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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:00,700 --> 00:00:02,698 -=Sync&Corrected by Misiek666=- 2 00:00:02,722 --> 00:00:04,722 -=Podnapisi.net=- 3 00:00:05,299 --> 00:00:08,500 If an extraterrestrial scouting party were to survey Earth, 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:11,766 what would they make of us? 5 00:00:13,367 --> 00:00:15,632 Who are we? 6 00:00:17,432 --> 00:00:20,233 Are we as a species capable of fundamental change? 7 00:00:21,132 --> 00:00:24,132 Or is there something in our DNA that will determine our fate? 8 00:00:29,033 --> 00:00:31,332 Do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us 9 00:00:31,466 --> 00:00:33,799 in some direction beyond our control? 10 00:00:36,265 --> 00:00:39,667 Can we free our children from the demons that torment us and 11 00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:41,466 haunt our species? 12 00:00:42,767 --> 00:00:45,533 Can we be trusted with our own future? 13 00:00:46,767 --> 00:00:49,133 Since the civilization of Ancient Persia, 14 00:00:49,265 --> 00:00:52,799 and probably even before, we've wondered if there's 15 00:00:52,933 --> 00:00:57,500 something about human nature that contains the seeds of our destruction. 16 00:02:08,933 --> 00:02:11,900 If there are places on Earth that are sacred to our species, 17 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:14,532 surely this must be one of them. 18 00:02:15,332 --> 00:02:19,599 The earliest site we know of where fire was tamed for human needs. 19 00:02:21,432 --> 00:02:23,633 More than a million years ago, here, 20 00:02:23,766 --> 00:02:27,633 in what is today known as Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, 21 00:02:27,766 --> 00:02:31,900 our ancestors gathered and first kindled the hearth of human culture. 22 00:02:36,366 --> 00:02:39,265 Every human being alive today on Earth is a member 23 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,567 of the species Homo sapiens. 24 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:43,933 The so-called "wise ones." 25 00:02:45,734 --> 00:02:49,366 And our forbearers here tonight are Homo erectus, 26 00:02:50,466 --> 00:02:52,667 "those who stood up." 27 00:02:53,033 --> 00:02:56,766 They're not yet us, but we carry them within us. 28 00:02:57,300 --> 00:02:59,366 We don't know much about them. 29 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:02,467 We think they took care of each other when they became old or ill. 30 00:03:03,265 --> 00:03:05,567 We know they were skilled toolmakers. 31 00:03:08,133 --> 00:03:11,633 It was around fires such as this one that we began to cook our food. 32 00:03:13,532 --> 00:03:15,066 To tell each other stories. 33 00:03:16,033 --> 00:03:20,432 And to create a shared learned identity with our kin. 34 00:03:34,033 --> 00:03:36,834 Had life and humans first evolved only hundreds or even 35 00:03:36,966 --> 00:03:39,734 thousands of years ago, we might know most of what's 36 00:03:39,866 --> 00:03:42,966 important about our past and how we came to be the way we are. 37 00:03:44,199 --> 00:03:47,966 But instead, our species is hundreds of thousands of years old. 38 00:03:48,834 --> 00:03:51,633 Homo erectus, a couple of million. 39 00:03:51,766 --> 00:03:54,033 Primates, tens of millions. 40 00:03:54,165 --> 00:03:56,599 Mammals, more than 200 million. 41 00:03:56,734 --> 00:03:59,533 And life, about four billion years old. 42 00:04:01,032 --> 00:04:04,366 All but a few of our ancestors are wholly unknown to us, 43 00:04:05,933 --> 00:04:08,967 and we sift through the Earth to find the bits of ash and 44 00:04:09,567 --> 00:04:13,500 animal bone that are the only surviving evidence of our humanity. 45 00:04:15,567 --> 00:04:17,567 We only began living with a future in mind, 46 00:04:18,065 --> 00:04:20,766 consciously leaving a detailed record of who we were and what 47 00:04:20,899 --> 00:04:23,466 we believed around 5,000 years ago. 48 00:04:24,632 --> 00:04:28,567 And yet, one thing remained constant from Homo erectus to 49 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:31,533 the greatness of Ancient Persia. 50 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:36,733 Our fascination with fire. 51 00:04:37,699 --> 00:04:40,533 And this was true here at Persepolis, 52 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:43,766 a magnificent complex built by the Persian emperors of the 53 00:04:43,899 --> 00:04:45,567 sixth century BCE, 54 00:04:46,399 --> 00:04:50,399 when Persia was the only superpower on Earth. 55 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:05,800 These great kings worshipped a God named Ahura Mazda, 56 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:09,100 whose origins in time are lost to us. 57 00:05:09,500 --> 00:05:13,632 His prophet was Zoroaster. 58 00:05:13,766 --> 00:05:16,632 Every Zoroastrian temple was consecrated to fire. 59 00:05:17,632 --> 00:05:20,934 It played the central role in Zoroastrian worship, 60 00:05:21,266 --> 00:05:24,500 symbolizing both the purity of their God and the light 61 00:05:24,632 --> 00:05:26,199 of the illuminated mind. 62 00:05:26,766 --> 00:05:29,733 Tending an eternal flame through the centuries was one 63 00:05:29,867 --> 00:05:32,933 of the few ritual obligations of the Zoroastrians. 64 00:05:33,834 --> 00:05:37,000 They chose this first truly human achievement, 65 00:05:37,132 --> 00:05:38,834 the domestication of fire, 66 00:05:38,966 --> 00:05:41,667 as the focal point of their worship. 67 00:05:42,132 --> 00:05:44,933 The God Ahura Mazda didn't ask much. 68 00:05:45,266 --> 00:05:47,533 He didn't want your ritual sacrifices, 69 00:05:47,667 --> 00:05:49,466 he didn't want your money. 70 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,165 All he asked of human beings was good thoughts, 71 00:05:53,165 --> 00:05:55,500 good words and good deeds. 72 00:05:56,567 --> 00:05:59,766 But for some reason, most people couldn't fulfil 73 00:05:59,899 --> 00:06:01,934 these simple requests. 74 00:06:02,065 --> 00:06:04,867 Often they had bad thoughts and said evil things, 75 00:06:05,500 --> 00:06:07,800 and some of them committed crimes that were evil. 76 00:06:07,934 --> 00:06:09,632 Why? 77 00:06:10,666 --> 00:06:13,733 It was all because of Ahura Mazda's polar opposite, 78 00:06:14,733 --> 00:06:16,567 Angra Mainyu. 79 00:06:16,699 --> 00:06:19,100 This is where the devil was born. 80 00:06:20,699 --> 00:06:23,000 From his short horns, to his hooves, 81 00:06:24,834 --> 00:06:27,733 Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion from Greece 82 00:06:27,867 --> 00:06:30,165 to India for 1,000 years. 83 00:06:30,699 --> 00:06:33,066 No wonder they were so influential on the religions 84 00:06:33,199 --> 00:06:34,899 that came after. 85 00:06:35,033 --> 00:06:39,533 For the Zoroastrians, all the evil in the world, 86 00:06:39,667 --> 00:06:41,567 the crimes committed by humans, 87 00:06:41,699 --> 00:06:44,966 as well as the catastrophes of natural disasters and disease, 88 00:06:45,733 --> 00:06:49,233 were the results of Angra Mainyu's unceasing mischief. 89 00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:53,000 Their God, Ahura Mazda, 90 00:06:53,132 --> 00:06:56,000 looked to human beings to help him defeat the devil. 91 00:06:56,766 --> 00:06:59,933 Any person by their actions could tip the scales of the 92 00:07:00,065 --> 00:07:05,199 whole future of the universe in either the direction of good or evil. 93 00:07:10,632 --> 00:07:12,867 In this prescientific world, 94 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,966 when evil reared its ugly head, 95 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:18,165 what better way to understand it than demonic possession? 96 00:07:34,399 --> 00:07:37,165 This is not a story of good and evil, 97 00:07:37,300 --> 00:07:40,066 of the struggle between a God and a demon. 98 00:07:40,766 --> 00:07:44,000 It's actually just a story of a predator and its prey. 99 00:07:44,733 --> 00:07:48,733 In this case, the predator is microscopic and it's been 100 00:07:48,867 --> 00:07:51,266 incubating in its victim. 101 00:07:51,966 --> 00:07:55,033 Diseased microbes can be formidable predators. 102 00:07:55,165 --> 00:07:57,867 Not only attacking and eventually killing, 103 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,266 but also taking over their hosts. 104 00:08:00,834 --> 00:08:04,966 Changing their behavior to spread their microorganisms to other hosts. 105 00:08:06,934 --> 00:08:09,033 We're in the bloodstream of that poor, 106 00:08:09,165 --> 00:08:12,333 unlucky dog, who, through no fault of his own, 107 00:08:12,466 --> 00:08:15,867 just because of a chance encounter with a rabid bat, 108 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,300 now finds himself the main character in a zombie horror story. 109 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:25,966 Those bullets are the rabies virus. 110 00:08:28,332 --> 00:08:31,165 On being injected into the bloodstream of this placid, 111 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:34,165 people-loving dog, they head to the dog's brain, 112 00:08:35,165 --> 00:08:36,966 right to the limbic system, 113 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:41,133 where the control buttons for rage reside. 114 00:08:48,899 --> 00:08:50,332 By attacking the nerve cells, 115 00:08:50,466 --> 00:08:53,299 the rabies virus is converting the poor animal 116 00:08:53,432 --> 00:08:55,633 into a marauding, snarling, 117 00:08:55,767 --> 00:08:59,165 vicious predator without loyalties or love for anyone. 118 00:09:01,767 --> 00:09:03,866 Rabid animals can be fearless. 119 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:07,066 Now that the limbic system has been conquered, 120 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,265 another detachment of rabies viruses are dispatched to the 121 00:09:10,399 --> 00:09:13,200 saliva manufacturing machinery in the dog's throat. 122 00:09:14,567 --> 00:09:16,866 Their assignment is to put it into overdrive, 123 00:09:17,567 --> 00:09:20,399 while paralyzing the nerves for swallowing. 124 00:09:20,533 --> 00:09:24,100 This maximizes the chances for the infected saliva 125 00:09:24,232 --> 00:09:26,799 to leave the dog and invade the next target. 126 00:09:28,567 --> 00:09:30,767 But how is such a degree of tactical coordination 127 00:09:30,899 --> 00:09:32,734 possible by a virus? 128 00:09:33,399 --> 00:09:35,767 How can a virus know which part of another creature's 129 00:09:35,899 --> 00:09:38,366 brain is the seat of anger? 130 00:09:38,866 --> 00:09:42,232 We ourselves didn't figure that out until very recently. 131 00:09:42,366 --> 00:09:45,366 This is the power of evolution by natural selection. 132 00:09:46,567 --> 00:09:48,966 Given enough time, a random mutation, 133 00:09:49,734 --> 00:09:51,667 no matter how highly specialized... 134 00:09:51,799 --> 00:09:54,734 Say, a virus' ability to paralyze a victim's throat, 135 00:09:54,866 --> 00:09:56,933 will take hold. 136 00:09:57,066 --> 00:09:59,799 If it enhances the virus' chance of survival, 137 00:09:59,933 --> 00:10:01,966 it will be passed on. 138 00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:05,633 All it needs in every generation is a victim to 139 00:10:05,767 --> 00:10:07,265 carry the disease. 140 00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:10,200 Keeping that wicked flame alive. 141 00:10:10,966 --> 00:10:13,767 The transformation from the family guardian to the 142 00:10:13,899 --> 00:10:16,200 ferocious wild-eyed demon is complete. 143 00:10:16,966 --> 00:10:20,133 The dog is furious, although he has no idea why. 144 00:10:22,265 --> 00:10:24,100 A helpless pawn of the viruses within him, 145 00:10:24,232 --> 00:10:26,866 he can't resist the impulse to attack. 146 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:28,432 If the attack is successful, 147 00:10:28,567 --> 00:10:30,899 the viruses in the dog's saliva will enter the 148 00:10:31,033 --> 00:10:33,466 bloodstream of the victim through the lesion or laceration. 149 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,366 And then, they'll set about taking over this new victim. 150 00:10:38,899 --> 00:10:42,000 The rabies virus is a brilliant manipulator. 151 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,200 It knows its victims and how to pull their strings. 152 00:10:45,966 --> 00:10:49,299 It coordinates its attack, circumventing defenses, 153 00:10:49,432 --> 00:10:53,299 infiltrating, outflanking, accomplishing a coup d'état 154 00:10:53,432 --> 00:10:58,000 within its prey and turning the most gentle among us into 155 00:10:58,133 --> 00:10:59,799 the most violent. 156 00:11:03,466 --> 00:11:06,366 We are at the mercy of unseen forces. 157 00:11:06,799 --> 00:11:11,799 Viruses, microbes, hormones, our very own DNA. 158 00:11:13,933 --> 00:11:17,299 Where does the programming end and free will begin... 159 00:11:20,332 --> 00:11:23,265 If it ever does at all? 160 00:11:28,933 --> 00:11:32,200 Do honeybees have free will? 161 00:11:34,366 --> 00:11:38,033 When a honeybee dies, it releases a special chemical. 162 00:11:38,567 --> 00:11:41,933 It's a death pheromone that has a characteristic odor, 163 00:11:42,066 --> 00:11:45,033 signaling its fellow bees to remove it from the hive. 164 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:51,533 The death pheromone is oleic acid. 165 00:11:52,466 --> 00:11:55,265 What happens if a perfectly healthy bee is dabbed with a 166 00:11:55,399 --> 00:11:57,100 drop of oleic acid? 167 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:01,432 Then, no matter how hearty it might be, 168 00:12:01,567 --> 00:12:03,500 it's carried, kicking and screaming, 169 00:12:03,633 --> 00:12:06,100 out of the hive by oblivious pallbearers. 170 00:12:09,133 --> 00:12:12,466 Do the bees understand the danger of infection from corpses 171 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,100 decomposing in the hive? 172 00:12:15,432 --> 00:12:18,432 Are they aware of the connection between death and oleic acid? 173 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,332 Do they have any idea what death is? 174 00:12:23,466 --> 00:12:26,066 Do we? 175 00:12:26,466 --> 00:12:29,366 In the tens of millions of years of collective bee 176 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:33,000 experience, there's never been a way that a bee could give 177 00:12:33,133 --> 00:12:35,700 off oleic acid other than by dying. 178 00:12:36,533 --> 00:12:39,600 So, for bees, there's no ambiguity here. 179 00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:43,466 Scent of oleic acid always means dead bee. 180 00:12:45,232 --> 00:12:47,667 There's been no reason for evolution to develop a greater 181 00:12:47,799 --> 00:12:50,567 sense of nuance about it. 182 00:12:50,700 --> 00:12:54,000 Elaborate, contemplative machinery is unnecessary to 183 00:12:54,133 --> 00:12:56,700 assess the situation. 184 00:12:56,834 --> 00:13:00,166 Bee perceptions are adequate for bee needs. 185 00:13:04,399 --> 00:13:07,100 Something similar is true for moths. 186 00:13:08,633 --> 00:13:12,100 This poor guy has no idea what the problem is. 187 00:13:12,899 --> 00:13:16,033 There have been moths for 190 million years, 188 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:19,332 and clear glass windows for only about 1,000. 189 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:23,533 No wonder there isn't a voice in the moth's brain that tells it: 190 00:13:23,667 --> 00:13:25,633 if you keep bumping into something, 191 00:13:25,767 --> 00:13:29,000 even if you can't see it, you should try to fly around it. 192 00:13:29,866 --> 00:13:32,432 Until very recently on nature's time scale, 193 00:13:32,567 --> 00:13:35,734 there were no penalties for moths without any such inner voice. 194 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,667 Moths evolved in a world without glass windows. 195 00:13:52,533 --> 00:13:55,633 What then are we to conclude when we find similar, 196 00:13:55,767 --> 00:13:59,700 very simple behavioral programs unsupervised by any 197 00:13:59,834 --> 00:14:03,133 apparent central executive control in so-called 198 00:14:03,265 --> 00:14:04,700 "higher animals"? 199 00:14:06,432 --> 00:14:09,466 When a goose egg rolls out of the nest, 200 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,133 does the mother goose who has been incubating her eggs 201 00:14:12,265 --> 00:14:16,399 for weeks understand the importance of retrieving one that has rolled away? 202 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,700 Can she tell if one is missing? 203 00:14:20,799 --> 00:14:24,767 In fact, she will retrieve almost anything placed near the nest. 204 00:14:25,466 --> 00:14:28,567 Including ping pong balls and beer bottles. 205 00:14:28,933 --> 00:14:32,066 The value of this behavior for goose genes is clear. 206 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:35,165 She understands something, but by our standards, 207 00:14:35,299 --> 00:14:37,734 not very much. 208 00:14:38,466 --> 00:14:41,299 Does a beetle have any emotions? 209 00:14:41,432 --> 00:14:43,500 Any consciousness? 210 00:14:43,633 --> 00:14:47,366 Or is it only a subtle robot made of organic matter? 211 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:51,366 A carbon-based automaton packed with sensors and actuators, 212 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,667 programs and subroutines, all ultimately manufactured 213 00:14:55,799 --> 00:14:58,366 according to its DNA instructions? 214 00:14:58,866 --> 00:15:01,432 We might be willing to grant the proposition that insects 215 00:15:01,567 --> 00:15:04,399 or even geese are mindless machines. 216 00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:10,600 But what about us? 217 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,700 What, if anything, do the other animals think? 218 00:15:14,833 --> 00:15:18,466 What might they have to say to us if we could only communicate? 219 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,166 When we observe them carefully, 220 00:15:21,299 --> 00:15:24,567 don't we find evidence of spontaneous decision-making? 221 00:15:25,033 --> 00:15:28,700 When we consider the genetic kinship of all life on Earth, 222 00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:32,600 is it plausible that humans have immortal souls and all 223 00:15:32,734 --> 00:15:35,200 other animals do not? 224 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,165 In nature, the goose's egg retrieval program is adequate. 225 00:15:41,299 --> 00:15:44,265 But when the goslings hatch, and especially just before 226 00:15:44,399 --> 00:15:46,332 they're ready to leave the nest, 227 00:15:46,466 --> 00:15:49,100 the mother is delicately attuned to the nuances of 228 00:15:49,232 --> 00:15:51,533 their sounds, looks and smells. 229 00:15:52,332 --> 00:15:54,799 She has learned about her chicks. 230 00:15:54,933 --> 00:15:57,899 Now she knows her own very well and would not confuse 231 00:15:58,033 --> 00:16:01,332 them with an alien object, or even someone else's goslings, 232 00:16:02,066 --> 00:16:05,232 however similar they may seem to a human observer. 233 00:16:06,866 --> 00:16:09,432 Consider our friend the beetle again. 234 00:16:09,567 --> 00:16:13,200 It can see, walk, run, smell, taste, 235 00:16:13,933 --> 00:16:17,567 fly, mate, eat, excrete and lay eggs. 236 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,366 It has internal programs for accomplishing these functions 237 00:16:22,734 --> 00:16:26,232 contained in a brain with a mass of only a milligram, 238 00:16:26,899 --> 00:16:28,332 and specialized, 239 00:16:28,466 --> 00:16:31,432 dedicated organs for carrying the programs out. 240 00:16:31,866 --> 00:16:33,799 But is that all? 241 00:16:33,933 --> 00:16:35,767 Is there anyone in charge? 242 00:16:35,899 --> 00:16:37,600 Anyone inside? 243 00:16:37,734 --> 00:16:40,667 Anyone controlling all these functions? 244 00:16:40,799 --> 00:16:43,567 And what do we mean, by "anyone"? 245 00:16:43,700 --> 00:16:46,834 Or is the beetle just the sum of its functions and nothing else, 246 00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:51,767 with no executive authority, no insect soul? 247 00:16:53,799 --> 00:16:55,767 A stowaway. 248 00:17:02,399 --> 00:17:04,532 See how it's triangulating on me, 249 00:17:04,666 --> 00:17:06,532 trying to get a sense of this immense, 250 00:17:06,666 --> 00:17:09,400 looming three-dimensional monster before it? 251 00:17:09,799 --> 00:17:12,599 The fly strides along, unconcernedly, 252 00:17:12,733 --> 00:17:16,333 until you lift a rolled newspaper and it quickly buzzes off. 253 00:17:17,799 --> 00:17:20,567 We know this behavior is wired into the fly's neurons. 254 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,467 Some scientists get nervous if you ask about the 255 00:17:28,599 --> 00:17:30,767 consciousness of a housefly. 256 00:17:31,933 --> 00:17:35,200 On the inside, within its tiny brain, 257 00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:37,799 does it have no perception of making choices? 258 00:17:39,967 --> 00:17:42,432 No awareness of its own existence? 259 00:17:42,799 --> 00:17:45,400 Not a milligram's worth of self-consciousness? 260 00:17:45,767 --> 00:17:48,400 Not a hint of hope for the future? 261 00:17:48,532 --> 00:17:52,333 Not even a little satisfaction at a day's work well done? 262 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,000 If its brain is one millionth the mass of ours, 263 00:17:58,700 --> 00:18:01,567 shall we deny it one millionth of our feelings 264 00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:03,700 and our thoughts? 265 00:18:03,834 --> 00:18:07,032 And if, after carefully weighing such matters, 266 00:18:07,165 --> 00:18:10,666 we insist it is still only a robot, 267 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:15,432 how sure are we that this judgment doesn't apply to us as well? 268 00:18:21,733 --> 00:18:24,432 What is distinctly human? 269 00:18:24,567 --> 00:18:28,333 Is there anything that's ours alone? 270 00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:41,866 Would our imaginary extraterrestrial observer 271 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,666 think that there's anything we do that distinguishes us from 272 00:18:46,799 --> 00:18:49,467 every other living thing on Earth? 273 00:18:50,366 --> 00:18:52,967 Something that all or almost all of us, 274 00:18:53,099 --> 00:18:54,900 of every culture throughout history, 275 00:18:55,032 --> 00:18:57,133 have done and still do? 276 00:18:57,266 --> 00:19:00,567 Something that no other animal does? 277 00:19:03,232 --> 00:19:06,400 Plato was one of the earliest commentators to define 278 00:19:06,532 --> 00:19:07,799 what is human. 279 00:19:07,933 --> 00:19:11,000 He declared, "Man is a featherless biped." 280 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:15,767 When news of Plato's definition reached the philosopher Diogenes, 281 00:19:16,467 --> 00:19:19,567 he brought a plucked chicken to Plato's academy, 282 00:19:19,933 --> 00:19:23,567 asking the assembled scholars to salute Plato's man. 283 00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,900 Plato's protégé, Aristotle, 284 00:19:28,032 --> 00:19:29,432 took another crack at it. 285 00:19:29,567 --> 00:19:32,432 He said, "Man is a social animal. 286 00:19:32,567 --> 00:19:35,099 Man is a political animal." 287 00:19:37,599 --> 00:19:39,133 But ants, 288 00:19:42,099 --> 00:19:46,432 bees and termites 289 00:19:48,032 --> 00:19:52,767 have much better organized and much more stable social structures than we have. 290 00:19:54,599 --> 00:19:58,700 The 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote, 291 00:19:59,567 --> 00:20:04,400 "As to fidelity, there is no animal in the world so treacherous as man." 292 00:20:05,933 --> 00:20:08,733 But he never dated a firefly. 293 00:20:09,834 --> 00:20:13,432 You know how fireflies blink on and off to attract a female? 294 00:20:17,767 --> 00:20:21,400 Well, some males sabotage their fellow fireflies come-on 295 00:20:21,532 --> 00:20:23,032 by adding their own blinks. 296 00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:26,066 It's like hacking a friend's romantic message to his 297 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,767 girlfriend and turning it into an insult. 298 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,767 The female gets turned off and the saboteur now has his 299 00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,567 chance with her. 300 00:20:35,933 --> 00:20:37,866 Man, that's cold. 301 00:20:40,532 --> 00:20:43,467 Adam Smith, the 18th century Scottish philosopher, 302 00:20:43,599 --> 00:20:45,799 wrote in his classic justification of free 303 00:20:45,933 --> 00:20:49,599 enterprise capitalism that the propensity to barter, 304 00:20:49,733 --> 00:20:52,467 to exchange one thing for another, 305 00:20:52,599 --> 00:20:55,165 is to be found in no other race of animals. 306 00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:58,666 Is this true? 307 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:04,165 Chimpanzees are fond of trade and understand the idea very well. 308 00:21:05,767 --> 00:21:08,633 Food for sex, a back rub for sex, 309 00:21:09,834 --> 00:21:11,900 betrayal of the leader for sex, 310 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,532 "spare my baby's life" for sex. 311 00:21:16,767 --> 00:21:18,767 Virtually anything for sex. 312 00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:24,767 Okay, but we're the only species that makes art, right? 313 00:21:25,767 --> 00:21:29,767 Except this work of art was created by a bowerbird. 314 00:21:40,933 --> 00:21:43,567 As was this one. 315 00:21:45,133 --> 00:21:47,467 And this one. 316 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,066 We're the only species that parents their young through 317 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,567 adolescence into adulthood. 318 00:21:54,099 --> 00:21:55,467 Wrong again. 319 00:21:55,599 --> 00:21:58,834 The elephants parent at least as long as we do. 320 00:22:01,733 --> 00:22:04,967 All right, well, we're the only species that enslaves and 321 00:22:05,099 --> 00:22:08,666 exploits other animals, keeping them in captivity. 322 00:22:16,165 --> 00:22:20,567 Tell that to this poor cockroach of the African savanna. 323 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,900 An emerald wasp is stalking it to drug and enslave 324 00:22:24,032 --> 00:22:26,200 it in its basement. 325 00:22:28,733 --> 00:22:31,633 The wasp administers a venom which robs the cockroach of 326 00:22:31,767 --> 00:22:34,200 its will to escape. 327 00:22:38,933 --> 00:22:40,900 Turn on the lights, and this is one roach that 328 00:22:41,032 --> 00:22:43,200 won't scurry away. 329 00:22:47,599 --> 00:22:51,266 Now the wasp drags the roach to her lair, 330 00:23:00,834 --> 00:23:05,599 depositing a single egg on the roach's body... 331 00:23:09,799 --> 00:23:14,232 before boarding up the entrance with rocks and pieces of wood. 332 00:23:19,299 --> 00:23:23,834 The idea is to keep the roach alive as long as possible so 333 00:23:23,967 --> 00:23:26,967 that its organs will remain fresh. 334 00:23:30,266 --> 00:23:33,299 The wasp's offspring will bore into the roach's body and 335 00:23:33,432 --> 00:23:35,333 feast upon it. 336 00:23:35,467 --> 00:23:36,866 When it's full grown, 337 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,767 it will tunnel out of the roach's grave. 338 00:23:43,799 --> 00:23:47,032 Yeah, but what about using tools, technology? 339 00:24:16,532 --> 00:24:18,767 Kissing? 340 00:24:57,299 --> 00:24:59,299 Could it be that after all, 341 00:24:59,432 --> 00:25:05,900 our species' only real distinction is our neurotic need to feel special? 342 00:25:18,967 --> 00:25:20,799 Remember this place? 343 00:25:20,933 --> 00:25:24,066 It's the memorial to the broken branches of the tree of life. 344 00:25:24,767 --> 00:25:27,700 It's mostly filled with the casualties of environmental 345 00:25:27,834 --> 00:25:31,933 catastrophe and competition that happened long before we ever got here, 346 00:25:34,933 --> 00:25:37,933 but there is a corridor that we built ourselves. 347 00:25:46,834 --> 00:25:51,366 What lies beyond are all those species we ourselves 348 00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:54,200 have rendered extinct. 349 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:57,834 Could there be some connection to that widespread delusion of 350 00:25:57,967 --> 00:26:00,133 our separateness from the rest of nature? 351 00:26:01,532 --> 00:26:05,200 A sharp distinction between humans and animals is 352 00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,532 essential if we are to bend them to our will, 353 00:26:08,900 --> 00:26:11,032 make them work for us, wear them, 354 00:26:11,165 --> 00:26:15,333 eat them, experiment on them, wipe them out entirely without 355 00:26:15,834 --> 00:26:20,567 any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. 356 00:26:40,967 --> 00:26:44,366 But we all know that this carelessness is starting to 357 00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:46,432 catch up with us. 358 00:26:59,232 --> 00:27:04,266 Are we automata, robots, our destiny written in our 359 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,866 DNA with no possibility of escape? 360 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,866 Is DNA destiny? 361 00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:20,200 And if it is, does it have the power to write epic tales of heroism and saintliness? 362 00:27:52,299 --> 00:27:54,200 Okay, just for argument's sake, 363 00:27:54,333 --> 00:27:56,232 suppose we're nothing more than the sum total 364 00:27:56,366 --> 00:27:58,432 of our genetic inheritance. 365 00:27:58,567 --> 00:28:00,500 That's not as bad as it sounds. 366 00:28:00,866 --> 00:28:04,032 There are passages in our DNA that are every bit 367 00:28:04,165 --> 00:28:07,500 as heroic as anything ever written in any epic saga. 368 00:28:28,733 --> 00:28:32,232 The mother is stotting, deliberately putting her own 369 00:28:32,366 --> 00:28:36,666 life in danger to alert the herd and buy time for them... 370 00:28:59,133 --> 00:29:03,099 so that her offspring and the rest of the herd can get away. 371 00:29:04,232 --> 00:29:07,200 If this isn't heroism, what is? 372 00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:11,567 And yet, this act of valor is encoded in the Thomson's gazelle's programming. 373 00:29:12,432 --> 00:29:14,633 Does that make it any less brave? 374 00:29:14,767 --> 00:29:18,299 She risks being eaten in order to save her kin. 375 00:29:18,767 --> 00:29:21,232 And that's the key. 376 00:29:21,599 --> 00:29:24,633 Kin selection is that genetic impulse for self-sacrifice 377 00:29:24,767 --> 00:29:28,432 prevalent throughout the kingdoms of life, even us. 378 00:29:30,232 --> 00:29:32,000 Skeptical? 379 00:29:32,133 --> 00:29:34,400 Then do this thought experiment with me. 380 00:29:37,266 --> 00:29:40,133 Imagine trying to sleep soundly at night, 381 00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:42,500 knowing that your children are starving, 382 00:29:42,633 --> 00:29:45,299 homeless or gravely ill. 383 00:29:45,432 --> 00:29:48,733 For almost all of us, this would be unthinkable, 384 00:29:49,099 --> 00:29:53,633 but 16,000 children die each day of easily preventable 385 00:29:53,767 --> 00:29:56,200 hunger, neglect, or disease. 386 00:29:57,333 --> 00:30:01,567 Children continue to die as we sleep well and watch this show. 387 00:30:03,432 --> 00:30:05,299 They're far away. 388 00:30:05,432 --> 00:30:07,666 They're not directly related to us. 389 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,666 Now tell me you don't believe in the reality 390 00:30:10,799 --> 00:30:12,799 of kin selection. 391 00:30:12,933 --> 00:30:16,467 We will die to protect the carriers of our DNA and 392 00:30:16,599 --> 00:30:20,232 turn away from the suffering of those who don't. 393 00:30:20,567 --> 00:30:24,133 Kin selection can inspire us to die saving a brother, 394 00:30:24,266 --> 00:30:27,500 but it's also the drive exploited by the demagogue 395 00:30:27,633 --> 00:30:30,232 and the supremacist. 396 00:30:30,366 --> 00:30:32,700 The "us" against "them." 397 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:40,133 Another thought experiment: 398 00:30:40,266 --> 00:30:42,133 Imagine you're making the first approach to a 399 00:30:42,266 --> 00:30:44,299 newly discovered planet. 400 00:30:44,432 --> 00:30:47,266 You've used various techniques to ascertain that this world 401 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,666 supports an astonishing variety of life-forms. 402 00:30:50,866 --> 00:30:54,200 You want to make contact, but not with their version of a 403 00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:56,733 scorpion, cobra, or great white shark. 404 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,700 You want to find the life-form that's most likely to respond gently, 405 00:31:02,834 --> 00:31:05,165 with empathy and intelligence. 406 00:31:07,834 --> 00:31:10,400 These macaque monkeys are members of what might 407 00:31:10,532 --> 00:31:13,133 be the most compassionate species on earth. 408 00:31:13,733 --> 00:31:16,532 This was demonstrated in a ghastly series of experiments 409 00:31:16,666 --> 00:31:18,532 conducted in the 1960s. 410 00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:23,232 15 macaques were fed only if they were willing to pull a 411 00:31:23,366 --> 00:31:26,866 chain and electrically shock an unrelated macaque whose 412 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,432 agony was in plain view through a one-way mirror. 413 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,799 If they refused to shock another macaque, they starved. 414 00:31:35,666 --> 00:31:37,099 After learning the ropes, 415 00:31:37,232 --> 00:31:39,900 the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain. 416 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,500 In one experiment, only a small percentage would do so, 417 00:31:43,633 --> 00:31:46,666 while more than two-thirds preferred to go hungry. 418 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,799 One macaque went without food for nearly two weeks 419 00:31:49,933 --> 00:31:52,599 rather than hurt its fellows. 420 00:31:52,733 --> 00:31:55,165 Here's the part that really gets me. 421 00:31:55,299 --> 00:31:57,700 Macaques who had themselves been shocked in previous 422 00:31:57,834 --> 00:32:01,333 experiments were even less willing to pull the chain. 423 00:32:03,567 --> 00:32:06,266 The relative social status or gender of the macaques had 424 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,232 little bearing on their reluctance to hurt others. 425 00:32:09,933 --> 00:32:14,099 These experiments permit us to glimpse in non-humans a 426 00:32:14,232 --> 00:32:17,567 saintly willingness to make sacrifices in order to save others, 427 00:32:18,866 --> 00:32:22,366 even those who are not close kin. 428 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,799 The heartless selfishness of the rabies virus, 429 00:32:26,933 --> 00:32:29,767 and the transcendent empathy of the macaques, 430 00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:32,432 are the extreme ends of a continuum, 431 00:32:32,567 --> 00:32:35,200 one that we, ourselves, are on. 432 00:32:37,266 --> 00:32:40,133 It was the evolution of successively larger brains 433 00:32:40,266 --> 00:32:43,299 through the generations of our ancestors that transformed 434 00:32:43,432 --> 00:32:47,299 human childbirth into an excruciating experience. 435 00:32:51,666 --> 00:32:54,066 Feeling, in mammals at least, 436 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,200 is mainly controlled by lower, 437 00:32:56,333 --> 00:32:58,266 more ancient parts of the brain... 438 00:32:58,599 --> 00:33:00,366 And thinking, by the higher, 439 00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:02,866 more recently evolved outer layers. 440 00:33:05,432 --> 00:33:08,467 A rudimentary ability to think was superimposed on 441 00:33:08,599 --> 00:33:11,400 the preexisting programmed behaviors. 442 00:33:14,834 --> 00:33:18,700 This is the evolutionary baggage we carry with us into 443 00:33:18,834 --> 00:33:21,133 the schoolyard, into the marriage, 444 00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:24,700 into the voting booth, into the lynch mob, 445 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,299 and onto the battlefield. 446 00:33:28,866 --> 00:33:31,633 So, what does that tell us about our future? 447 00:33:32,165 --> 00:33:36,200 Will it be nothing more than a series of dreary repetitions, 448 00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:38,599 with no escape for our children? 449 00:33:41,767 --> 00:33:44,633 I know a story that gives me hope. 450 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,599 It's the saga of a life that means we can change. 451 00:33:48,733 --> 00:33:50,834 From this distance in time, 452 00:33:50,967 --> 00:33:53,567 it's hard to know how much of it is true. 453 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,266 It happened a couple of thousand years ago, 454 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,432 which is a long time to us, 455 00:33:59,567 --> 00:34:03,200 but only about five seconds ago on the Cosmic Calendar. 456 00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:07,232 The Cosmic Calendar 457 00:34:07,366 --> 00:34:10,467 compresses all of time into a single year. 458 00:34:10,733 --> 00:34:12,867 I know no better way of wrapping our heads around the 459 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,199 fact that we are still very young, 460 00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,532 very new to the universe. 461 00:34:17,867 --> 00:34:20,567 January first is the big bang, 462 00:34:21,065 --> 00:34:25,367 and midnight on December 31 on our cosmic year is this very second. 463 00:34:27,733 --> 00:34:32,500 All of cosmic evolution, nearly 14 billion years, 464 00:34:32,632 --> 00:34:34,666 compressed into a single earth year. 465 00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:41,467 Only five Cosmic Calendar seconds ago, 466 00:34:42,032 --> 00:34:44,532 which represents about 2,200 years, 467 00:34:45,567 --> 00:34:48,367 much of the world was in the grip of absolute rulers. 468 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,934 Their armies rampaged across the planet, bringing 469 00:34:53,065 --> 00:34:56,699 torture, rape, murder, 470 00:34:57,900 --> 00:35:00,532 and mass enslavement wherever they went. 471 00:35:03,132 --> 00:35:07,432 A young man came out of an obscure backwater called Macedonia and, 472 00:35:07,567 --> 00:35:08,833 in less than a decade, 473 00:35:08,967 --> 00:35:12,266 carved out an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to 474 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,766 beyond the Indus river in India. 475 00:35:16,733 --> 00:35:19,300 Along the way, Alexander the Great crushed 476 00:35:19,432 --> 00:35:21,766 the implacable Persian army. 477 00:35:23,467 --> 00:35:25,300 And at about the same time, 478 00:35:25,432 --> 00:35:28,500 King Chandragupta conquered all of northern India. 479 00:35:29,467 --> 00:35:33,367 His son, Bindusara, assumed the throne after his death. 480 00:35:39,065 --> 00:35:41,666 As Bindusara's own death approached, 481 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,867 he intended to bequeath his empire to a favored heir. 482 00:35:46,432 --> 00:35:49,400 And legend has it that another son, 483 00:35:49,532 --> 00:35:51,967 one who had been rejected by Bindusara, 484 00:35:52,099 --> 00:35:55,733 was so ruthless in his quest for power that he murdered 485 00:35:55,867 --> 00:35:58,800 every one of his 99 half-brothers. 486 00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:04,813 Dressed in the finery that only an emperor was entitled to wear, 487 00:36:04,867 --> 00:36:08,599 the hated son stood before his dying father and declared contemptuously, 488 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,967 "I am your successor now!" 489 00:36:16,065 --> 00:36:19,467 This was Ashoka... 490 00:36:19,599 --> 00:36:21,733 And he was just getting started. 491 00:36:29,766 --> 00:36:33,666 In the 2nd century BCE, the Indian emperor Ashoka 492 00:36:34,166 --> 00:36:38,800 initiated a reign of terror known for its new heights of sadism and cruelty. 493 00:36:40,833 --> 00:36:43,934 When Ashoka's ministers balked at his command to cut down all 494 00:36:44,065 --> 00:36:47,032 the fruit trees surrounding his palace, 495 00:36:47,166 --> 00:36:50,867 Ashoka said, "Fine, we'll cut off your heads instead." 496 00:36:58,432 --> 00:37:00,800 His fiendishness knew no bounds. 497 00:37:00,934 --> 00:37:03,934 Ashoka built a magnificent palace for his unsuspecting victims. 498 00:37:06,099 --> 00:37:09,099 They did not know until it was too late that deep inside the 499 00:37:09,233 --> 00:37:13,000 palace were torture rooms designed to inflict the five 500 00:37:13,132 --> 00:37:15,467 most painful ways to die. 501 00:37:17,099 --> 00:37:19,766 It came to be known as Ashoka's Hell. 502 00:37:21,766 --> 00:37:24,599 But that was not Ashoka's greatest atrocity. 503 00:37:25,099 --> 00:37:27,666 He now set out to complete the conquest of India that his 504 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,000 grandfather had begun. 505 00:37:31,132 --> 00:37:33,099 The nation of Kalinga, to the south, 506 00:37:33,233 --> 00:37:35,967 knew no peace could be made with such a madman. 507 00:37:36,099 --> 00:37:38,532 They courageously stood their ground as Ashoka's army 508 00:37:38,666 --> 00:37:40,766 besieged the city. 509 00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:42,666 When they could bear no more, 510 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,099 Ashoka sent his troops in for the kill. 511 00:37:59,367 --> 00:38:01,900 As Ashoka surveyed his triumph, 512 00:38:02,032 --> 00:38:04,166 there was one who dared to approach him. 513 00:38:17,032 --> 00:38:20,699 Mighty king, you, who are so powerful you can 514 00:38:20,833 --> 00:38:23,766 take hundreds of thousands of lives at your whim. 515 00:38:25,300 --> 00:38:27,967 Show me how powerful you really are, 516 00:38:28,099 --> 00:38:31,500 give back but one life to this dead child. 517 00:38:37,199 --> 00:38:39,900 Who was this fearless beggar who dared 518 00:38:40,032 --> 00:38:43,166 to confront Ashoka with his crimes? 519 00:38:43,532 --> 00:38:46,666 His exact identity is lost to us, 520 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,900 but we do know that he was a disciple of Buddha, 521 00:38:50,032 --> 00:38:52,266 then a little known philosopher who had lived 522 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,800 almost 200 years before. 523 00:38:55,934 --> 00:38:57,800 Buddha preached nonviolence, 524 00:38:57,934 --> 00:39:00,632 awareness and compassion. 525 00:39:00,766 --> 00:39:03,532 His followers renounced wealth to wander the earth 526 00:39:03,666 --> 00:39:06,632 spreading Buddha's teachings by their example. 527 00:39:07,132 --> 00:39:09,867 This monk was one of them. 528 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,967 And with his courage and wisdom, 529 00:39:12,099 --> 00:39:14,833 he found the heart in a heartless man. 530 00:39:16,432 --> 00:39:19,132 Ashoka was never the same. 531 00:39:21,867 --> 00:39:23,800 He erected this pillar, 532 00:39:23,934 --> 00:39:27,065 one of many, on the site of his greatest crime. 533 00:39:27,199 --> 00:39:31,900 Engraved on it was one of the first edicts of Ashoka. 534 00:39:32,032 --> 00:39:33,967 All are my children. 535 00:39:34,099 --> 00:39:37,699 I desire for my own children their welfare and happiness, 536 00:39:37,833 --> 00:39:40,867 and this I desire for all. 537 00:39:47,934 --> 00:39:50,032 It wasn't that Ashoka was violating the 538 00:39:50,166 --> 00:39:52,099 laws of kin selection. 539 00:39:52,233 --> 00:39:55,132 It was that his definition of who was kin to him had 540 00:39:55,266 --> 00:39:58,567 expanded to include everyone. 541 00:39:59,099 --> 00:40:01,099 He banned the rituals of animal sacrifice and 542 00:40:01,233 --> 00:40:03,065 hunting for sport. 543 00:40:03,199 --> 00:40:05,632 He established veterinary hospitals throughout India, 544 00:40:05,766 --> 00:40:08,800 and he counselled his citizens to be kind to animals. 545 00:40:15,333 --> 00:40:18,599 Ashoka saw to it that wells were dug to bring water to the 546 00:40:18,733 --> 00:40:20,266 towns and villages. 547 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,800 He planted trees and built shelters along the roads of 548 00:40:22,934 --> 00:40:26,266 India so that the traveler would always feel welcome and 549 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:30,199 animals would have the mercy of shade. 550 00:40:31,632 --> 00:40:33,567 Ashoka signed peace treaties with the small 551 00:40:33,699 --> 00:40:37,132 neighboring countries that had once trembled at the mention of his name. 552 00:40:37,432 --> 00:40:40,099 He would govern India for another 30 years, 553 00:40:40,233 --> 00:40:43,132 and he used that time to build schools, universities, 554 00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:46,065 hospitals, even hospices. 555 00:40:46,432 --> 00:40:49,099 He introduced the education of women and saw no reason why 556 00:40:49,233 --> 00:40:51,967 they could not be ordained as monks. 557 00:40:52,333 --> 00:40:55,333 He instituted free health care for all and made sure 558 00:40:55,467 --> 00:40:59,233 that the medicines of the time were available to everyone. 559 00:41:04,266 --> 00:41:07,367 He decreed that all religions be honored equally. 560 00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:10,032 He ordered judicial review of those wrongfully imprisoned 561 00:41:10,166 --> 00:41:12,132 or harshly treated. 562 00:41:12,266 --> 00:41:15,132 The temples and palaces of Ashoka's reign, 563 00:41:15,266 --> 00:41:18,032 and most of the pillars he erected throughout India, 564 00:41:18,166 --> 00:41:20,967 were destroyed by generations of religious fanatics, 565 00:41:21,500 --> 00:41:25,000 outraged by what they considered to be his godlessness. 566 00:41:29,233 --> 00:41:32,632 But despite their best efforts, his legacy lives on. 567 00:41:33,532 --> 00:41:35,599 Buddhism became one of the world's most 568 00:41:35,733 --> 00:41:37,900 influential religious philosophies. 569 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,934 Ashoka's edicts were carved in stone in Aramaic, 570 00:41:44,132 --> 00:41:45,967 the language of Jesus, 571 00:41:46,099 --> 00:41:49,632 a couple of hundred years before his birth. 572 00:41:54,032 --> 00:41:56,432 Ashoka sent Buddhist emissaries to the Middle East 573 00:41:56,567 --> 00:42:00,199 to teach, compassion, mercy, humility, 574 00:42:00,333 --> 00:42:02,766 and the love of peace. 575 00:42:03,333 --> 00:42:05,199 Hear that? 576 00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,800 This is one of the few temples of Ashoka that survived the vandals, 577 00:42:09,567 --> 00:42:12,432 a cave in the hills of Barabar in India. 578 00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,666 It's famous for its echo. 579 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,132 The sound waves of my voice ricochet off the walls until 580 00:42:19,266 --> 00:42:22,266 they're completely absorbed by the surfaces of objects, 581 00:42:23,065 --> 00:42:27,065 and there's nothing left at all. 582 00:42:32,032 --> 00:42:34,032 But Ashoka's dream is different. 583 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:39,867 Its echo grows louder and louder with time. 584 00:43:04,266 --> 00:43:07,333 Who are we? 585 00:43:08,132 --> 00:43:10,500 You tell me. 586 00:43:49,166 --> 00:43:51,199 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services. 48310

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