Views on our weird and wonderful universe (1)
I like the clarity and brevity of Eric Schwitzgebel’s summary of the reality problem: “What is the underlying structure of the universe and how does human consciousness fit into it?”
I think the underlying structure is something that won’t be described by some synthesis of quantum physics and general relativity. Those two descriptions will turn out to be limited cases, somewhat like the way Newtonian physics is a limited case of general relativity. If, that is, humans are capable of constructing such a description. We may not be (23 March, p 32).
As for consciousness, I think it will turn out to be neither a property nor a constituent of the universe.
Views on our weird and wonderful universe (2)
“Positing Zorg the Destroyer, hidden at the galactic core and pulling on protons with invisible strings, would rightly be laughed away as an explanation for anything,” writes Schwitzgebel.
But that is exactly the explanation for everything in our daily experience. We call “Zorg the Destroyer” the “Sagittarius A* black hole”, and it pulls on protons (as well as other matter), with the invisible strings of gravity keeping them, and hence us, in orbit around the galactic core.
Yes, science can create the benefits of religion
David Robson wonders whether the spirituality of science could provide the perks of religion. When, years ago, I read Richard Dawkins’s The Ancestor’s Tale: A pilgrimage to the dawn of life, I felt a deep unity with all living things. I thought it funny that the world’s best-known atheist caused my spiritual experience.
Later, I watched the series Life on Earth (again) and when it showed a flatworm and a sea squirt, my heart was filled with reverence for these creatures. Science surely has given me the perks of religion!
Ed 鈥� For more on spiritual experiences inspired by science, see page 44
Could we do away with the fear of death itself?
Venki Ramakrishnan’s take on the most promising ways to stop ageing gave a realistic appraisal of the state of the science. But I was particularly struck by his discussion about the need to accept mortality and how hard it is to do this gracefully (23 March, p 36).
Any intervention that increases longevity substantially is likely to require altering our fundamental biology. But I feel a much better aim, for both the sum of human happiness and the planet, would be to make people lose their fear of death as they age, so they enjoy every day until their last.
The perils and promise of extreme geoengineering (1)
I read “Megaprojects that could save the world” with a sense of despair. Intentionally or not, any such efforts will just distract from decarbonising using the technologies that we already have (16 March, p 36).
The last thing we need is a huge outlay in emissions to make space-based solar power, concrete islands for wind power and vast direct air capture plants. Faced with the great cost of removing carbon dioxide, perhaps demand reduction in hard-to-decarbonise sectors, like aviation and shipping, will become more palatable 鈥� especially if those sectors are asked to pay for CO2 extraction.
The perils and promise of extreme geoengineering (2)
A space-based solar power station sounds doable with advances in rockets. As for where to put the many large rectennas required on Earth to collect the energy beamed down, Australia has a lot of land and not all of it is remote from coastal populations. We aren’t short of ideas and technology is galloping along at a rate that may save us from ourselves.
The perils and promise of extreme geoengineering (3)
It seems unlikely that generating vast quantities of renewable energy to suck carbon dioxide from the air and deposit it somewhere would be more effective than simply using the same amount of renewable energy to displace the use of fossil fuels.
Making decisions with little chance of regret (1)
David Robson writes about how to make big decisions that we won’t regret. Coming to the belief that I don’t have free will has brought the unexpected benefit of making me much less likely to regret past decisions, on the grounds that I didn’t really have a choice at the time. Nevertheless, in the present, the experience of having free will is so compelling that it would be impossible not to play along with it. My mind seems happy to handle the contradiction of believing in an inevitable past while acting as if I had an open future (16 March, p 32).
Making decisions with little chance of regret (2)
I have made several big life choices, including drastic changes in occupation, and regretted none of them. More recently, I uprooted myself from my home of 30 years and moved an 8-hour drive away to a part of the country I had only fleetingly passed through six years earlier, a place I wasn’t familiar with and where I knew no one. Quite a drastic decision, but, again, one I haven’t regretted.
Counting down to the next great rocket launch
There is no reason for negativity over the latest launch of SpaceX’s Starship. , all 33 of the first-stage engines lit and stayed that way, as planned. The second stage then completed a successful “hot staging”, firing up its six engines before it separated and entered orbit. Both stages were lost 鈥� as was meant to happen. That they were both lost a little earlier than hoped wasn’t ideal, but also wasn’t the point of this flight (23 March, p 7).
It is almost impossible to oversell the success of this third test, and there are four more first-stage rockets ready to go.