When Newton discovered the law of gravity, he unified the rules governing the heavens and the Earth. Since then, physicists have been placing new forces into ever-grander theories. But perhaps the ultimate challenge is achieving a monumental synthesis of the two remaining theories — relativity and the quantum theory. This would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science. Shermer and Kaku discuss:
- What happened before the Big Bang?
- What lies on the other side of a black hole?
- Are there other universes and dimensions?
- the multiverse and its multi-configurations,
- black holes, worm holes, and portals to other universes,
- time travel,
- dark energy and dark matter,
- What is gravity, anyway?
- Does science progress through falsification, confirmation, consensus, or Bayesian reasoning?
- string theory: how can it be tested?
- proofs for God’s existence: cosmological, teleological, ontological, fine-tuning,
- Did God have a choice in creating the universe?
- Is God just the laws of nature or a personal being?
- What is the meaning of life in a meaningless universe?
- ETI and AGI: any sufficiently advanced ETI or AGI would be indistinguishable from God.
Michio Kaku is a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, co-founder of string field theory, and the author of several widely acclaimed science books, including Beyond Einstein, The Future of Humanity, The Future of the Mind, Hyperspace, Physics of the Future, and Physics of the Impossible. He is the science correspondent for CBS This Morning, the host of the radio programs Science Fantastic and Exploration, and a host of several science TV specials for the BBC and the Discovery and Science Channels.
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This episode was released on April 6, 2021.
