00:37:35,250 --> 00:37:37,918
Look at the way
the universe behaves.
744
00:37:37,919 --> 00:37:39,854
It's quantized.
It's made of pixels.
745
00:37:39,855 --> 00:37:41,989
And it's made
of individual atoms.
746
00:37:41,990 --> 00:37:44,258
Space is quantized.
Time is quantized.
747
00:37:44,259 --> 00:37:45,393
Energy is quantized.
748
00:37:45,394 --> 00:37:47,728
Everything is made
of individual pixels,
749
00:37:47,729 --> 00:37:50,197
which means the universe has
a finite number of components,
750
00:37:50,198 --> 00:37:52,833
which means it has
a finite number of states,
751
00:37:52,834 --> 00:37:54,635
which means it's computable.
752
00:37:54,636 --> 00:37:57,238
Quantum mechanics means
753
00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,740
it's possible
everything we see
754
00:37:59,741 --> 00:38:01,575
could really be produced
755
00:38:01,576 --> 00:38:04,745
by lines of code
inside a powerful computer.
756
00:38:04,746 --> 00:38:06,614
But are there any signs
757
00:38:06,615 --> 00:38:09,183
the universe is
actually being computed?
758
00:38:11,053 --> 00:38:13,187
In the physics lab at Caltech,
759
00:38:13,188 --> 00:38:16,524
an experiment
that's now almost 100 years old
760
00:38:16,525 --> 00:38:20,261
offers a vital clue.
761
00:38:20,262 --> 00:38:23,030
We're in a small room
at the physics lab at Caltech,
762
00:38:23,031 --> 00:38:26,667
looking at an experiment that
was originally done in 1928.
763
00:38:26,668 --> 00:38:29,670
This experiment takes
an electron beam
764
00:38:29,671 --> 00:38:31,405
and transmits it
through a piece of graphite.
765
00:38:31,406 --> 00:38:33,941
And what we're looking at
is the electrons
766
00:38:33,942 --> 00:38:35,376
kind of going through
the graphite
767
00:38:35,377 --> 00:38:36,977
and forming this
kind of diffuse blob.
768
00:38:36,978 --> 00:38:38,779
Now, an interesting thing is,
769
00:38:38,780 --> 00:38:41,349
when we focus the beam
on the graphite,
770
00:38:41,350 --> 00:38:45,319
we find a very,
very interesting pattern.
771
00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:48,956
The experiment consists of a gun
772
00:38:48,957 --> 00:38:52,727
which fires electrons
at a target of graphite atoms
773
00:38:52,728 --> 00:38:54,295
and a collecting screen
774
00:38:54,296 --> 00:38:56,897
to record
how they ricocheted off it.
775
00:38:56,898 --> 00:39:00,434
If this apparatus
was scaled up a billion times
776
00:39:00,435 --> 00:39:02,303
and the gun fired real bullets,
777
00:39:02,304 --> 00:39:04,538
the pattern
on the collecting screen
778
00:39:04,539 --> 00:39:07,575
would just be a random smear
of bullet holes.
779
00:39:07,576 --> 00:39:11,178
But in the scaled-down
subatomic world,
780
00:39:11,179 --> 00:39:14,081
the electron ricochets
are not random.
781
00:39:14,082 --> 00:39:15,916
The pattern on the screen
782
00:39:15,917 --> 00:39:19,186
reflects the pattern of atoms
in the target.
783
00:39:19,187 --> 00:39:21,288
Each electron seems to sense
784
00:39:21,289 --> 00:39:24,125
where every atom
in the graphite is,
785
00:39:24,126 --> 00:39:26,894
even though the target
is much bigger than it.
786
00:39:26,895 --> 00:39:32,099
It's as if the electrons
are not dots, but spread out.
787
00:39:32,100 --> 00:39:34,735
The electrons somehow
know where all the atoms are,
788
00:39:34,736 --> 00:39:37,204
and they form
this diffraction pattern.
789
00:39:37,205 --> 00:39:40,574
The experiment shows something
really rather extraordinary,
790
00:39:40,575 --> 00:39:41,842
and that is that matter,
791
00:39:41,843 --> 00:39:44,078
even though it behaves
when you're looking at it,
792
00:39:44,079 --> 00:39:46,447
when you're measuring it,
as individual particles,
793
00:39:46,448 --> 00:39:49,216
when you're not measuring it,
matter is diffuse.
794
00:39:49,217 --> 00:39:50,551
It spreads out.
795
00:39:50,552 --> 00:39:53,788
It doesn't have a finite form
in the universe.
796
00:39:53,789 --> 00:39:57,425
These basic rules
of quantum mechanics
797
00:39:57,426 --> 00:40:00,494
apply to all
tiny subatomic particles.
798
00:40:00,495 --> 00:40:03,864
When we look at them,
they are just dots.
799
00:40:03,865 --> 00:40:08,135
When we look away,
they lose their physical form.
800
00:40:08,136 --> 00:40:10,838
A different way of looking
at that is to say,
801
00:40:10,839 --> 00:40:13,007
well, how parallel
is this behavior
802
00:40:13,008 --> 00:40:15,209
with what I see
in my playstation 3
803
00:40:15,210 --> 00:40:17,545
when I'm playing a video game?
804
00:40:17,546 --> 00:40:21,749
In a playstation 3,
an example of that is "Simcity."
805
00:40:21,750 --> 00:40:23,417
It's an enormous city.
806
00:40:23,418 --> 00:40:25,753
I can navigate my way
through every bit of it
807
00:40:25,754 --> 00:40:28,989
because the playstation,
the video game,
808
00:40:28,990 --> 00:40:31,692
gives me the frame that I need
when I'm looking there.
809
00:40:31,693 --> 00:40:34,228
If I look somewhere else,
it'll create that frame.
810
00:40:34,229 --> 00:40:38,666
Well, oddly enough, the universe
behaves that way in reality.
811
00:40:38,667 --> 00:40:40,534
The universe gives you
what you're looking at
812
00:40:40,535 --> 00:40:42,236
when you're looking at it.
813
00:40:42,237 --> 00:40:45,306
When you're not looking at it,
it's not necessarily there.
814
00:40:45,307 --> 00:40:47,374
Our world is pixilated
815
00:40:47,375 --> 00:40:51,078
and only assumes definite form
when observed,
816
00:40:51,079 --> 00:40:56,417
the very same way
our computer simulations behave.
817
00:40:56,418 --> 00:40:59,353
Rich Terrile has tried
to work out the probability
818
00:40:59,354 --> 00:41:02,890
that we might be living
in a simulation
819
00:41:02,891 --> 00:41:06,660
to quantify the possibility
that there is a God.
820
00:41:06,661 --> 00:41:10,498
The question is how likely is
something like that to happen?
821
00:41:10,499 --> 00:41:12,533
And how likely is it
822
00:41:12,534 --> 00:41:14,134
that it has already happened
in our universe?
823
00:41:16,605 --> 00:41:19,373
Now, let's step back
from that a little bit and say,
824
00:41:19,374 --> 00:41:21,775
well, you know, the universe
is 13.7 billion years old,
825
00:41:21,776 --> 00:41:23,544
and here I am 50 years
826
00:41:23,545 --> 00:41:28,082
from basically being able
to manufacture God.
827
00:41:28,083 --> 00:41:29,717
What's the probability
828
00:41:29,718 --> 00:41:32,786
that I would be so close
to that threshold
829
00:41:32,787 --> 00:41:34,455
and not be across
the other side?
830
00:41:34,456 --> 00:41:37,124
It's one chance in 300 million
that I would be that close.
831
00:41:37,125 --> 00:41:39,193
It's an extraordinary
coincidence.
832
00:41:39,194 --> 00:41:42,196
And, perhaps,
more likely than not,
833
00:41:42,197 --> 00:41:46,467
maybe we are a simulation on
the other side of that threshold
834
00:41:46,468 --> 00:41:50,509
and the deities that exist
are our future selves.
835
00:41:52,270 --> 00:41:56,590
Our world bears all the hallmarks
of one that is smiulated.
836
00:41:57,458 --> 00:41:59,578
And Rich's logic continues.
837
00:41:59,688 --> 00:42:04,708
Who would be more likely to simulate
humans than humans from the future.
838
00:42:05,818 --> 00:42:07,138
Our descendants.
839
00:42:07,941 --> 00:42:11,661
God-like beings with the power
to create their own universes.
840
00:42:13,484 --> 00:42:16,404
It's a very radical idea
of the Creator.
841
00:42:17,114 --> 00:42:20,734
But for Rich, it's not
without spirituality.
842
00:42:22,944 --> 00:42:24,144
One can ask,
"what are you really saying?"
843
00:42:24,154 --> 00:42:26,354
Are you saying the world
was a simulation
844
00:42:26,364 --> 00:42:30,384
and we're just entities in some
Playstation 12 game,
845
00:42:30,394 --> 00:42:31,794
or something like that.
846
00:42:32,471 --> 00:42:34,791
I'm not saying that, I actually, uh
847
00:42:35,301 --> 00:42:38,221
think this is a very, very
wonderful phenonom
848
00:42:38,231 --> 00:42:39,951
I take great solice in this.
849
00:42:40,403 --> 00:42:44,703
It shows that somewhere along the line
we have evloved from nothing
850
00:42:44,713 --> 00:42:45,933
into self-awareness.
851
00:42:45,943 --> 00:42:48,643
And that self-awareness has
reached the stage now
852
00:42:48,653 --> 00:42:51,873
where we, our future selves
have become Gods.
853
00:42:52,843 --> 00:42:56,463
This is a wonderful. Uh, to me
a very, very spirtual thing
854
00:42:56,473 --> 00:42:58,093
And that's where my
spirtuality comes from.
855
00:42:58,103 --> 00:43:01,123
in seeing things like that.
To me that's a religion.
856
00:43:04,188 --> 00:43:07,508
It's been said that God fills in
the cracks in our knowledge.
857
00:43:08,618 --> 00:43:10,738
Some see these cracks getting smaller.
858
00:43:10,748 --> 00:43:12,868
We see that constantly in physics
859
00:43:12,878 --> 00:43:14,698
that we start out with something
860
00:43:14,708 --> 00:43:17,008
that looks complex and as
we look at it's parts
861
00:43:17,018 --> 00:43:18,138
it's parts are simplier.
862
00:43:18,248 --> 00:43:23,168
Now, if you imagine some sort of
Creator, that assumes that there's
863
00:43:23,178 --> 00:43:27,098
more complicated than the thing
that got created.
864
00:43:27,208 --> 00:43:29,228
So to me that's a step backwards
865
00:43:29,238 --> 00:43:33,058
in explaining a philosophically
satisfying model.
866
00:43:33,506 --> 00:43:36,006
For others the expansion
of scientific knowledge
867
00:43:36,016 --> 00:43:37,936
will never fill in all the cracks.
868
00:43:37,946 --> 00:43:40,166
There always will be room for faith.
869
00:43:41,336 --> 00:43:44,356
Be it in a Creator with our descendant
870
00:43:44,366 --> 00:43:47,086
or in the Gods of our ancestors.
871
00:43:47,996 --> 00:43:50,816
I think that the questions that
arise from science
872
00:43:50,826 --> 00:43:54,946
they give us some sort of
notion that Jesus is a God.
873
00:43:54,956 --> 00:43:58,356
But they leave many other questions
about God unresolved.
874
00:43:58,496 --> 00:44:02,716
And we also, I think are bound
to recognize that we finite beings
875
00:44:02,726 --> 00:44:05,146
will never totally understand God
876
00:44:08,856 --> 00:44:12,176
The human instinct that drives our
scientific curiosity
877
00:44:12,186 --> 00:44:15,306
won't stop us from searching
for answers.
878
00:44:16,216 --> 00:44:19,536
Perhaps one day soon,
science will provide us with
879
00:44:19,546 --> 00:44:23,066
to look up and out through
the cosmic pane of glass
880
00:44:23,076 --> 00:44:27,196
that separates us from the true
Creator of our World.
881
00:44:28,406 --> 00:44:29,626
If there is one?
882
00:44:29,719 --> 00:44:32,919
-- sync, corrected by elderman --
-- for www.addic7ed.Com --
70175
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