The Well | How the universe randomly unfolded from “quantum foam” | Lee Cronin @The-Well | Uploaded August 2024 | Updated October 2024, 41 minutes ago.
“The universe only looks deterministic because evolution has occurred.” Chemist Lee Cronin reminds us why the universe, and everything is it, is in fact totally random:
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How did something come from nothing? Chemist Lee Cronin explains.
According to current physics, the universe began with a Big Bang, leading to an expanding universe where matter, hydrogen, stars, and galaxies formed. From exploding stars came planets, and eventually, life emerged, leading to human beings and technology as we know it today.
Quantum physics reveals the universe as a field of probabilities, full of entirely random sequences. When these sequences produce objects that can copy themselves and survive in their environment, evolution takes place. This quantum randomness provides the fuel for these processes, making the universe appear deterministic over time.
Cronin uses a flipping coin as an example. If a system were truly random, it would yield an equivalent number of heads and tails on a flipped coin. If the coin were weighted, however, and showed mostly heads upon flipping, the system would be considered deterministic.
Cronin’s perspective might just be imperative to understanding how the universe has evolved, through processes of selection and replication, and eventually brought us to this place in space and time.
Read the full video transcript: bigthink.com/the-well/how-the-universe-unfolded-from-randomness
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Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.
So what do they think?
How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions?
Let’s dive into The Well.
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“The universe only looks deterministic because evolution has occurred.” Chemist Lee Cronin reminds us why the universe, and everything is it, is in fact totally random:
❍ Subscribe to The Well on YouTube: bit.ly/welcometothewell
❍ Up next: Are non-living things… evolving? Yes, says leading mineralogist youtube.com/watch?v=VQNAEec9W38
How did something come from nothing? Chemist Lee Cronin explains.
According to current physics, the universe began with a Big Bang, leading to an expanding universe where matter, hydrogen, stars, and galaxies formed. From exploding stars came planets, and eventually, life emerged, leading to human beings and technology as we know it today.
Quantum physics reveals the universe as a field of probabilities, full of entirely random sequences. When these sequences produce objects that can copy themselves and survive in their environment, evolution takes place. This quantum randomness provides the fuel for these processes, making the universe appear deterministic over time.
Cronin uses a flipping coin as an example. If a system were truly random, it would yield an equivalent number of heads and tails on a flipped coin. If the coin were weighted, however, and showed mostly heads upon flipping, the system would be considered deterministic.
Cronin’s perspective might just be imperative to understanding how the universe has evolved, through processes of selection and replication, and eventually brought us to this place in space and time.
Read the full video transcript: bigthink.com/the-well/how-the-universe-unfolded-from-randomness
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
❍ About The Well ❍
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.
So what do they think?
How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions?
Let’s dive into The Well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Join The Well on your favorite platforms:
❍ Facebook: bit.ly/thewellFB
❍ Instagram: bit.ly/thewellIG
