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We search the heavens
for signs of intelligent life.
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00:00:07,666 --> 00:00:09,967
But what would we
do if we found it?
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00:00:10,432 --> 00:00:12,833
Are we ready
for first contact?
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00:00:12,967 --> 00:00:16,399
Would we be smart enough to even know
if someone was sending us a message?
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00:00:18,332 --> 00:00:21,332
We've only been able to detect
radio signals for a little over a century.
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00:00:22,332 --> 00:00:24,800
Extraterrestrial civilizations
could have been bombarding
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00:00:24,934 --> 00:00:28,567
Earth with radio signals for millions
and billions of years before then,
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00:00:29,966 --> 00:00:32,966
and nobody here would have had
any inkling that it had ever happened.
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00:00:34,299 --> 00:00:36,432
And what if we seem
just like ants to them.
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00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,567
We all know
how we treat ants.
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00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,299
What if the extraterrestrials
are smarter than we are,
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00:00:44,432 --> 00:00:48,165
have technology, weapons
that render us helpless?
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00:00:48,299 --> 00:00:51,633
The history of first contact
among terrestrial civilizations,
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00:00:51,767 --> 00:00:53,567
the humans of east and west,
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00:00:53,700 --> 00:00:57,633
north and south,
has been scarred by genocide.
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00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:00,567
In all of the cosmos,
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00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:04,000
is there such a thing as a first contact story
with a happy ending?
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00:01:05,567 --> 00:01:07,733
I know of one
first contact story,
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00:01:07,867 --> 00:01:10,367
but it's too soon to
know how it will turn out...
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This scientific and
architectural wonder of the
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00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,900
world is in Southern China,
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00:02:52,567 --> 00:02:55,734
it's the largest
radio telescope on Earth,
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00:02:55,866 --> 00:02:59,265
in fact it's the largest
telescope of any kind.
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00:03:00,099 --> 00:03:03,400
The Five-Hundred Meter Aperture
Spherical Radio Telescope,
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00:03:03,532 --> 00:03:05,532
or FAST, as it's known.
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00:03:05,667 --> 00:03:09,699
This dish is a giant listening
device for detecting radio waves
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00:03:09,834 --> 00:03:12,900
that propagate
throughout the cosmos.
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00:03:13,032 --> 00:03:15,800
The mission of this telescope
is to solve unanswered questions
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00:03:15,933 --> 00:03:17,366
about the origin
of the universe,
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00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:19,766
and its early history.
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00:03:21,933 --> 00:03:24,000
It will also
search for pulsars,
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00:03:24,133 --> 00:03:26,667
those rapidly
rotating neutron stars,
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00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,667
and for telltale signs
of gravitational waves,
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00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,933
ripples in the
fabric of space-time...
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00:03:33,165 --> 00:03:36,567
And it will search for
signs of alien civilizations.
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Especially
those very far away...
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00:03:40,332 --> 00:03:42,599
I want to take you to
a place where we've begun to
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eavesdrop on an intricate
global communications network.
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00:03:46,599 --> 00:03:49,000
We didn't even know it
existed until recently.
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00:03:49,133 --> 00:03:52,432
Complex beyond
our wildest imagining,
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00:03:52,567 --> 00:03:54,366
it was built by a
community whose population
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00:03:54,332 --> 00:03:56,900
is inconceivably vast.
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00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,366
Our distant ancestors,
tiny shrew-like animals,
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00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:12,000
came of age in places not
too different from this one.
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Forests.
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Maybe they knew what we've
only recently discovered.
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00:04:18,165 --> 00:04:21,033
The secret life of this
place is filled with drama,
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00:04:21,165 --> 00:04:23,533
abuzz with conversation.
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00:04:23,667 --> 00:04:26,766
Much of it is spoken in
an electrochemical language,
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00:04:26,899 --> 00:04:28,934
and it takes place
on a scale too small,
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00:04:29,065 --> 00:04:30,934
and in motion too slow,
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00:04:31,065 --> 00:04:33,834
for creatures
like us to even notice.
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00:04:34,266 --> 00:04:36,466
But there's something even
more amazing that was going
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00:04:36,100 --> 00:04:39,300
on right beneath our feet,
for the longest time,
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00:04:39,432 --> 00:04:41,432
and on a global scale,
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and we had no inkling
that it was there.
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00:04:45,233 --> 00:04:48,432
An ancient,
subterranean worldwide web,
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00:04:48,567 --> 00:04:51,567
a vast neural network is
what binds the forest together,
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00:04:52,834 --> 00:04:54,300
making it an
intercommunicating,
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00:04:54,432 --> 00:04:57,100
and interacting dynamic organism.
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One with agency, and the power
to influence events above ground.
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00:05:03,165 --> 00:05:06,033
It's called the mycelium.
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00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,033
It's a hidden matrix,
the creation of an enduring
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00:05:25,165 --> 00:05:28,899
collaboration among fungi,
plants, bacteria, and animals.
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00:05:30,399 --> 00:05:33,533
90% of all the trees and
plants on Earth are involved
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in the mutually
beneficial relationship made
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possible by the mycelium.
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00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:41,300
They exchange
nourishment, messages,
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00:05:41,432 --> 00:05:44,000
and empathy with one
another, across species,
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00:05:44,132 --> 00:05:46,332
and even across
the kingdoms of life.
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00:05:47,733 --> 00:05:50,600
Mushrooms are the
reproductive organs,
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00:05:50,733 --> 00:05:53,233
the fruiting
bodies of the mycelium.
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00:05:54,399 --> 00:05:57,100
To see a mushroom growing
wild in the forest is to know
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00:05:57,233 --> 00:06:02,500
that the great natural Internet
is online beneath your feet.
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00:06:08,367 --> 00:06:11,766
Some mushrooms spread trillions
of spores on the breeze,
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00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,899
each spore a paratrooper
carrying life's message.
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This is mushroom sex.
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00:06:22,367 --> 00:06:24,432
After a while, in
their search for moisture,
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00:06:24,567 --> 00:06:27,699
this new segment of the
mycelium will return down
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00:06:27,834 --> 00:06:31,000
to the underworld, and
link up to the greater network.
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00:06:34,367 --> 00:06:37,632
The secret lives of trees
have been long-hidden from us.
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00:06:39,266 --> 00:06:43,100
For them, the mycelium is
their lifeline to one another.
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00:06:43,233 --> 00:06:46,066
It makes the
forest a community.
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00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:47,600
They use it to parent,
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00:06:47,733 --> 00:06:49,899
to nurture each other
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00:07:00,065 --> 00:07:03,132
and even to devise a
stay of execution,
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00:07:03,266 --> 00:07:05,600
a reprieve from the axe.
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00:07:05,733 --> 00:07:07,666
When a tree is
cut down in the forest,
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00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,600
other trees reach out to
the victim with their root tips,
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00:07:10,733 --> 00:07:14,300
and send lifesaving
sustenance, water, sugar,
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00:07:14,432 --> 00:07:17,600
and other
nutrients via the mycelium.
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00:07:17,733 --> 00:07:21,033
This continuous IV drip
from neighboring trees can
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00:07:21,165 --> 00:07:24,934
keep this stump alive for
decades, and even centuries.
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00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,332
And they don't only
do it for their own kind.
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00:07:29,466 --> 00:07:32,466
They do it for the
trees of other species.
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Why?
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Is it because they know
that their lives depend on
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00:07:36,300 --> 00:07:38,332
the health of the whole forest,
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00:07:38,466 --> 00:07:41,567
and even on beings very
different from themselves?
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00:07:42,100 --> 00:07:45,966
Is it possible that the trees
can think in longer terms than we do?
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00:07:47,733 --> 00:07:51,699
We know they have
excellent parenting skills.
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Take this fir tree.
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00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:57,466
This younger tree
here is its offspring,
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00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,065
and it requires
constant attention.
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00:08:00,199 --> 00:08:03,600
It's hardly young by
our standards, 60 years old.
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00:08:04,266 --> 00:08:06,800
But young trees don't know that
if they grow up too quickly,
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00:08:06,934 --> 00:08:09,867
there will be too much air
in the cells of their trunks.
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00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,033
Later, when the stormy
winds and predators come,
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00:08:13,165 --> 00:08:15,233
they'll be weak
and vulnerable.
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00:08:15,367 --> 00:08:17,132
Like the young
of other kingdoms,
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00:08:17,266 --> 00:08:21,132
the fir wants to grow into
the light as soon as possible.
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00:08:21,266 --> 00:08:23,667
But the mother fir shades
it with her branches so that
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00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,165
it cannot binge on sunlight,
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00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:28,934
and grow up too
fast for its own good.
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00:08:35,866 --> 00:08:39,165
How many forests have I
been in without any awareness
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00:08:39,299 --> 00:08:42,432
of what was really
happening all around me?
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Who are we to search for alien intelligence
when we can't even recognize,
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00:08:49,633 --> 00:08:53,200
or respect, the
consciousness all around us,
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00:08:53,332 --> 00:08:56,232
and even beneath our feet?
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00:09:03,933 --> 00:09:07,700
This stately maple
senses that the tiny caterpillar
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00:09:07,833 --> 00:09:09,799
is nipping at its leaf.
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00:09:09,933 --> 00:09:11,933
A signal is sent
through the tree,
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00:09:12,066 --> 00:09:14,299
just as it would go
through our own nervous system.
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00:09:14,432 --> 00:09:16,966
But not nearly so fast.
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00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:21,133
Again, the trees live
on a much slower time scale.
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00:09:21,265 --> 00:09:26,133
The speed of "ouch"
for a tree is only an inch,
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00:09:26,265 --> 00:09:30,265
every three minutes.
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00:09:33,232 --> 00:09:36,299
So, it will take at least
an hour for the tree to react
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00:09:36,432 --> 00:09:40,466
by generating the chemical
that will chase this pest away.
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00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,399
When a predator strikes,
the first thing a tree does
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00:09:43,533 --> 00:09:47,366
is to take a saliva sample in order to sequence
the DNA of the invading species.
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00:09:48,567 --> 00:09:50,933
It then tailors its chemical
response to the special
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vulnerability of its enemy.
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00:09:53,734 --> 00:09:57,299
In certain cases, it releases
the precise pheromone that
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00:09:57,432 --> 00:10:01,100
will attract its enemy's enemy
to do the tree's fighting for it.
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00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,600
Is it fair to say that the
trees have a deep knowledge
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00:10:05,734 --> 00:10:08,799
of chemistry, entomology,
and other earth sciences?
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00:10:10,265 --> 00:10:14,133
How exactly is their
knowing different from ours?
139
00:10:23,933 --> 00:10:28,299
Is it any different when
we humans do these things?
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00:10:47,265 --> 00:10:49,933
Throughout nature,
we find these electrochemical
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00:10:50,066 --> 00:10:52,533
conversations between the
life-forms of different
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00:10:52,667 --> 00:10:54,734
species and kingdoms.
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00:10:54,866 --> 00:10:58,667
But what of a conversation
between different worlds?
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00:10:58,799 --> 00:11:03,000
What might we share with the intelligent
civilization of another world?
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00:11:03,133 --> 00:11:05,933
Science and mathematics.
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00:11:06,066 --> 00:11:08,306
The symbolic languages of
the scientist, mathematician,
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00:11:08,432 --> 00:11:10,966
and the engineer avoid
those things that are lost
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00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:14,033
in translation from
one culture to another.
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00:11:14,166 --> 00:11:17,432
Symbolic languages, including
those used in programming,
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00:11:17,567 --> 00:11:20,933
have a much higher degree
of precision than words do.
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00:11:21,066 --> 00:11:24,133
They are not as open
to misinterpretation.
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00:11:32,767 --> 00:11:36,265
I know of only one
nonhuman symbolic language,
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and only one instance when
we humans made contact with
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the life-form that uses it.
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00:11:42,432 --> 00:11:46,633
Their knowledge of astronomy
and mathematics would astonish most of us.
156
00:11:46,767 --> 00:11:50,033
Their commitment to resolving
their differences democratically,
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00:11:50,165 --> 00:11:53,366
and reaching the broadest possible
consensus through debate,
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is unparalleled by any
human society that I know.
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00:11:58,066 --> 00:12:00,000
Tens of millions
of years ago,
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00:12:00,133 --> 00:12:02,200
they had been carnivores,
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00:12:02,332 --> 00:12:06,000
but they gave that
up to become vegans.
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00:12:06,399 --> 00:12:07,966
It changed their world,
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00:12:08,100 --> 00:12:11,700
and resulted in surpassing
beauty wherever they wandered.
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00:12:12,332 --> 00:12:15,667
They are explorers who
use their symbolic language
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00:12:15,799 --> 00:12:19,366
to tell each other about the things
they have discovered on their travels.
166
00:12:23,633 --> 00:12:26,966
This is their night sky.
167
00:12:30,734 --> 00:12:35,033
I want to tell you their story.
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00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,432
This is the shore
of the Panthalassic Ocean,
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00:12:49,567 --> 00:12:52,834
a sea that covered Earth's
entire Northern Hemisphere
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in a period
named the Ordovician.
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00:12:56,667 --> 00:13:00,000
We've compressed all of
the time from this very second,
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00:13:00,133 --> 00:13:02,166
back to the
beginning of the universe,
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00:13:02,299 --> 00:13:06,265
into a single calendar
Earth year, a Cosmic Calendar.
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00:13:07,799 --> 00:13:10,966
Every month represents
a little more than a billion years.
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00:13:11,265 --> 00:13:14,299
Every week,
nearly 300 million years.
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Every day,
about 40 million years.
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00:13:17,866 --> 00:13:21,767
The Big Bang is the first moment
of New Year's Day.
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00:13:21,899 --> 00:13:25,166
Our present, right now,
is at the stroke of midnight on
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00:13:25,299 --> 00:13:27,933
New Year's Eve.
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00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,734
I'm standing on the morning
of December 20th on the Cosmic Calendar,
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00:13:32,767 --> 00:13:36,000
480 million years
ago in Earth's history.
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00:13:36,767 --> 00:13:40,734
This was the time when
life began to diversify.
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00:13:41,799 --> 00:13:44,700
It's remembered as the
Great Ordovician Biodiversity Event.
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00:13:46,100 --> 00:13:49,133
It came 40 million years
after life's first big leap
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00:13:49,265 --> 00:13:52,567
into diversification known
as the Cambrian explosion.
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00:13:53,799 --> 00:13:57,165
This was the dawn
of the arthropods,
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00:13:57,299 --> 00:14:00,667
the invertebrates who wear
their skeletons on the outside,
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00:14:00,799 --> 00:14:02,734
instead of on the inside,
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00:14:02,866 --> 00:14:05,734
as we would one day do
hundreds of millions of years later.
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00:14:06,833 --> 00:14:09,866
The arthropods of the
Ordovician pioneered the most
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00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,299
successful body plan
ever evolved by life.
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00:14:14,734 --> 00:14:19,100
Even today, more than 80% of all living
animals are arthropods.
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00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,466
But around the time the
plants began to venture out
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00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,432
of the waters, a
crustacean staggered ashore,
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00:14:28,567 --> 00:14:31,332
and made a home in the
new world of the land.
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00:14:34,133 --> 00:14:37,100
Insects evolved
from the crustaceans.
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00:14:37,966 --> 00:14:40,899
A thought I do my best to
hold at bay whenever I'm dining
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00:14:41,033 --> 00:14:43,200
in a seafood restaurant.
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00:14:45,866 --> 00:14:48,399
We think that the insects
and the plants colonized
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00:14:48,533 --> 00:14:53,100
the land at about the same time,
400 million years ago,
201
00:14:54,332 --> 00:14:57,899
or December 21 on
the Cosmic Calendar.
202
00:14:58,567 --> 00:15:02,066
This was a time when giant
mushrooms towered over the world's trees,
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00:15:03,232 --> 00:15:05,933
which were then no
more than a few feet high.
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00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:13,700
Mushrooms this gigantic
make you wonder just how big
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00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:16,734
the underground network that
supported them must have been.
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00:15:22,533 --> 00:15:26,000
And this was the time on Earth
when life learned how to fly.
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00:15:40,567 --> 00:15:44,567
The insects would have it all to themselves
for another 90 million years.
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00:15:46,232 --> 00:15:49,332
No flying reptiles, no birds,
no bats to gobble them up,
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00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,200
just other bugs.
210
00:15:55,734 --> 00:15:59,667
Powered flight was a huge
evolutionary leap for insects,
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00:15:59,799 --> 00:16:02,767
allowing them to
spread all over the planet.
212
00:16:03,366 --> 00:16:06,100
The insects put
human pretensions to shame.
213
00:16:07,133 --> 00:16:09,933
Their tenure on Earth is hundreds
of times greater than ours.
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00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:14,033
They look much
the same to us today,
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00:16:14,166 --> 00:16:17,100
as they did to the dinosaurs
in the late Cretaceous.
216
00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:21,533
Even back then, you
didn't want to mess with a wasp.
217
00:16:22,332 --> 00:16:25,133
They've always
been voracious hunters.
218
00:16:29,567 --> 00:16:34,100
Yes, there were giant redwoods on the Earth
240 million years ago.
219
00:16:46,100 --> 00:16:50,066
That wasp is out
hunting for food for her young.
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00:17:07,799 --> 00:17:11,532
Wasps did their thing
for another 100 million years.
221
00:17:11,666 --> 00:17:15,366
And then, something happened
on an almost microscopic scale
222
00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:19,032
that would paint the Earth in
a whole new spectrum of colors.
223
00:17:20,666 --> 00:17:24,066
Back then, there was no such
thing as an animal partner to
224
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,599
aid the plants in
their fertilization,
225
00:17:26,733 --> 00:17:29,500
to efficiently transport
their seed to the reproductive
226
00:17:29,633 --> 00:17:32,599
organs of distant
plants, in other words,
227
00:17:32,733 --> 00:17:35,200
to play cupid for them.
228
00:17:38,532 --> 00:17:41,266
The drama unfolding here
is not the struggle between
229
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,400
the spider and the wasp,
230
00:17:43,532 --> 00:17:47,000
it's those tiny particles
sticking to the wasp's legs.
231
00:17:47,133 --> 00:17:50,532
Nothing much to look
at, just a few grains,
232
00:17:50,666 --> 00:17:54,299
but this magic
dust, called pollen,
233
00:17:54,432 --> 00:17:57,232
contained the power
to transform the world,
234
00:17:57,366 --> 00:17:59,432
and to make possible
some of the most beautiful
235
00:17:59,567 --> 00:18:02,933
sights ever seen
on this planet.
236
00:18:03,066 --> 00:18:06,266
Even today, more than
100 million years later,
237
00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,333
this is still true.
238
00:18:09,467 --> 00:18:13,432
Each grain of pollen sculpted
differently by evolution,
239
00:18:13,567 --> 00:18:16,500
each a novel
strategy for survival,
240
00:18:16,633 --> 00:18:20,066
sharpened by vast
expanses of time.
241
00:18:20,767 --> 00:18:22,666
Pollen is tough.
242
00:18:22,799 --> 00:18:24,266
It has to be.
243
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,000
It's so well-built that
you can fire it from a gun,
244
00:18:28,133 --> 00:18:31,733
and it will emerge unscathed
with its identity fully intact.
245
00:18:33,299 --> 00:18:35,900
The wasps had nurtured their
young during their helpless,
246
00:18:36,032 --> 00:18:39,834
larval stage by bringing
home game for them to feast on.
247
00:18:40,099 --> 00:18:43,099
The pollen was
rich in protein,
248
00:18:43,232 --> 00:18:47,467
a meal for the grubs when
Mom came home without any kills.
249
00:18:48,232 --> 00:18:51,532
Over the eons, a new
kind of life-form evolved,
250
00:18:51,666 --> 00:18:54,532
one that stopped bringing
meat home for dinner.
251
00:18:54,666 --> 00:18:58,500
This new creature brought
only the magic dust that the flowers made.
252
00:19:01,733 --> 00:19:02,733
Bees.
253
00:19:03,299 --> 00:19:06,599
They had no appetite for the
mangled parts of dead insects.
254
00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,133
They went on the all-pollen
diet, and it was no fad.
255
00:19:11,266 --> 00:19:15,200
The bees became fully
committed pollinators.
256
00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:18,066
The plants rewarded
them handsomely by evolving
257
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,834
evermore alluring
female sexual organs,
258
00:19:21,967 --> 00:19:24,866
in outrageous colors
and seductive forms.
259
00:19:26,333 --> 00:19:29,866
They concocted delicious
secretions, sweet nectars,
260
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,299
that would keep the
bees coming back for more,
261
00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:37,066
again and again.
262
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:42,500
The Age of the Flowers
had begun.
263
00:19:51,299 --> 00:19:53,967
Bees are masters of time,
264
00:19:54,099 --> 00:19:56,866
traveling across
100 million years,
265
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,266
and they are
none the worse for wear.
266
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,700
These beings did more
than anyone else to fill the
267
00:20:02,834 --> 00:20:06,066
Palace of Life with
sustenance and beauty.
268
00:20:08,266 --> 00:20:13,532
We will explore its treasures
and mysteries later on our voyage.
269
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:20,733
For thousands of years,
270
00:20:20,866 --> 00:20:24,165
bees have been
symbols of mindless industry.
271
00:20:24,299 --> 00:20:26,220
We always think of them
as being something like
272
00:20:26,066 --> 00:20:30,567
biological robots, doomed to live out
their lives in lockstep,
273
00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:34,000
shackled to the dreary roles
assigned to them by nature.
274
00:20:35,232 --> 00:20:38,432
This is our
first contact story.
275
00:20:38,567 --> 00:20:42,232
It happened in a place called
Brunnwinkl in rural Austria,
276
00:20:42,366 --> 00:20:45,200
in the early 1900s.
277
00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:52,099
From the time
Karl von Frisch was a child,
278
00:20:52,232 --> 00:20:55,165
he longed to understand
what the other animals knew,
279
00:20:55,299 --> 00:20:57,799
how they perceived the world.
280
00:20:57,933 --> 00:21:00,532
He wanted to know
if tiny fish saw color,
281
00:21:00,666 --> 00:21:02,767
or had a sense of smell.
282
00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:05,866
He invented experiments
to explore animal experience,
283
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,133
and he filmed them.
284
00:21:08,266 --> 00:21:10,467
Starting in the
early 20th century,
285
00:21:10,599 --> 00:21:13,432
he was the first to use
the new medium of motion pictures
286
00:21:13,567 --> 00:21:16,900
to create popular science
entertainment and communication.
287
00:21:18,666 --> 00:21:20,232
For thousands of years,
288
00:21:20,366 --> 00:21:23,866
humans have noted the
eccentric dances of the bees.
289
00:21:24,733 --> 00:21:27,134
But no one had ever looked at
them with the kind of respect
290
00:21:27,133 --> 00:21:29,933
that assumed there was
a reason to their dancing.
291
00:21:30,799 --> 00:21:32,633
Before Karl von Frisch,
292
00:21:32,767 --> 00:21:35,532
no one ever thought to ask
why they moved this way and
293
00:21:35,666 --> 00:21:38,532
that way in a succession
of elaborate figure eights...
294
00:21:39,967 --> 00:21:43,133
Von Frisch studied
every tiny bee gesture,
295
00:21:43,266 --> 00:21:46,099
and became fascinated by
a mystery he couldn't explain.
296
00:21:47,799 --> 00:21:50,032
He would set out a dish
of sugar water for a bee from
297
00:21:50,165 --> 00:21:53,133
his experimental hive.
298
00:21:53,666 --> 00:21:56,232
The bee would feast upon
it before flying back home.
299
00:21:59,532 --> 00:22:01,933
The marked bee would
later return to dine on
300
00:22:02,066 --> 00:22:04,366
the delicious sugar water.
301
00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:07,232
Von Frisch noted
that in just a few hours,
302
00:22:07,366 --> 00:22:09,733
a multitude of other
bees would join her there.
303
00:22:12,232 --> 00:22:15,799
They were always
her fellow hive mates.
304
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,099
But here was the
really amazing thing,
305
00:22:19,232 --> 00:22:21,432
von Frisch knew that
the other bees had not
306
00:22:21,567 --> 00:22:24,200
followed the marked
bee to the feeding place.
307
00:22:24,333 --> 00:22:25,133
How?
308
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,967
Because he had the hive
closely watched at all times.
309
00:22:29,099 --> 00:22:31,900
He had been careful to use
sugar water, and not honey,
310
00:22:32,032 --> 00:22:35,432
so that the bees' sense of smell
could not guide them to the reward.
311
00:22:36,666 --> 00:22:39,733
He continued to move the dish
of sugar water farther away,
312
00:22:39,866 --> 00:22:42,700
until it was several
kilometers from the hive.
313
00:22:42,834 --> 00:22:46,834
Still, the hive mates
would find their way to it.
314
00:22:46,967 --> 00:22:49,700
So, how did the painted
bee reveal the exact location
315
00:22:49,834 --> 00:22:52,666
of the sugar water with such
precision that her hive mates
316
00:22:52,799 --> 00:22:55,432
could unerringly
find their way there?
317
00:22:58,366 --> 00:23:01,733
There was a secret
message in her choreography.
318
00:23:02,666 --> 00:23:05,567
What had seemed to countless
generations of observers
319
00:23:05,700 --> 00:23:07,567
to be nothing more
than the meaningless,
320
00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:12,266
spasmodic motions of a dumb animal
was actually a complex message,
321
00:23:13,633 --> 00:23:17,366
an equation informed
by mathematics, astronomy,
322
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:20,400
and an acute
knowledge of time,
323
00:23:20,532 --> 00:23:23,500
all synthesized to convey
the location of the riches
324
00:23:24,266 --> 00:23:26,799
she hoped to
share with her sisters.
325
00:23:30,032 --> 00:23:33,599
The dancer used the
angle of our star, the sun,
326
00:23:33,733 --> 00:23:36,467
to indicate the general direction
of the food's location.
327
00:23:40,567 --> 00:23:43,733
Von Frisch noted that when
a bee danced straight upward,
328
00:23:43,866 --> 00:23:46,366
she meant,
"fly toward the sun."
329
00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:49,366
And when she moved downward,
she meant, "fly away from it."
330
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,799
Her swivels left and right conveyed
the food's exact coordinates in space,
331
00:23:55,467 --> 00:23:57,733
sometimes kilometers away.
332
00:24:05,099 --> 00:24:07,767
The duration of her dance, down
to a fraction of a second,
333
00:24:09,165 --> 00:24:12,432
indicated the length of time it would
take her fellow bees to get there.
334
00:24:16,232 --> 00:24:19,967
She even factored in wind speed to more
finely calibrate the message she danced.
335
00:24:23,834 --> 00:24:26,500
And this was true at
any time of the year,
336
00:24:26,633 --> 00:24:30,333
and from hive to hive,
from continent to continent.
337
00:24:33,165 --> 00:24:36,532
Bees can do the math.
338
00:24:42,133 --> 00:24:45,400
Why do I call this
a first contact story?
339
00:24:45,532 --> 00:24:49,000
Two species as different
as any you can imagine,
340
00:24:49,133 --> 00:24:52,967
humans and bees, evolved
on evolutionary pathways that
341
00:24:53,099 --> 00:24:55,733
diverged 600
million years ago.
342
00:24:57,165 --> 00:25:00,967
And yet, these two
species and as far as we know,
343
00:25:01,099 --> 00:25:03,599
only they and
we on this planet,
344
00:25:03,733 --> 00:25:06,066
managed to create a
symbolic language written
345
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,200
in mathematics and science.
346
00:25:09,333 --> 00:25:12,400
We lived side-by-side
with the bees for millennia,
347
00:25:12,532 --> 00:25:15,967
never dreaming of the complexity
of their communications.
348
00:25:16,099 --> 00:25:18,599
What we've learned about bee
society in the decades since
349
00:25:18,733 --> 00:25:22,500
von Frisch puts some of our loftiest human
aspirations to shame,
350
00:25:24,066 --> 00:25:29,400
and changes forever our idea
of intelligent life on Earth.
351
00:25:41,700 --> 00:25:44,532
We live in a time when
the world's democracies are
352
00:25:44,666 --> 00:25:47,133
even more fragile than ever.
353
00:25:47,266 --> 00:25:49,866
But there are places on
Earth where that's not true.
354
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,099
Where every
individual has a voice.
355
00:25:52,232 --> 00:25:54,400
Where corruption is unknown.
356
00:25:54,532 --> 00:25:57,066
Where the community
acts only when it has arrived
357
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,866
at consensus
through reason and debate.
358
00:26:01,834 --> 00:26:05,333
This is one of those places.
359
00:26:13,567 --> 00:26:18,133
Contrary to popular belief,
the hive is no monarchy.
360
00:26:18,266 --> 00:26:22,767
The queen is no absolute ruler
controlling the other bees.
361
00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:26,633
The queen's role is
almost entirely reproductive.
362
00:26:26,767 --> 00:26:30,900
Any female bee, and that's what
the vast majority of bees are,
363
00:26:31,032 --> 00:26:34,834
can ascend to the throne given
the right food and the space to grow.
364
00:26:36,099 --> 00:26:39,165
When the weather warms,
and the trees bloom,
365
00:26:39,299 --> 00:26:42,232
she graciously passes her scepter
to a new generation of queens.
366
00:26:44,532 --> 00:26:46,799
That's the time in
the life of a hive,
367
00:26:46,933 --> 00:26:49,032
in late spring
or early summer,
368
00:26:49,165 --> 00:26:52,532
when about half the hive's
bees, around 10,000 of them,
369
00:26:52,666 --> 00:26:54,933
grow restless.
370
00:26:55,066 --> 00:26:58,333
They decide it's time
to leave the mother hive,
371
00:26:58,467 --> 00:27:01,232
to found a new colony,
they know not where.
372
00:27:02,767 --> 00:27:05,567
Once they depart,
there's no turning back.
373
00:27:06,633 --> 00:27:09,333
It takes courage to
leave home with no way back,
374
00:27:09,467 --> 00:27:12,633
to risk everything,
and choose the unknown.
375
00:27:15,066 --> 00:27:18,133
That pushing and shoving
is not meant to be hostile.
376
00:27:18,266 --> 00:27:20,432
The workers are putting
the queen on a rigorous
377
00:27:20,567 --> 00:27:23,633
exercise program so
that she can lose weight,
378
00:27:23,767 --> 00:27:26,532
and get back
into flying shape.
379
00:27:26,666 --> 00:27:28,032
When everything's ready,
380
00:27:28,165 --> 00:27:31,432
it's time for the first
leg of their odyssey.
381
00:27:31,567 --> 00:27:34,400
It's time to swarm.
382
00:27:47,099 --> 00:27:50,799
With a new queen now installed
on her throne in the original hive,
383
00:27:50,933 --> 00:27:53,799
the old Queen Mother has
pride of place at the very
384
00:27:53,933 --> 00:27:57,299
center of the
swarm of adventurers.
385
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,799
Hundreds of their most
senior members, scouts,
386
00:28:02,933 --> 00:28:06,532
are dispatched on missions of reconnaissance
over a five kilometer radius.
387
00:28:08,866 --> 00:28:12,567
The scouts reconnoiter the local trees
for the best possible new home.
388
00:28:13,567 --> 00:28:15,900
And they're extremely picky.
389
00:28:16,032 --> 00:28:18,165
Not just any place will do.
390
00:28:18,299 --> 00:28:20,532
The front door,
a hollow in a tree,
391
00:28:20,666 --> 00:28:23,599
must be too high for
bears and other marauders to
392
00:28:23,733 --> 00:28:26,500
easily reach in and
plunder their precious honey.
393
00:28:27,567 --> 00:28:30,266
Total square footage
is of critical concern.
394
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,432
Honeybees don't hibernate.
395
00:28:32,567 --> 00:28:35,000
They'll have to heat the
place for the long winter,
396
00:28:35,133 --> 00:28:37,733
and be sure to
produce enough food, honey,
397
00:28:37,866 --> 00:28:40,066
to see them through.
398
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,000
Each scout must measure
the exact dimensions,
399
00:28:43,133 --> 00:28:45,767
height, width, and depth.
400
00:28:45,900 --> 00:28:49,066
If it's even slightly
too small, or too large,
401
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,232
the entire swarm will be wiped
out before the next spring.
402
00:28:55,299 --> 00:28:58,232
When all the scouts return,
the bees are ready to hold
403
00:28:58,366 --> 00:29:01,266
their annual convention.
404
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,099
Each scout finds a place
to stand on the swarm.
405
00:29:05,232 --> 00:29:07,967
There, she presents her
argument for the best site
406
00:29:08,099 --> 00:29:09,633
she has discovered.
407
00:29:09,767 --> 00:29:12,266
This house-hunting
discourse is conducted in
408
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:16,299
their scientific and
mathematical language.
409
00:29:16,432 --> 00:29:19,933
Hundreds of scouts now use
the waggle dance to advertise
410
00:29:20,066 --> 00:29:22,633
the home that they've found.
411
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,266
At first,
opinions vary widely,
412
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,866
as each advocate attracts
her share of followers.
413
00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:35,633
At our political conventions,
people routinely lie.
414
00:29:35,767 --> 00:29:38,633
They press our buttons,
demonizing, scapegoating,
415
00:29:38,767 --> 00:29:40,767
appealing to our fears.
416
00:29:40,900 --> 00:29:43,666
But the bees can't risk that.
417
00:29:43,799 --> 00:29:46,432
In both cases,
ours and theirs,
418
00:29:46,567 --> 00:29:49,967
the future depends on
seeing reality clearly.
419
00:29:50,099 --> 00:29:51,599
But for some reason,
420
00:29:51,733 --> 00:29:54,633
we are easily
manipulated and deceived.
421
00:29:54,767 --> 00:29:58,099
The bees somehow know that
they have to stick to the facts.
422
00:29:58,532 --> 00:30:00,165
They have to be accurate.
423
00:30:00,299 --> 00:30:02,232
They can't oversell.
424
00:30:02,366 --> 00:30:05,834
They act as if they understand
that it matters what's true.
425
00:30:05,967 --> 00:30:08,633
That nature won't be fooled.
426
00:30:09,599 --> 00:30:11,680
The scouts who have found
the optimum sites for the
427
00:30:11,733 --> 00:30:15,467
swarm's new home are the
most passionate waggle dancers.
428
00:30:17,099 --> 00:30:20,200
Close scientific observation
over many decades affirms
429
00:30:20,333 --> 00:30:22,432
this astonishing fact,
430
00:30:22,567 --> 00:30:26,400
each bee has a platonic
ideal of home in mind.
431
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,799
Moreover, the members
of the swarm don't take the
432
00:30:29,933 --> 00:30:33,432
testimony of the most
popular dancers on faith.
433
00:30:33,567 --> 00:30:36,467
Many of them go
to see for themselves.
434
00:30:36,599 --> 00:30:40,400
Skepticism is a
survival mechanism.
435
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,767
The fact-checkers fly
off to the site to make
436
00:30:43,900 --> 00:30:46,432
an independent evaluation.
437
00:30:46,567 --> 00:30:49,266
Just think for a minute
how articulate the waggle
438
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,933
dance messaging has to be.
439
00:30:52,299 --> 00:30:54,866
It's the coordinates
for one particular tree in
440
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,467
a whole forest of them.
441
00:30:57,599 --> 00:31:01,133
The scouts make a
beeline for it every time.
442
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,733
If the hollow turns out
to be as good as advertised,
443
00:31:04,866 --> 00:31:07,000
they will return to
the swarm, where they,
444
00:31:07,133 --> 00:31:11,165
too, will dance its praises.
445
00:31:11,767 --> 00:31:15,666
Without deceit, or
violence, or back-hive deals,
446
00:31:15,799 --> 00:31:19,532
the scouts are the first
to arrive at consensus.
447
00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:24,333
But the larger population
remains to be persuaded.
448
00:31:24,467 --> 00:31:27,333
Once they all
align behind one dance,
449
00:31:27,467 --> 00:31:31,633
once they've achieved unanimity
on the best new place to call home,
450
00:31:31,767 --> 00:31:34,700
the great migration can begin.
451
00:31:34,834 --> 00:31:37,900
Within 60 seconds
of the first takeoff,
452
00:31:38,032 --> 00:31:41,666
10,000 bees depart in
formation for their new home.
453
00:31:43,567 --> 00:31:45,599
With the sun
as their compass,
454
00:31:45,733 --> 00:31:49,066
the airborne colony turns
to its queen for leadership.
455
00:31:49,767 --> 00:31:53,900
The swarm is a kind of mind,
a collective consciousness to
456
00:31:54,032 --> 00:31:57,232
which every individual
bee makes a contribution.
457
00:32:03,432 --> 00:32:07,599
Now that the move is
complete, it's time to unpack,
458
00:32:07,733 --> 00:32:11,232
decorate the nursery,
stock the pantry,
459
00:32:11,366 --> 00:32:14,467
and make the place their own,
until the weather warms,
460
00:32:14,599 --> 00:32:17,099
and the trees bloom again.
461
00:32:17,232 --> 00:32:21,599
And so it has been for
tens of millions of years.
462
00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:26,599
This intimate knowledge of
the lives of the bees is the
463
00:32:26,733 --> 00:32:30,967
legacy of Karl von Frisch,
who was the first to decrypt
464
00:32:31,099 --> 00:32:35,366
their symbolic language, to
make contact with a completely
465
00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:39,232
different kind of mind.
466
00:32:39,366 --> 00:32:42,633
Today, we study bee brains.
467
00:32:42,767 --> 00:32:45,567
We are building a bridge over
the chasm that has separated
468
00:32:45,700 --> 00:32:49,400
two species for
half a billion years.
469
00:32:49,532 --> 00:32:51,834
And yet,
after all that time,
470
00:32:51,967 --> 00:32:55,700
there are places where our species
and theirs converged,
471
00:32:55,834 --> 00:33:00,133
agriculture, architecture,
language, and politics.
472
00:33:01,666 --> 00:33:04,834
We now know that bees sleep,
473
00:33:04,967 --> 00:33:09,232
and some scientists
suspect that they dream.
474
00:33:13,967 --> 00:33:16,032
What knocked us
out of our trance,
475
00:33:16,165 --> 00:33:19,066
so that we could finally
recognize another intelligence
476
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:20,834
that had always been there?
477
00:33:20,967 --> 00:33:23,333
A few generations
before von Frisch,
478
00:33:23,467 --> 00:33:27,099
one man did more than
any other to open the way.
479
00:33:27,232 --> 00:33:31,032
For me, he was the greatest spiritual
teacher of the last thousand years.
480
00:33:32,432 --> 00:33:36,500
The flowers he planted
here long ago still bloom.
481
00:33:40,633 --> 00:33:43,165
The hive he founded,
and studied with open eyes,
482
00:33:43,299 --> 00:33:45,366
continues to flourish.
483
00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:48,666
It was he who figured out
how the Palace of Life could
484
00:33:48,799 --> 00:33:53,400
evolve from a modest one-room structure
to an edifice of soaring towers,
485
00:33:53,532 --> 00:33:56,666
reaching to the
stars and it was he who
486
00:33:56,799 --> 00:34:02,000
first glimpsed the secret
lives of our fellow earthlings.
487
00:34:19,166 --> 00:34:22,900
a shrine to all the broken
branches on the tree of life.
488
00:34:23,032 --> 00:34:25,400
But that tree still lives,
489
00:34:25,532 --> 00:34:29,432
it's seen 4 billion springtimes
since it first took root.
490
00:34:29,567 --> 00:34:33,065
Its flowers burst forth with
unforeseeable possibilities.
491
00:34:36,867 --> 00:34:39,567
A tiny, one-celled
organism evolves into you
492
00:34:39,699 --> 00:34:42,500
and everything else
that is Earthlife.
493
00:34:42,632 --> 00:34:45,199
There's just no way of
predicting, for now, anyway,
494
00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:47,032
where life can lead.
495
00:34:47,166 --> 00:34:49,733
No way of foretelling the
forms and capabilities that
496
00:34:49,867 --> 00:34:53,400
can issue from simpler organisms
over vast expanses of time.
497
00:34:55,032 --> 00:34:59,099
Life itself can be seen as an
emergent property of chemistry,
498
00:34:59,233 --> 00:35:02,632
science as an
emergent property of life,
499
00:35:02,766 --> 00:35:06,666
a way that life has found
to begin to know itself.
500
00:35:13,333 --> 00:35:17,032
Four billion years.
501
00:35:18,934 --> 00:35:22,500
These are the most
ancient towers that life built.
502
00:36:06,766 --> 00:36:09,833
Nobody knew this
palace existed.
503
00:36:09,967 --> 00:36:14,800
It was hidden by the mists
of time, and enshrouded in myth.
504
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,199
But one man dared
to part that curtain.
505
00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:22,432
He studied as many
kinds of life as he could.
506
00:36:32,432 --> 00:36:34,833
He sailed to a group of
islands on the far side of
507
00:36:34,967 --> 00:36:38,233
the planet in search
of exotic species.
508
00:36:38,367 --> 00:36:41,733
He studied the bees,
the flowers, the finches,
509
00:36:41,867 --> 00:36:46,000
mollusks, and
earthworms, for 30 years.
510
00:36:46,132 --> 00:36:49,766
A radical pattern emerged,
one that would shake the world.
511
00:36:50,632 --> 00:36:55,166
It still does, he debunked
the story of Adam and Eve.
512
00:36:56,500 --> 00:36:59,132
Humans are not the kings
of life, created separately,
513
00:36:59,266 --> 00:37:02,199
and charged with its
management but instead,
514
00:37:02,333 --> 00:37:05,532
an upstart offspring of
its stately, ancient family.
515
00:37:06,934 --> 00:37:09,213
He waited to tell the world
what he had discovered until
516
00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:12,900
he could demonstrate its truth
beyond a shadow of a doubt.
517
00:37:13,032 --> 00:37:16,333
But then he made
another great leap,
518
00:37:18,166 --> 00:37:21,567
Charles Darwin was also one
of the first to recognize that
519
00:37:21,699 --> 00:37:23,934
if all life is related,
520
00:37:24,065 --> 00:37:27,432
there were certain
philosophical implications.
521
00:37:32,766 --> 00:37:35,266
If we were not created
separately from the other animals,
522
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:39,065
must we not share more
of who we are with them?
523
00:37:39,199 --> 00:37:42,400
Our awareness, our
relationships with others,
524
00:37:42,532 --> 00:37:44,599
even our feelings?
525
00:37:44,733 --> 00:37:48,266
Instead of a single island
of human perception in the universe,
526
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,500
Darwin realized that
we are surrounded by other
527
00:37:51,632 --> 00:37:54,934
ways of being
alive and conscious.
528
00:37:55,065 --> 00:37:58,266
For Darwin, science was
a pathway to a deeper level
529
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,632
of empathy and humility.
530
00:38:03,099 --> 00:38:06,065
When word reached him that
a local farmer was mistreating his sheep,
531
00:38:06,199 --> 00:38:09,867
Darwin dropped his research
to make an arrest of the man.
532
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,666
He exposed the horrendous
suffering of wild animals
533
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,233
caught in the
jaws of steel traps,
534
00:38:15,367 --> 00:38:18,733
and experimented on surgically
without benefit of anesthesia.
535
00:38:19,867 --> 00:38:23,132
Throughout his entire life,
he was haunted by an image of
536
00:38:23,266 --> 00:38:26,300
the helpless dog who licked
his tormentor's hand while
537
00:38:26,432 --> 00:38:29,632
being dissected by a scientist.
538
00:38:29,766 --> 00:38:34,099
And this compassion extended
even to our own species.
539
00:38:34,233 --> 00:38:37,867
He recognized the blindness of
his 19th century contemporaries.
540
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,532
In his autobiography,
he recounted the story of
541
00:38:40,666 --> 00:38:44,467
an African woman who jumped off
a cliff to her certain death,
542
00:38:44,599 --> 00:38:48,300
rather than submit to being
enslaved by the Portuguese.
543
00:38:49,132 --> 00:38:53,532
Darwin observed that if she had been
a Roman matron from classical antiquity,
544
00:38:53,666 --> 00:38:56,733
she would be
viewed very differently.
545
00:38:56,867 --> 00:39:00,132
We would be naming
our daughters after her.
546
00:39:06,065 --> 00:39:09,532
It was he who began the
scientific study of the hidden
547
00:39:09,666 --> 00:39:13,199
world beneath
the forest floor.
548
00:39:13,333 --> 00:39:16,199
Darwin worshipped nature.
549
00:39:16,333 --> 00:39:20,467
His knowledge of science informed
and drove his compassion to new heights.
550
00:39:35,333 --> 00:39:40,132
Behold, Saccorhytus coronarius.
551
00:39:40,666 --> 00:39:43,934
When it lived, 550 million
years ago, it was microscopic.
552
00:39:45,467 --> 00:39:49,400
But for us now, it looms
large because this creature is
553
00:39:49,532 --> 00:39:52,900
the earliest common
ancestor we've yet found,
554
00:39:53,032 --> 00:39:56,666
a physical connection we share with
almost every animal on Earth.
555
00:40:10,233 --> 00:40:13,432
If we could only take
that connection to heart.
556
00:40:13,567 --> 00:40:16,900
If some day, we could
synthesize all our knowledge
557
00:40:17,032 --> 00:40:21,199
of life, and use it to
build an Arch of Experience,
558
00:40:21,333 --> 00:40:25,833
a way for us to really feel
what it's like to be the other.
559
00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:33,432
What if we could truly
know the joy of a giant condor
560
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:37,065
riding the thermals
high in the Andes,
561
00:40:37,199 --> 00:40:40,699
or the anguish of a humpback
whale singing to its lover
562
00:40:40,833 --> 00:40:45,099
across the vast Pacific,
or the fear in the heart of
563
00:40:45,233 --> 00:40:49,699
our most hated enemy, how
would that change this world?
564
00:40:52,199 --> 00:40:54,967
And all of them,
and each of us,
565
00:40:55,099 --> 00:40:58,367
made from the same toolbox,
with the same genetic
566
00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:02,233
material, but on
different evolutionary voyages.
567
00:41:18,432 --> 00:41:20,833
Are there other possible
worlds in the cosmos where
568
00:41:20,967 --> 00:41:24,632
life's pathways
converge and intersect?
569
00:41:24,766 --> 00:41:27,367
Remember our friends,
the tardigrades,
570
00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:29,867
who can rise from the dead
to thrive on Earth in those
571
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,132
hellish places where
no one else can live?
572
00:41:33,266 --> 00:41:37,000
They have survived all
five mass extinctions,
573
00:41:37,132 --> 00:41:41,934
and they can even live in the vacuum of
space without protection.
574
00:41:42,065 --> 00:41:45,000
These creatures, too small
to see with the naked eye,
575
00:41:45,132 --> 00:41:46,833
have been observed
by scientists,
576
00:41:46,967 --> 00:41:49,065
using a scanning
electron microscope,
577
00:41:49,199 --> 00:41:52,333
doing something that we
like to think only humans do.
578
00:41:54,266 --> 00:41:56,706
They're not performing any of
the known biological functions
579
00:41:56,567 --> 00:41:59,233
that organisms
need to survive.
580
00:41:59,367 --> 00:42:02,867
They're gently giving
each other pleasure,
581
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,132
affection,
tenderness for its own sake.
582
00:42:09,833 --> 00:42:13,099
If bees dream,
and tardigrades snuggle,
583
00:42:14,467 --> 00:42:16,706
are there countless roads
in the universe that life can
584
00:42:16,766 --> 00:42:19,166
take to wonder and to love?
585
00:42:22,233 --> 00:42:25,699
If we could stand beneath
the Arch of Experience,
586
00:42:25,833 --> 00:42:29,032
or build one inside ourselves,
587
00:42:29,166 --> 00:42:33,867
maybe we'd be able to give our
first contact story a better outcome.
588
00:43:52,233 --> 00:43:55,632
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