Will We Ever Understand It?

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I don't think one need deny that there is some fundamental underlying reality. The question which I'm uncertain about is, will we ever understand it? It's perfectly on the cards that there are deep aspects of physical reality, which our brains just can't cope with because our brains haven't changed very much. And so it's amazing that we got so far in understanding not just the everyday world, but the micro world of the quantum and at least to some extent the cosmos. Nonetheless, there may be some aspects of reality that we're not aware of or that we never understand.

Shermer and Rees discuss: existential threats • overpopulation • biodiversity loss • climate change • AI and self-driving cars, robots, and unemployment • his bet with Steven Pinker • his disagreement with Richard Dawkins • how science works as a communal activity • scientific creativity • science communication • science education • why there aren’t more women and people of color in STEM fields • verification vs. falsification • Bayesian reasoning and scientific progress • Model Dependent Realism and the nature of reality Fermi’s Paradox • why he’s an atheist but wants to be buried in the Presbyterian church in which he was raised • mysterian mysteries.

Martin Rees is Astronomer Royal, former President of the Royal Society, Fellow (and former Master) of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. He sits as a member of the UK House of Lords. He is the author of many bestselling popular science books, including: On the Future; Just Six Numbers; Before the Beginning; and Our Final Hour. His newest book is If Science is to Save Us.