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Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

98. Lawrence Krauss (Physicist) – Lux Ex Machina

Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

Big Think / Panoply

Arts, Society & Culture

4.6594 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2017

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. The Think Again podcast takes us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview archives. Physicist Lawrence Krauss directs the Origins Project at Arizona State University, which fosters scientific research and collaborations on origins – of life, the universe, and everything. His own research focuses on the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, including investigations into dark matter and the origin of all mass in the universe. His latest book The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far is a deeply entertaining and informative account of the progress of knowledge in modern physics. In this episode: To what extent and in what sense does science represent "reality"? You don't have to paint like Picasso to enjoy a Picasso...so why are non-scientists often reluctant to engage with complex scientific concepts? Is tribalism an essential part of human nature? A passionate, witty back-and-forth with a leading physicist who is also one of our most poetic defenders and explainers of science. Surprise conversation starter interview clips: Sebastian Junger on tribalism and democracy, Kevin Kelly on “cognification”, David Bodanis on Einstein’s rejection of a random universe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey there, I'm Jason Gatz, and you're listening to Think Again, a Big Think podcast.

0:09.0

Started in 2008, Big Think is a kind of online think tank of big ideas from some of the most creative thinkers on the planet.

0:17.0

On the podcast, we revisit these ideas in new ways.

0:20.0

Our producers surprise me and my guests with short interview clips from Big Things Archives,

0:24.6

ideas that we didn't necessarily come here expecting to discuss.

0:28.6

I'm very happy to be here today with the physicist Lawrence Krause.

0:32.6

He directs the Origins Project at Arizona State University,

0:35.6

which fosters scientific research and collaborations

0:39.1

on origins of life, the universe, and everything.

0:42.6

His own research focuses on the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology,

0:48.8

including investigations into dark matter and the origin of all mass in the universe.

0:53.4

His latest book, The Greatest Story

0:55.1

Ever Told So Far, is a deeply entertaining and informative account of the progress of knowledge

1:01.6

in modern physics. Welcome to think again, Lawrence. It's nice to be with you, at least virtually.

1:06.8

Yeah, yeah. You're many, many miles away off in Portland. I didn't want to give that away

1:11.7

to your original. Oh, I'm sorry. Let's, I'll take it again. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's just a

1:17.7

joke. Okay, you're many miles away in an undisclosed location. Deep under a mountain.

1:22.8

Indeed. And we tried to do this interview in three different states. This is the third state. And

1:29.7

I think that the takeaway is that you have to be careful with particle physicists because you never

1:35.2

know where they are at any given time and they might be in multiple places simultaneously.

1:40.0

And now we can do this in a state of confusion. Exactly.

1:53.9

So your book, I think I might be in some sense the ideal test case for your book because I am a person who is in some respects very well educated.

...

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