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Our ancestors understood
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origins by extrapolating from
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their own experience.
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How else could they have done it?
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So, the universe was hatched
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from a cosmic egg,
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or conceived in the sexual
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congress of a mother god and
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a father god,
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or was a kind of product of
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the creator's workshop,
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perhaps the latest of many
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flawed attempts.
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And the universe was not much
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bigger than we see,
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and not much older than our
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written or oral records,
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and nowhere very different
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from places that we know.
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We've tended in our
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cosmologies to make things familiar.
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Despite all our best efforts,
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we've not been very inventive.
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In the West, heaven is placid
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and fluffy,
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and hell is like the inside
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of a volcano.
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In many stories, both realms
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are governed by dominance hierarchies,
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headed by gods or devils.
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Monotheists talked about the
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king of kings.
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things. In every culture, we
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imagined something like our
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own political system running
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the universe.
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Few found the similarity suspicious.
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Then science came along and
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taught us that
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we are not the measure of
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all things, that there are
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wonders unimagined, that the universe
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is not obliged to conform to
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what was considered comfortable
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or plausible.
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And again, if we
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are not important, not
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central, not the apple of
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God's eye, what is implied
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for our theologically
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based moral codes.
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The discovery of our true
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bearings in the cosmos was resisted
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for so long and to such a
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degree that many traces of
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the debate remain,
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sometimes with the motives of
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the geocentrists laid bare.
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So what do we
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really want from philosophy
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and religion?
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Palliatives?
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Therapy? Comfort? Do we want
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reassuring fables or an
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understanding of our
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actual circumstances?
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Dismay that the
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universe does not conform to
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our preferences seems childish.
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You might think that grown-ups
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would be ashamed to put such
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disappointments into print.
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The fashionable way of doing
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this is not to blame the
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universe, which seems truly pointless,
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but rather to blame the means
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by which we know the
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universe, namely science.
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Science has taught us that
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because we have a talent for
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deceiving ourselves, subjectivity
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may not freely reign.
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Its conclusions derive from
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the interrogation of nature,
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and are not in all cases pre-designed
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to satisfy our wants.
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We recognize that even revered
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religious leaders, the products
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of their time, as we are of ours,
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may have made mistakes.
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Religions contradict one another.
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On small matters, such as
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whether we should put on a
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hat or take one off on entering a
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house of worship, or whether
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we should eat beef and eschew
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pork or the other way around,
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all the way to the most
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central issues such as whether
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there are no gods, one god,
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or many gods.
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If you lived two or three
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millennia ago, there was no
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shame in holding that the universe
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was made for us.
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It was an appealing thesis
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consistent with everything we knew.
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It was what the most learned
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among us taught without qualification.
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But we've found out much since then.
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Defending such a position
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today amounts to willful
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disregard of the evidence and
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a flight from self-knowledge.
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We long to be here for a
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purpose, even though, despite
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much self-deception, none is evident.
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Our time is burdened under
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the cumulative weight of
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successive debunkings of our conceits.
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We are Johnny-come-latelys.
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We live in the cosmic boondocks.
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We emerged from microbes and muck.
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Apes are our cousins.
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Our thoughts and feelings are
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not fully under our own control.
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There may be much smarter and
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very different beings
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elsewhere, and on top of all this,
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we are making a mess of our
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planet and becoming a danger
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to ourselves.
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The trapdoor beneath our feet
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swings open.
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We find ourselves in
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bottomless freefall.
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We are lost in a great
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darkness, and there's no one
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to send out a search party.
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Given so harsh a reality, of
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course we're tempted to shut
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our eyes and pretend that
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we're safe and snug at home,
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that the fall is only a bad dream.
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Once we overcome our fear of
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being tiny,
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We find ourselves on the
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threshold of a vast and
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awesome universe that utterly
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dwarfs, in time, in space,
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and in potential, the tidy
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anthropocentric
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proscenium of our ancestors.
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We gaze across billions of
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light-years of space
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to view the universe shortly
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after the Big Bang and plumb
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the fine structure of matter.
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We peer down into the
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core of our planet and the
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blazing interior of our star.
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We read the genetic
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language in which is written
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the diverse skills and propensities
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of every being on Earth.
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We uncover hidden chapters in
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the record of our own origins.
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We invent and refine
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agriculture, without which
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almost all of us would starve to death.
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We create medicines and
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vaccines that save the lives
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of billions.
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We communicate at the speed
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of light and whip around the
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Earth in an hour and a half.
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We have sent dozens of ships
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to more than
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seventy worlds and four
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spacecraft to the stars.
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To our ancestors, there was
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much in nature to be afraid
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of—lightning, storms, Earthquakes,
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volcanoes, plagues, drought,
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long winters.
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Religions arose in part as
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attempts to propitiate and
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control, if not much to understand, the
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disorderly aspect of nature.
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How much more satisfying had
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we been placed in a garden
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custom-made for us, its other
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occupants put there for us to
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use as we saw fit?
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There is a celebrated story
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in the Western tradition like
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this, except that not quite
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everything was there for us.
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There was one particular tree
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of which we were not to
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partake, a tree of knowledge.
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Knowledge and understanding and
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wisdom were forbidden to us
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in this story.
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We were to be kept ignorant.
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But we couldn't help ourselves.
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We were starving for
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knowledge, created hungry, you
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might say.
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This was the origin of all
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our troubles.
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In particular, it's why we no
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longer live in a garden.
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We found out too much.
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So long as we were incurious
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and obedient, I imagine, we
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could console ourselves with
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our importance and centrality,
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and tell ourselves that we
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were the reason the universe was made.
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As we began to indulge our
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curiosity, though, to explore,
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to learn how the universe really
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is, we expelled ourselves from Eden.
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Angels with a flaming sword
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were set as sentries at the
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gates of paradise to bar our return.
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The gardeners became exiles
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and wanderers.
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Occasionally we mourn that
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lost world, but that, it
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seems to me, is maudlin
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and sentimental.
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We could not happily have
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remained ignorant forever.
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However, there is in this
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universe much of what seems
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to be design, but instead we repeatedly
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discover that natural
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processes, collisional selection
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of worlds, say, or natural selection
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of gene pools, or even the
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convection pattern in a pot
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of boiling water, can extract order
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out of chaos and deceive us
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into deducing purpose where
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there is none.
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The significance of our lives
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and our fragile planet is
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then determined only by our own
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wisdom and courage.
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We are the custodians of
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life's meaning.
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We long for a parent to care
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for us, to forgive us our
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errors, to save us from our
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childish mistakes.
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But knowledge is preferable
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to ignorance.
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Better by far to embrace the
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hard truth than a reassuring fail.
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If we crave some cosmic
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purpose, then let us find
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ourselves a worthy goal.
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Consider again that pale blue
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dot we've been talking about.
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Imagine that you take a good
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long look at it.
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Imagine you're staring at the
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dot for any length of time,
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and then try to convince yourself
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that God created the whole
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universe for one of the ten
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million or so species of
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life that inhabit that speck of dust.
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Now take it a step further.
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Imagine that
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everything was made just for
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a single shade of that
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species, or gender, or ethnic
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or religious subdivision.
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If this doesn't strike you as
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unlikely, pick another dot.
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it. Imagine it to be inhabited by
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a different form of intelligent life.
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They, too, cherish
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the notion of a God who has
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created everything for their benefit.
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How seriously do you take their claim?
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Our ancestors lived out of doors.
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They were as familiar with
292
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,040
the night sky as
293
00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:26,040
most of us are with our
294
00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,280
favorite television programs.
295
00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:30,200
The Sun, the Moon, the stars, and
296
00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,720
the planets all rose in the
297
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,960
east and set in the west,
298
00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:37,480
traversing the sky overhead in
299
00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,240
the interim.
300
00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:40,320
The motion of the heavenly
301
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,400
bodies was not merely a diversion.
302
00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,600
For hunters and gatherers, as
303
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:46,720
well as for agricultural
304
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,200
peoples, knowing about the sky
305
00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:49,800
was a matter
306
00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,560
of life and death.
307
00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:53,920
How lucky for us that the
308
00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,080
Sun, the Moon, the planets,
309
00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,240
and the stars are part of
310
00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:58,560
some elegantly
311
00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:01,120
configured cosmic clockwork.
312
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,040
It seemed to be no accident.
313
00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:04,680
They were put here for a purpose,
314
00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:05,960
for our benefit.
315
00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,560
Who else makes use of them?
316
00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:09,480
What else are they good for?
317
00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:10,120
And if the lights
318
00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:11,520
in the sky rise and set
319
00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,560
around us, isn't it evident
320
00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:15,440
that we're at the center of
321
00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:17,240
the universe?
322
00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,280
These celestial bodies,
so
323
00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,880
clearly suffused with unEarthly
324
00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,520
powers, especially the Sun,
325
00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,000
on which we depend for light
326
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,320
and heat circle us like
327
00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:33,840
courtiers fawning on a king.
328
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,080
Even if we had not already
329
00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,400
guessed, the most elementary
330
00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:38,240
examination of the
331
00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,160
heavens reveals that we are special.
332
00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:43,640
The universe seems designed
333
00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,840
for human beings.
334
00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,320
It's difficult to contemplate
335
00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,520
these circumstances without
336
00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:50,400
experiencing
337
00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,720
stirrings of pride and reassurance.
338
00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,680
The entire universe made for us.
339
00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:58,920
We must really be something.
340
00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:00,800
This satisfying demonstration
341
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,520
of our importance, buttressed
342
00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,520
by daily observations of the heavens,
343
00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,080
made the geocentrist conceit a
344
00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,360
transcultural truth, taught in
345
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,200
the schools, built into
346
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,480
the language, part and parcel
347
00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:18,920
of great literature and
348
00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:21,160
sacred scripture.
349
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,440
Dissenters were discouraged,
350
00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,280
sometimes with torture and death.
351
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:27,400
It is no wonder that for the
352
00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,360
vast bulk of human history no
353
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:30,880
one questioned it.
354
00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,400
Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine, St.
355
00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:34,880
Thomas Aquinas,
356
00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:36,400
and almost all the great philosophers
357
00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:38,240
and scientists of all cultures
358
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:39,440
over the three thousand years
359
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480
ending in the seventeenth century
360
00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,360
bought into this delusion.
361
00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:44,200
in.
362
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,000
Some busied themselves figuring
363
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,120
out how the Sun, the Moon,
364
00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,600
the stars, and the planets
365
00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,240
could be cunningly attached to
366
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:52,720
perfectly transparent,
367
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,680
crystalline spheres that would
368
00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:55,360
explain the
369
00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,560
complex motions of the
370
00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:58,320
celestial bodies so
371
00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,640
meticulously chronicled by
372
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,080
generations of astronomers.
373
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:04,960
Never mind how many kings,
374
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,040
popes, philosophers, scientists,
375
00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,960
and poets insisted on the contrary.
376
00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:11,280
The Earth, through those
377
00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,360
millennia, stubbornly persisted
378
00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,560
in orbiting the Sun.
379
00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:16,480
You might imagine an
380
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,040
uncharitable extraterrestrial
381
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:19,480
observer looking down on our
382
00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:20,160
species over
383
00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,040
all that time, with us
384
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,600
excitedly chattering, the
385
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:25,280
universe created for us, we're at the
386
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:26,760
center, everything pays homage
387
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,920
to us, and concluding that
388
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,560
our pretensions are amusing,
389
00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,560
our aspirations pathetic, that
390
00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:40,200
this must be the planet of the idiots.
391
00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:40,600
But such a
392
00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,320
judgment is too harsh.
393
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,400
We did the best we could.
394
00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,040
There was an unlucky coincidence
395
00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,320
between everyday appearances
396
00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:51,480
and our secret hopes. We tend not to be
397
00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:53,240
especially critical when
398
00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:54,440
presented with evidence that
399
00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,040
seems to confirm our prejudices.
400
00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:58,120
Philosophy and religion
401
00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:59,800
cautioned that the gods, or
402
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:01,360
God, were far
403
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,880
more powerful than we, jealous
404
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:05,880
of their prerogatives, and
405
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,840
quick to mete out justice for
406
00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,320
insufferable arrogance.
407
00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,160
At the same time, these
408
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,440
disciplines had not a clue
409
00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:14,840
that their own teaching of
410
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:16,400
how the universe is ordered
411
00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,280
was a conceit and a delusion.
412
00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,040
Every other proposal, and
413
00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,240
their number is legion, to
414
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,040
displace us from cosmic center
415
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:28,800
stage has also been resisted,
416
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,520
in part for similar reasons.
417
00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,040
We seem to crave privilege,
418
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,160
merited not by our works but
419
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,720
by our birth, by the mere fact
420
00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:42,880
that, say, we are humans and
421
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,760
born on Earth.
422
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:45,640
We might call it the
423
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,240
anthropocentric, the
424
00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,240
human-centered conceit.
425
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:52,560
This conceit is brought close
426
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,080
to culmination in the notion
427
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,040
that we are created in God's image.
428
00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,000
The creator and ruler of the
429
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,360
entire universe looks just like me.
430
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,600
My, what a coincidence!
431
00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,440
How convenient and satisfying!
432
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,000
The 6th century B.C.
433
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,120
Greek philosopher Xenophanes
434
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:15,600
understood
435
00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,000
the arrogance of this perspective.
436
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,880
Here's what he said.
437
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:20,640
The Ethiopians make their gods
438
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,000
black and snub-nosed.
439
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,680
The Thracians say theirs have
440
00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,280
blue eyes and red hair.
441
00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,080
Yes, and if oxen
442
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,280
and horses or lions had
443
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:32,920
hands, and could paint with
444
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,280
their hands, and produce works of art
445
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:37,320
as men do, horses would paint
446
00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:38,600
the forms of the gods like
447
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,840
horses, and oxen like oxen.
448
00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,320
The immense distances to the
449
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,200
stars and the galaxies mean
450
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:47,680
that we see everything in space
451
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:49,480
in the past.
452
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,520
Some, as they were before the
453
00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,080
Earth came to be, telescopes
454
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,600
are time machines.
455
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,680
Long ago, when an early
456
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,480
galaxy began to pour light
457
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,720
out into the surrounding darkness, no
458
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,960
witness could have known that
459
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:08,320
billions of years later some
460
00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,080
remote clumps of rock and
461
00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:11,920
metal, ice and organic
462
00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,240
molecules, would fall together
463
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,480
to make a place called Earth, or
464
00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:18,440
that life would arise and
465
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,480
thinking beings evolve, who
466
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:21,880
would one day capture a little
467
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,760
of that galactic light and
468
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,800
try to puzzle out what had
469
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,640
sent it on its way.
470
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,600
And after the Earth dies some
471
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,840
five million years from now,
472
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:34,600
after it is burned to a crisp
473
00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,760
or even swallowed by the Sun,
474
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,640
there will be other worlds
475
00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:41,680
and stars and galaxies coming
476
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,800
into being, and they will
477
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,240
know nothing of a place once
478
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:57,240
called Earth.
479
00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,520
Those worlds in space are as
480
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,240
countless as all the grains
481
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,080
of sand on all the beaches
482
00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:05,720
of the Earth.
483
00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:07,200
Each of those worlds is as
484
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:08,840
real as ours.
485
00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:10,000
In every one of them there's
486
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,320
a succession of incidents,
487
00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:14,400
events, occurrences, which
488
00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,440
influence its future.
489
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,240
Countless worlds, numberless
490
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,040
moments, an immensity of space
491
00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:23,840
and time.
492
00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:25,880
And our small planet, at this
493
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,920
moment, here we face a
494
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,520
critical branch point in history.
495
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,680
What we do with our world,
496
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,840
right now, will propagate down
497
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:37,160
through the centuries and
498
00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:38,680
powerfully affect the destiny
499
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,720
of our descendants.
500
00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,600
It is well within our power
501
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:44,880
to destroy our civilization
502
00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,760
and perhaps our species as well.
503
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:48,840
If we capitulate to
504
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,920
superstition or greed or stupidity,
505
00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:54,320
we can plunge our world into
506
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:55,680
a darkness deeper than the
507
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,680
time between the collapse of
508
00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:59,080
classical civilization and the
509
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,160
Italian Renaissance.
510
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,040
But we are also capable of
511
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,400
using our compassion and our
512
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:06,120
intelligence,
513
00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:08,600
our technology and our wealth,
514
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,320
to make an abundant and
515
00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,160
meaningful life for every inhabitant
516
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,640
of this planet, to enhance
517
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,600
enormously our understanding of
518
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,400
the universe, and to carry
519
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:28,760
us to the stars.
520
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,440
We were wanderers from the beginning.
521
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,840
We knew every stand of tree
522
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,680
for a hundred miles.
523
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:44,960
When the fruits or nuts were
524
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,560
ripe, we were there.
525
00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,000
there. We followed the herds
526
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,040
in their annual migrations.
527
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,000
We rejoiced in fresh meat. Through
528
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,320
stealth, feint, ambush, and
529
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,880
main-force assault, a few of
530
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,000
us cooperating accomplished what
531
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,040
many of us, each hunting
532
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,080
alone, could not.
533
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,440
We depended on one another.
534
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:07,320
Making it on our
535
00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:08,600
own was as ludicrous to
536
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,400
imagine as was settling down.
537
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,840
For 99.9 percent of the time since our
538
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:16,760
species came to be, we were
539
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,200
hunters and foragers, wanderers
540
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,960
on the savannas and the steppes.
541
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,000
The frontier was everywhere.
542
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,960
We were bounded only by the
543
00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,720
Earth and the ocean and the sky.
544
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,760
In the last 10,000 years, an
545
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,160
instant in our long history,
546
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,920
we've abandoned the nomadic life.
547
00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:40,200
For all its material
548
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,520
advantages, the sedentary life
549
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:46,960
has left us edgy, unfulfilled.
550
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,200
The open road still softly
551
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,600
calls, like a nearly forgotten
552
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,600
song of childhood.
553
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,240
We invest far off places with
554
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,040
a certain romance.
555
00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:59,920
The appeal, I suspect, has
556
00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:02,240
been meticulously crafted by
557
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,240
natural selection as an essential
558
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:05,680
element in our survival.
559
00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:10,080
all. Long summers, mild winters,
560
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,240
rich harvests, plentiful
561
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,040
game—none of them lasts forever.
562
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,600
It is beyond our powers to
563
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,560
predict the future.
564
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,080
Catastrophic events have a way
565
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:22,320
of sneaking
566
00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,760
up on us, of catching us unaware.
567
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:27,440
Your own life, or your
568
00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,560
band's, or even your species'
569
00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,080
These might be owed to a
570
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,760
restless few, drawn by a
571
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,120
craving they can hardly articulate or
572
00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:38,160
understand to undiscovered
573
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,480
lands and new worlds.
574
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,560
To the ancient Greeks and
575
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,360
Romans, the known world
576
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:48,240
comprised Europe and an attenuated Asia
577
00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,200
and Africa, all surrounded by
578
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,340
an impassable world ocean.
579
00:20:53,340 --> 00:20:54,200
them.
580
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:55,680
Travelers might encounter
581
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,600
inferior beings called
582
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,480
barbarians or superior beings called
583
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,800
gods, but there were not very
584
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:05,680
many gods, at least at first,
585
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,480
perhaps only a few dozen.
586
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:10,440
They lived on mountains, under
587
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,200
the Earth, in the sea, or up
588
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:14,920
there in the sky.
589
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:16,720
They sent messages to people,
590
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:18,640
intervened in human affairs,
591
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,680
and interbred with us.
592
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,000
As time passed, as the human
593
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:25,640
exploratory capacity hit its
594
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,760
stride, there were surprises.
595
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,400
Barbarians could be fully as
596
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,160
clever as Greeks and Romans.
597
00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,160
Africa and Asia were larger
598
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,360
than anyone had guessed.
599
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:40,440
The world ocean was not impassable.
600
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,880
Three new continents existed,
601
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:44,960
had been settled by Asians in
602
00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,000
ages past, and the news had
603
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,320
never reached Europe.
604
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,480
ship. Also, the gods were
605
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,960
disappointingly hard to find.
606
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:55,280
Since we first emerged a few
607
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:56,520
million years ago in East
608
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,120
Africa, we've meandered our
609
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:01,520
way around the planet. There are now
610
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,480
people on every continent and
611
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,640
the remotest islands, from
612
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,160
pole to pole, from Mount Everest
613
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,840
to the Dead Sea, on the
614
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,440
ocean bottoms, and even,
615
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,880
occasionally, in residence 200
616
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,280
miles up.
617
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,280
Humans, like the gods of old,
618
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,040
living in the sky.
619
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,360
These days, there seems to be nowhere
620
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,160
left to explore.
621
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,840
Victims of their very success,
622
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,960
the explorers now pretty much
623
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:32,840
stay home.
624
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,080
Vast migrations of people,
625
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,040
some voluntary, most not, have
626
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,280
shaped the human condition.
627
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,240
More of us flee from war,
628
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,800
oppression and famine today
629
00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:45,960
than at any other time in
630
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,760
human history.
631
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:49,440
As the Earth's climate changes
632
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,240
in the coming decades, there
633
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:52,680
are likely to be far greater
634
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,800
numbers of environmental refugees.
635
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,440
Better places will always call to us.
636
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:00,800
Tides of people will continue
637
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,040
to ebb and flow across the planet.
638
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,160
But the lands we run to now
639
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:07,540
have already been settled.
640
00:23:07,540 --> 00:23:10,120
world. Other people, often
641
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:12,240
unsympathetic to our plight,
642
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,680
are there before us. Maybe it's
643
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,640
a little early, maybe the
644
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,200
time is not quite yet, but
645
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,560
those are the worlds promising
646
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,080
untold opportunities beckon.
647
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,360
In the last few decades, the
648
00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:28,000
United States
649
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,600
and the former Soviet Union
650
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,000
have accomplished something
651
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,120
stunning and historic. The close-up
652
00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:36,080
examination of all those
653
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,280
points of light from Mercury
654
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,920
to Saturn that moved our ancestors
655
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,480
to wonder and to science.
656
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:45,800
Since the advent of successful
657
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,480
interplanetary flight in 1962,
658
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:50,840
our machines have flown by
659
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,040
or orbited or landed on more
660
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,880
than seventy new worlds.
661
00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,720
We have wandered among the wanderers.
662
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,600
We have found vast volcanic
663
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,400
eminences that dwarf the
664
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,080
highest mountain on Earth, ancient
665
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,400
river valleys on two planets,
666
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,760
enigmatically one too cold and
667
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,080
the other too hot for running
668
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,800
water, a giant planet with an
669
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,080
interior of liquid metallic
670
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,360
hydrogen into which a thousand
671
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:22,720
Earths would fit, whole moons
672
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,760
that have melted, a
673
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,160
cloud-covered place with an
674
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:26,840
atmosphere of
675
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,080
Corrosive acids, where even
676
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,080
the high plateaus are above
677
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,640
the melting point of lead.
678
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,880
Ancient surfaces, on which a
679
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,520
faithful record of the violent
680
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:38,920
formation of the solar system
681
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,920
is engraved.
682
00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:42,560
Refugee ice worlds from the
683
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,680
trans-Plutonian depths.
684
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,160
Exquisitely patterned ring
685
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,440
systems, marking the subtle
686
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,840
harmonies of gravity.
687
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:53,320
and a world surrounded by
688
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,280
clouds of complex organic
689
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,320
molecules like those that in
690
00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:57,800
the earliest
691
00:24:57,800 --> 00:24:59,440
history of our planet led to
692
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,680
the origin of life.
693
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:08,320
Silently, they orbit the Sun, waiting.
694
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:09,680
We have uncovered wonders
695
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,520
undreamt by our ancestors who
696
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:13,400
first speculated on the nature
697
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:14,840
of those wandering lights in
698
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,400
the night sky.
699
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:17,880
We have proved the origins of
700
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,080
our planet and ourselves.
701
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:21,440
By discovering what else is
702
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,640
possible, by coming face to
703
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,040
face with alternative fates of worlds
704
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:27,840
more or less like our own,
705
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,320
we have begun to better
706
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,000
understand the Earth.
707
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,200
Every one of those worlds is
708
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,400
lovely and instructive, but so
709
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,720
far as we know, they are also, every
710
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,520
one of them, desolate and barren.
711
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,160
Out there, there are no better places.
712
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,280
So far, at least.
713
00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:50,680
During the Viking robotic
714
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,440
missions, beginning in July
715
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,680
1976, in a certain sense, I spent
716
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,720
a year on Mars.
717
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,160
I examined the boulders and
718
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,840
sand dunes, the sky red even
719
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,280
at high noon, the ancient river
720
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,520
valleys, the soaring volcanic
721
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,200
mountains, the fierce wind
722
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,240
erosion, the laminated
723
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,840
polar terrain, the two dark
724
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:16,440
potato-shaped moons.
725
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,760
But there was no life. Not a
726
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:20,600
cricket, or a blade of grass,
727
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,200
or even, so far as we can
728
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,800
tell for sure, a microbe.
729
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,240
Life is a comparative rarity.
730
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:30,680
You can survey dozens of
731
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,400
worlds and find that
732
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,600
only one of them does life
733
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:40,080
arise and evolve and persist.
734
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,080
Neptune lies a million times
735
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,160
further from Earth than New
736
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,040
York City is from the banks
737
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,560
of the River Bug.
738
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:51,640
But there are no distant
739
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,320
relatives, no humans, and
740
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:55,680
apparently no life waiting for
741
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,760
us on those other worlds.
742
00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:59,600
No letters conveyed by recent
743
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,880
émigrés help us to understand
744
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,360
the new land.
745
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:05,600
Only digital data, transmitted
746
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:07,400
at the speed of light by
747
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:12,800
unfeeling, precise robot emissaries.
748
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,160
They tell us that these new
749
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,360
worlds are not much like home.
750
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:18,880
But we continue to search
751
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,640
for inhabitants.
752
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,240
We can't help it.
753
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,360
Life looks for life.
754
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:26,960
No one on Earth, not the
755
00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:28,720
richest among us, can afford
756
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,240
the passage.
757
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:31,320
So we can't pick up and
758
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,560
leave for Mars or Titan on a whim,
759
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,160
or because we're bored, or
760
00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:37,560
out of work, or drafted into
761
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,880
the army, or oppressed,
762
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,800
or because justly or unjustly
763
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,240
we've been accused of a crime.
764
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:45,400
There does not seem to be
765
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,440
sufficient short-term profit to
766
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,800
motivate private industry.
767
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:50,960
If we humans ever go to
768
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,800
those worlds, then it will be
769
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,480
because a nation or a consortium
770
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,280
of them believes it to be to
771
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,160
its advantage, or to the
772
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,400
advantage of the human species.
773
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,520
Just now, there are a great
774
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:06,400
many matters that are pressing
775
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,640
in on us, that compete for the
776
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,440
money it takes to send people
777
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,280
to other worlds.
778
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:13,760
Should we solve those problems
779
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:18,920
first, or are they a reason for going?
780
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:20,160
Even if the call of the open
781
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,960
road is muted in our time, a
782
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:24,360
central element of the human
783
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:28,120
future lies far beyond the Earth.
784
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,680
It's a sultry night in July.
785
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,600
You've fallen asleep in the armchair.
786
00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,600
Abruptly, you startle
787
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,000
awake disoriented.
788
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,560
The television set is on, but
789
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,680
not the sound.
790
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,120
You strain to understand what
791
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:53,400
you are seeing.
792
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,800
Two ghostly white figures in
793
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,200
coveralls and helmets are
794
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:02,680
softly dancing under a pitch-black sky.
795
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,080
They make strange little
796
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,600
skipping motions, which propel
797
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:08,640
them upward amid barely perceptible
798
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:10,960
clouds of dust.
799
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,320
But something
is wrong.
800
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,440
They take too long to come down.
801
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,640
Encumbered as they are, they
802
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,160
seem to be flying—a little.
803
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,640
You rub your eyes, but the
804
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,040
dreamlike tableau persists.
805
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:30,480
Of all the events surrounding
806
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:31,840
Apollo 11's landing on the
807
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,760
Moon on July 20, 1969, my
808
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:37,840
most vivid recollection is its
809
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,200
unreal quality.
810
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,400
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
811
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,040
shuffled along the gray, dusty
812
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,960
lunar surface, the Earth looming
813
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,120
large in their sky, while
814
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,360
Michael Collins, now the
815
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,600
moon's own moon, orbited above them
816
00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,400
in lonely vigil.
817
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:01,720
Yes it was an astonishing
818
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:03,880
technological achievement and a
819
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,840
triumph for the United States.
820
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,480
Yes, the astronauts displayed
821
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,480
death-defying courage.
822
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,040
Yes, as Armstrong said as he
823
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,120
first alighted, this was a
824
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,720
historic step for the human species.
825
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:18,840
But if you turned off the
826
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,880
bi-play between mission control
827
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,600
and the Sea of Tranquility
828
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:23,840
and stared into that
829
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:24,800
black-and-white television
830
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,000
monitor, you could glimpse
831
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:28,760
that we humans
832
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,880
had entered the realm of myth
833
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,720
and legend.
834
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,000
We knew the Moon from our
835
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,880
earliest days.
836
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:38,920
It was there when our
837
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:40,240
ancestors descended from the
838
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,360
trees into the savannas,
839
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,480
when we learned to walk upright,
840
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,360
when we first devised stone tools,
841
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,480
when we domesticated fire,
842
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,080
when we invented agriculture
843
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:52,840
and built cities
844
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,960
and set out to subdue the Earth.
845
00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:57,920
Folklore and popular songs
846
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,520
celebrate a mysterious connection
847
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,680
between the Moon and love.
848
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,320
Its waxing and waning from
849
00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,400
crescent to full to crescent
850
00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:14,040
to new was widely understood
851
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,760
as a celestial metaphor of
852
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:20,160
death and rebirth.
853
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:21,200
Walking on the Moon would
854
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,720
have seemed a screwball idea.
855
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:24,720
It made more sense to
856
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:26,160
imagine somehow climbing up
857
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,600
into the sky on a ladder or
858
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:29,760
on the back of a giant
859
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,480
bird, grabbing the Moon and
860
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,000
bringing it down to Earth.
861
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,200
Nobody ever succeeded, although
862
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,560
there were myths aplenty about
863
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,280
heroes who had tried.
864
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:43,960
Not until a few centuries ago
865
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:45,480
did the idea of the Moon as
866
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,160
a place a quarter million miles
867
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,680
away gain wide currency.
868
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,600
And in that brief flicker of
869
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,880
time, we've gone from the
870
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,880
earliest steps in understanding the
871
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,440
nature, to walking and
872
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,040
joyriding on its surface.
873
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:06,760
We calculated how objects move
874
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,720
in space, liquefied oxygen
875
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,200
from the air, invented big
876
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,760
rockets, telemetry, reliable
877
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:16,800
electronics, inertial guidance,
878
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,440
and much else.
879
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,480
And then we sailed out into the
880
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,840
In the late Roman Empire,
881
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:28,800
pagan philosophers had attacked
882
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,320
Christian doctrine on the ascension
883
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,440
to heaven of the body of
884
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,720
Christ and on the promised
885
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,400
bodily resurrection of the dead.
886
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,040
Saint Augustine rejoined in
887
00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,960
these words, If human skill
888
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,760
can by some contrivance fabricate
889
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,040
vessels that float out of
890
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:51,320
metals which sink.
891
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,040
How much more credible is it
892
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,080
that God, by some hidden mode
893
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,200
of operation, should even
894
00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,120
more certainly effect that
895
00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,080
these Earthly masses be
896
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,800
emancipated from the chains
897
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,120
that bind them to Earth?
898
00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:08,840
That humans should one day
899
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:10,320
discover such a mode of
900
00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,560
operation was beyond imagining.
901
00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,080
1,500 years later, we
902
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,720
emancipated ourselves.
903
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,160
Once upon a time, we soared
904
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,200
into the solar system for a few years.
905
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,160
Then we hurried back.
906
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:30,200
Why?
907
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:31,800
What happened?
908
00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:35,240
What was Apollo really about?
909
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,320
The scope and audacity of
910
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,600
John Kennedy's May 25, 1961
911
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,960
message to a joint session of Congress
912
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,680
on urgent national needs, it
913
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,680
dazzled me.
914
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,280
We would use rockets not yet
915
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:54,000
designed, and alloys not yet
916
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,080
conceived, navigation and docking
917
00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,680
schemes not yet devised, in
918
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:01,000
order to send a man to an
919
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,200
unknown world, a world not yet
920
00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:04,320
explored, not even in a
921
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,840
preliminary way, not even by robots.
922
00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:09,120
And we would bring him safely
923
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,240
back, and we would do it
924
00:34:11,240 --> 00:34:14,120
before the decade was over.
925
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,800
This confident pronouncement
926
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,160
was made before any American
927
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:21,400
had even achieved Earth orbit.
928
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:23,280
I actually thought that all
929
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:24,440
this had something centrally
930
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,360
to do with science.
931
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,400
Suddenly, I understood.
932
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:30,800
Sending people to orbit the
933
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,720
Earth, or robots to orbit the
934
00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:37,440
Sun, requires rockets.
935
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,880
Big, reliable, powerful rockets.
936
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:43,680
Those same rockets can be
937
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:45,560
used for nuclear war.
938
00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:47,200
The same technology that
939
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,000
transports a man to the Moon
940
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,480
can carry nuclear warheads
941
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,080
halfway around the world.
942
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:55,280
The same technology that puts
943
00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:56,520
an astronomer in a telescope
944
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:57,640
in Earth orbit
945
00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:01,120
It can also put up a laser
946
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,280
battle station.
947
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,400
A case can be made, then,
948
00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:06,800
that Apollo served another
949
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,040
purpose, to move the U.S.-Soviet space
950
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,160
competition from a military to
951
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,280
a civilian arena.
952
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,080
Apollo was not mainly about science.
953
00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,120
It was not even mainly about space.
954
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,680
Apollo was about ideological
955
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:27,720
confrontation and nuclear war, but more
956
00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:30,120
important than any of this,
957
00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,280
Apollo provided an aegis, an
958
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:36,360
umbrella,
under
959
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,240
which brilliantly engineered
960
00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:40,440
robot spacecraft were
961
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:41,440
dispatched throughout
962
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:44,720
the solar system, making that
963
00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:46,920
preliminary reconnaissance of
964
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:49,480
dozens of worlds. The
965
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:52,560
Offspring of Apollo have now
966
00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,320
reached the planetary frontiers.
967
00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:00,600
Apollo conveyed a confidence,
968
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:04,200
energy, and breadth of vision
969
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,160
that did capture the
970
00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:07,960
imagination of the world.
971
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,560
That, too, was part of its purpose.
972
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,600
It inspired an optimism about
973
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,360
technology,
974
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:20,680
and enthusiasm for the future.
975
00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:22,080
The Apollo astronauts on their
976
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,280
way to and from the Moon
977
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,560
photographed their home planet.
978
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:31,720
It was a natural thing to do,
979
00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:33,280
but it had consequences that
980
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,800
few foresaw.
981
00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:37,560
For the first time,
982
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:38,840
the inhabitants of Earth could
983
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,360
see their world from above.
984
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:42,880
The whole Earth.
985
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:44,920
The Earth in color.
986
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:46,560
The Earth, as an exquisite
987
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,000
spinning white and blue ball,
988
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:53,480
set against the vast darkness of space.
989
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:57,000
Those images helped awaken our
990
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:01,520
slumbering planetary consciousness.
991
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,200
They provide incontestable
992
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,040
evidence that we all share
993
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,120
the same vulnerable planet.
994
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,640
They remind us of what's
995
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:15,040
important and what's not.
996
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:16,040
We may have found that
997
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,640
perspective just in time, just
998
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:20,480
as our technology threatens the
999
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,040
habitability of our world.
1000
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,600
Whatever the reason we first
1001
00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:27,280
mustered the Apollo program,
1002
00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,880
however mired it was in Cold
1003
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:31,400
War nationalism and the
1004
00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,240
instruments of death, the
1005
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,200
inescapable recognition of the
1006
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:38,000
unity and
1007
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,680
The fragility of the Earth is
1008
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,600
its clear and luminous
1009
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:47,960
dividend, the unexpected final
1010
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,760
gift of Apollo.
1011
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:52,440
What began in deadly
1012
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,000
competition has helped us to
1013
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,120
see that global cooperation is
1014
00:37:58,120 --> 00:37:59,200
the essential
1015
00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,680
precondition for our survival.
1016
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:06,280
Travel is broadening.
1017
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:27,440
it's time to hit the road again.
1018
00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:31,440
The sky calls to us.
1019
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:32,520
If we do not destroy
1020
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,640
ourselves we will one
1021
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,600
day venture to the stars.
1022
00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:38,560
There was a time when the
1023
00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:41,280
stars seemed an impenetrable mystery.
1024
00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:42,360
Today
1025
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,800
we have begun to understand them.
1026
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:46,680
In our personal lives also we
1027
00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:49,960
journey from ignorance to knowledge.
1028
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,400
our individual growth reflects
1029
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,920
the advancement of the species.
1030
00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:57,000
The exploration of the cosmos
1031
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:05,400
is a voyage of self-discovery.
1032
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:07,320
Every one of us begins life
1033
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,520
with an open mind, a driving
1034
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:15,480
curiosity, a sense of wonder.
1035
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,720
Sometimes I think how lucky
1036
00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:20,160
we are to live in this time,
1037
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:21,760
the first moment in human
1038
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,160
history when we are, in fact,
1039
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,000
visiting other worlds and
1040
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:27,520
engaging in a deep
1041
00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,680
reconnaissance of the cosmos. But if
1042
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:31,920
we had been born in a much
1043
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,840
earlier age, no matter how
1044
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:34,960
great our dedication, we
1045
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:36,600
could not have understood what
1046
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,800
the stars and planets are.
1047
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:40,960
We would not have known
1048
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:42,640
that there were other suns
1049
00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:45,480
and other worlds.
1050
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,800
This is one of the great secrets
1051
00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:50,040
wrested from nature through a
1052
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:51,400
million years of patient
1053
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:57,000
observation and courageous thinking.
1054
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,840
The ǃKung Bushmen of the
1055
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:00,960
Kalahari Desert in the
1056
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,000
Republic of Botswana
1057
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,760
have an explanation of the Milky Way.
1058
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:06,720
At their latitude,
1059
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:09,400
it's often overhead. They call
1060
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:13,160
it the backbone of night.
1061
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,040
They believe it holds the sky up.
1062
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:17,000
They believe that if not
1063
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,360
for the Milky Way, pieces of
1064
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:21,440
sky would come crashing down
1065
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:23,160
at our feet. So the Milky Way
1066
00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:24,680
in their view as some
1067
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:31,560
practical value, a backbone of night.
1068
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,560
Later on, metaphors about
1069
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,000
campfires, or backbones,
1070
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,760
or holes through which the
1071
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:40,720
flame could be seen
1072
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:42,520
were replaced in most human
1073
00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,640
communities by another idea.
1074
00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,560
The powerful beings in the
1075
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:51,080
sky were promoted to gods.
1076
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:52,800
They were given names and
1077
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,160
relatives and special
1078
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:57,320
responsibilities for the cosmic
1079
00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,120
services they were expected to perform.
1080
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:02,560
There was a god for every
1081
00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:04,200
human concern.
1082
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,560
Gods ran nature.
1083
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,320
Nothing happened without the direct
1084
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,240
intervention of some god.
1085
00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:12,160
If the gods were happy, there
1086
00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,360
was plenty of food and humans
1087
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,160
were happy.
1088
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,040
But if something displeased
1089
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:20,840
the gods, and it didn't take
1090
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:24,760
much, the consequences were awesome.
1091
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,080
Droughts, floods, storms, wars,
1092
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:29,360
Earthquakes, volcanic
1093
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,680
eruptions, epidemics.
1094
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:34,040
The gods had
1095
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:36,840
to be propitiated, and a vast
1096
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,680
industry of priests arose to
1097
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:42,040
make the gods less angry.
1098
00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:43,840
But because the gods were
1099
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:45,760
capricious, you couldn't be
1100
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:47,920
sure what they would do.
1101
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:50,480
Nature was a mystery.
1102
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:57,240
It was hard to understand the world.
1103
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,560
Our ancestors groped in
1104
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:02,200
darkness to make sense of
1105
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:03,880
their surroundings.
1106
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,120
Powerless before nature, they
1107
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,800
invented rituals and myths.
1108
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:12,680
some desperate, cruel, others
1109
00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:16,520
imaginative, benign.
1110
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:18,040
The ancient Greeks explained
1111
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,360
that diffuse band of
1112
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:22,640
brightness in the night sky
1113
00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:24,400
as the milk of the goddess
1114
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,200
Hera, squirted from her breast
1115
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:28,720
across the heavens.
1116
00:42:28,720 --> 00:42:35,040
We still call it
the Milky Way.
1117
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:36,320
What do you do when you're
1118
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:37,800
faced with several different
1119
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,000
gods, each claiming the same territory?
1120
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,680
The Babylonian Marduk and the
1121
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:44,440
Greek Zeus were each
1122
00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,480
considered king of the gods,
1123
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,800
master of the sky.
1124
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,160
You might decide, since they
1125
00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:52,240
otherwise had rather different
1126
00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:54,000
attributes, that one of them
1127
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,400
was merely invented by the priests.
1128
00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,560
But if one, why not both?
1129
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:01,320
And so it was here that the
1130
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:02,920
great idea arose, the
1131
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:04,040
realization that there might
1132
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:05,800
be a way to know the world
1133
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:07,880
without the God hypothesis,
1134
00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:09,200
that there might be
1135
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:11,840
principles, forces, laws of
1136
00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:13,440
nature, through which the
1137
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:14,600
world might be understood
1138
00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:16,360
without attributing the fall
1139
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,240
of every sparrow to the
1140
00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:22,200
direct intervention of Zeus.
1141
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:27,160
Where are we? Who are we?
1142
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:29,680
We find that we live on an
1143
00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:31,840
insignificant planet of a
1144
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:35,800
humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked
1145
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:38,760
away in some forgotten corner
1146
00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:40,320
of a universe in which there
1147
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:46,680
are far more galaxies than people.
1148
00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:48,920
We make our world significant
1149
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:50,120
by the courage of our
1150
00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:52,360
questions and by the depth of
1151
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:55,480
our answers.
1152
00:43:55,480 --> 00:43:57,360
We embarked on our journey to
1153
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,480
the stars with a question
1154
00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:02,240
first framed in the
1155
00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:05,680
childhood of our species, and
1156
00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:09,520
in each generation asked anew
1157
00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:10,480
with undiminished
1158
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:15,920
wonder, what are the stars?
1159
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:17,800
And the answer is that the
1160
00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:19,160
stars are mighty
1161
00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,360
suns light-years away in the
1162
00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:24,800
depths of instellar space.
1163
00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:27,200
And around those suns
1164
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:30,240
are there other planets.
1165
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:32,600
And on those other worlds are
1166
00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:34,200
there beings who wonder
1167
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:39,480
as we do. Think of how many stars and
1168
00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:42,400
planets and kinds of life there may be
1169
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:48,920
in this vast and awesome universe.
1170
00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:52,240
Exploration is in our nature.
1171
00:44:52,240 --> 00:44:55,200
We began as wanderers and we
1172
00:44:55,200 --> 00:45:03,080
are wanderers still.
1173
00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:05,960
We have lingered long enough
1174
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:09,000
on the shores of the cosmic ocean.
1175
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,400
We are ready at last to set
1176
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:26,960
sail for the stars.
1177
00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:32,640
There is one experience that
1178
00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:34,960
every human shares, of every
1179
00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:37,240
language and culture, the
1180
00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:39,480
experience of birth.
1181
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,680
Our recollections of birth are
1182
00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:43,440
hazy at best.
1183
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:46,080
They have the feel and aura,
1184
00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:48,280
not so much of memories as
1185
00:45:48,280 --> 00:45:52,360
of mystical transfigurations.
1186
00:45:52,360 --> 00:45:53,640
It would be astonishing if
1187
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,400
this profound early experience
1188
00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:58,320
did not influence our myths and
1189
00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:00,600
religions, our philosophy, and
1190
00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:02,160
our science.
1191
00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:05,320
The birth of a child evokes the mystery
1192
00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:07,360
of other origins, the
1193
00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:10,200
beginnings and ends of worlds,
1194
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:16,520
infinity and eternity. How did
1195
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:20,160
the universe arise?
1196
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:24,080
What was around before that?
1197
00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,600
Might there have been no
1198
00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:27,600
beginning could the universe
1199
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:31,120
be infinitely old?
1200
00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:32,280
The current scientific
1201
00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:33,680
story of the origin of the
1202
00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:35,560
universe begins with an
1203
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:36,920
explosion which made
1204
00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:39,200
space itself expand.
1205
00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:41,240
About 15 billion years ago
1206
00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:42,640
all the matter and energy that
1207
00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:44,040
today make up the observable
1208
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,240
universe were concentrated into
1209
00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:47,400
a space smaller
1210
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:49,600
than the head of a pin.
1211
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:51,760
The cosmos blew apart in one
1212
00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:53,480
inconceivably colossal
1213
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,240
explosion, the Big Bang, and
1214
00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:58,040
the stuff of the universe
1215
00:46:58,040 --> 00:46:59,200
together with the fabric of
1216
00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:01,320
space itself began expanding
1217
00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:04,080
in all directions as they do today.
1218
00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:04,560
The early
1219
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:07,000
cosmos was everywhere white
1220
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:08,960
hot, but as time passed the
1221
00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:10,320
radiation expanded and
1222
00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:12,360
cooled and in ordinary visible
1223
00:47:12,360 --> 00:47:16,480
light space became dark as it is today.
1224
00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:18,600
But
then little pockets of gas
1225
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:20,160
began to grow.
1226
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:23,200
Tendrils of gossamer clouds formed.
1227
00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:25,720
Colonies of great, lumbering,
1228
00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:26,840
slowly spinning things,
1229
00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:30,400
steadily brightening, each a kind of
1230
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:32,200
beast composed of a hundred
1231
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:37,960
billion shining points.
1232
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,120
The largest recognizable structures
1233
00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:42,400
in the universe had formed.
1234
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:43,320
We see them today.
1235
00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:45,720
We ourselves inhabit some lost
1236
00:47:45,720 --> 00:47:47,000
corner of one.
1237
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:49,520
We call them the galaxies.
1238
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:52,240
We inhabit a universe of galaxies.
1239
00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:54,840
There are unstructured blobs,
1240
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:56,840
the irregular galaxies,
1241
00:47:56,840 --> 00:47:59,640
globular or elliptical galaxies
1242
00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:00,600
and the graceful
1243
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:05,000
blue arms of spiral galaxies.
1244
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:06,360
We've been investigating the
1245
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:07,520
galaxies, their
1246
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:09,760
origins, evolution and motions
1247
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:11,600
for less than a century.
1248
00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:14,040
These studies extend our
1249
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:15,280
understanding to the farthest
1250
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:18,160
reaches of the universe.
1251
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:19,920
We view the cosmos on the
1252
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:22,240
grandest of scales, the
1253
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:24,160
majesty of the galaxies is
1254
00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:26,760
revealed by science.
1255
00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:31,280
The galaxies reveal a
1256
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,080
universal order, beauty, but
1257
00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:36,400
also violence on a scale
1258
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:38,720
never before imagined.
1259
00:48:38,720 --> 00:48:40,440
The universe seems neither
1260
00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:43,720
benign nor hostile, merely
1261
00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:46,400
indifferent to the concerns of such
1262
00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:52,320
creatures as we.
1263
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:53,600
If the general picture,
1264
00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:55,400
however, of a Big Bang
1265
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:56,440
followed by an expanding
1266
00:48:56,440 --> 00:48:58,960
universe is correct,
1267
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:00,840
what happened before that?
1268
00:49:00,840 --> 00:49:02,720
Was the universe devoid of
1269
00:49:02,720 --> 00:49:05,200
all matter, and then the matter
1270
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:07,120
suddenly, somehow, created?
1271
00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:09,280
How did that happen?
1272
00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:10,840
In many cultures, the
1273
00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:12,840
customary
answer is that
1274
00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:15,520
a god or gods created the
1275
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:17,920
universe out of nothing.
1276
00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:19,200
But if we wish to pursue
1277
00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:21,560
this question courageously,
1278
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:23,360
We must, of course, ask the
1279
00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:24,720
next question.
1280
00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:26,840
Where did God come from?
1281
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,880
If we decide that this is an
1282
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:29,960
unanswerable question,
1283
00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:32,000
why not save a step and
1284
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:33,160
conclude that the origin of
1285
00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:34,720
the universe is an
1286
00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:36,560
unanswerable question?
1287
00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:40,320
Or, if we say that God always existed,
1288
00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:41,760
why not save a step and
1289
00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:43,560
conclude that the universe
1290
00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:44,720
always existed?
1291
00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:45,840
There's no need for a
1292
00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:47,560
creation, it was always here.
1293
00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:49,640
These are not easy questions.
1294
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:51,280
Cosmology brings us face to
1295
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:53,160
face with the deepest
1296
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:55,640
mysteries, questions that were once
1297
00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:58,240
treated only in religion.
1298
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:05,920
Every human generation has
1299
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:07,760
asked about the origin and
1300
00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:09,720
fate of the cosmos.
1301
00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:12,000
Ours is the first generation
1302
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:14,560
with a real chance of finding
1303
00:50:14,560 --> 00:50:17,080
some of the answers.
1304
00:50:17,080 --> 00:50:19,000
One way or another, we are
1305
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:26,640
poised of forever.
1306
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:49,720
In the 17th century, there
1307
00:50:49,720 --> 00:50:51,520
was still some hope that,
1308
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:52,960
even if the Earth was not the center
1309
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:54,640
of the universe, it might be
1310
00:50:54,640 --> 00:50:57,080
the only world.
1311
00:50:57,080 --> 00:50:58,120
After millennia of
1312
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:00,080
philosophical debate, the issue
1313
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,480
was settled decisively in favor of what
1314
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:05,720
was called the plurality of worlds.
1315
00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:06,680
They might be profoundly
1316
00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:08,440
different from our planet.
1317
00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:09,400
None of them might be as
1318
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:11,400
congenial for life, but the
1319
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:14,800
Earth was hardly the only one.
1320
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:15,840
This was the next in the
1321
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:17,920
series of great demotions,
1322
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:20,180
downlifting experiences,
1323
00:51:20,180 --> 00:51:22,240
demonstrations of our apparent
1324
00:51:22,240 --> 00:51:25,800
insignificance, wounds that science has
1325
00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:28,800
delivered to human pride.
1326
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:30,760
Well, some hoped, even if the
1327
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:31,400
Earth isn't at the
1328
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:33,880
center of the universe, the Sun is.
1329
00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:37,520
The Sun is our Sun, so the Earth is
1330
00:51:37,520 --> 00:51:38,920
approximately at the center of
1331
00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:40,600
the universe.
1332
00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:42,400
But by the 19th century,
1333
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:43,720
Observational astronomy had
1334
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:45,960
made it clear that the Sun
1335
00:51:45,960 --> 00:51:49,640
is but one lonely star in a great
1336
00:51:49,640 --> 00:51:51,920
self-gravitating assemblage of
1337
00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:55,640
suns called the Milky Way galaxy.
1338
00:51:55,640 --> 00:51:57,080
Far from being at the center
1339
00:51:57,080 --> 00:51:59,440
of the galaxy, our Sun, with
1340
00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:02,280
its entourage of dim and tiny
1341
00:52:02,280 --> 00:52:05,080
planets, lies in an
1342
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:07,120
undistinguished sector of an
1343
00:52:07,120 --> 00:52:09,200
obscure spiral arm.
1344
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:11,760
we are 30,000 light-years from
1345
00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:14,000
the center.
1346
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:18,360
Well, our Milky Way is the only galaxy.
1347
00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:20,640
The Milky Way galaxy is in
1348
00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:22,360
fact one of billions,
1349
00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:23,880
perhaps hundreds of billions,
1350
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:25,800
of galaxies notable
1351
00:52:25,800 --> 00:52:27,840
neither in mass, nor in
1352
00:52:27,840 --> 00:52:29,440
brightness, nor in how
1353
00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:32,200
its stars are configured and arrayed.
1354
00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:33,320
Some modern
1355
00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:35,720
deep-sky photographs show more
1356
00:52:35,720 --> 00:52:38,240
galaxies beyond the Milky Way
1357
00:52:38,240 --> 00:52:41,240
than stars within the Milky Way.
1358
00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:44,600
Every one of them is an island universe
1359
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,840
containing perhaps a hundred
1360
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:49,280
billion suns.
1361
00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:51,680
Such an image is a profound
1362
00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:55,400
sermon on humility.
1363
00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:57,000
Well then, at least our
1364
00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:58,040
galaxy is at the center of
1365
00:52:58,040 --> 00:52:59,240
the universe.
1366
00:52:59,240 --> 00:53:02,040
Nope, this is wrong too.
1367
00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:03,000
When the expansion of the
1368
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:04,000
universe was first
1369
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:05,520
discovered, many people
1370
00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:07,000
naturally gravitated to the
1371
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:07,880
notion that the Milky
1372
00:53:07,880 --> 00:53:09,040
way was at the center of the
1373
00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:10,840
expansion, and all the other
1374
00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:13,520
galaxies running away from us.
1375
00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:14,560
We now recognize that
1376
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:16,040
astronomers on any galaxy
1377
00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:17,000
would see all the others
1378
00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:17,760
running away from
1379
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:20,560
them unless they were very careful.
1380
00:53:20,560 --> 00:53:21,640
They would all conclude that
1381
00:53:21,640 --> 00:53:22,720
they were at the center
1382
00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:24,880
of the universe.
1383
00:53:24,880 --> 00:53:26,560
There is in fact no center
1384
00:53:26,560 --> 00:53:28,440
to the expansion, no point of
1385
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:30,400
origin of the Big Bang.
1386
00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:31,800
Well, even if there are
1387
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:32,760
hundreds of billions of
1388
00:53:32,760 --> 00:53:33,840
galaxies, each with hundreds
1389
00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:35,640
of billions of stars, no
1390
00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:38,400
other star has planets.
1391
00:53:38,400 --> 00:53:39,680
If there are no other planets
1392
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:41,000
beyond our solar system,
1393
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:41,800
perhaps there is no other
1394
00:53:41,800 --> 00:53:43,080
life in the universe.
1395
00:53:43,080 --> 00:53:46,400
Our uniqueness might then be saved.
1396
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:48,560
Today we have firm evidence
1397
00:53:48,560 --> 00:53:49,800
for at least three planets
1398
00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:52,840
orbiting an extremely dense star,
1399
00:53:52,840 --> 00:53:54,680
and we found for more than
1400
00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:56,000
half the stars with masses
1401
00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:57,840
like the Sun's, that early in
1402
00:53:57,840 --> 00:53:59,400
their careers, they're
1403
00:53:59,400 --> 00:54:01,720
surrounded by great disks of
1404
00:54:01,720 --> 00:54:03,840
gas and dust, out of which planets
1405
00:54:03,840 --> 00:54:05,480
seem to form.
1406
00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:06,840
Other planetary systems now
1407
00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:08,760
look to be a cosmic
1408
00:54:08,760 --> 00:54:11,680
commonplace, maybe even
1409
00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:14,240
worlds something like the Earth.
1410
00:54:14,240 --> 00:54:16,080
Well, if our position in
1411
00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:17,320
space doesn't reveal our
1412
00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:19,480
special role, our position in
1413
00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:20,760
time does.
1414
00:54:20,760 --> 00:54:21,840
We've been in the universe
1415
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:23,640
since the beginning,
1416
00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:25,120
Give or take a few days,
1417
00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:26,480
we've been given special
1418
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:31,360
responsibilities by the Creator.
1419
00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:32,560
The radioactive dating of
1420
00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:34,560
rocks, the abundance of impact
1421
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:37,000
craters on many worlds, the evolution
1422
00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:38,560
of the stars, and the
1423
00:54:38,560 --> 00:54:40,080
expansion of the universe each
1424
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:41,920
provides compelling and
1425
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:44,160
independent evidence
1426
00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:45,240
that our universe is many
1427
00:54:45,240 --> 00:54:47,240
billions of years old.
1428
00:54:47,240 --> 00:54:48,480
Despite the confident
1429
00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:49,960
assertions of revered
1430
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:51,920
theologians that a world so
1431
00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:53,800
old directly contradicts
1432
00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:55,720
the word of God, and that at
1433
00:54:55,720 --> 00:54:57,160
any rate information on the
1434
00:54:57,160 --> 00:54:59,400
antiquity of the world is inaccessible
1435
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:00,840
except to faith.
1436
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:01,960
These lines of evidence as
1437
00:55:01,960 --> 00:55:02,760
well would have to be
1438
00:55:02,760 --> 00:55:04,440
manufactured by a deceptive
1439
00:55:04,440 --> 00:55:05,120
and malicious
1440
00:55:05,120 --> 00:55:07,520
deity unless the world is
1441
00:55:07,520 --> 00:55:09,800
much older than the literalists in the
1442
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:11,120
Judeo-Christian-Islamic
1443
00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:14,280
religion suppose.
1444
00:55:14,280 --> 00:55:17,720
Ages rolled by before the Earth began.
1445
00:55:17,720 --> 00:55:19,040
More ages will run their
1446
00:55:19,040 --> 00:55:22,120
course before it is destroyed.
1447
00:55:22,120 --> 00:55:23,360
A distinction needs to be
1448
00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:25,200
drawn between how old the
1449
00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:28,560
Earth is and how old the universe is.
1450
00:55:28,560 --> 00:55:30,040
The immense interval of time
1451
00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:30,960
between the origin of the
1452
00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:33,840
universe and our epoch was two-thirds
1453
00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:36,680
over before the Earth came to be.
1454
00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:38,200
Some stars and planetary
1455
00:55:38,200 --> 00:55:39,920
systems are billions of years
1456
00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:42,360
younger, others billions of
1457
00:55:42,360 --> 00:55:43,920
years older.
1458
00:55:43,920 --> 00:55:46,791
But in Genesis chapter 1
1459
00:55:46,791 --> 00:55:47,600
verse 1, the universe and the
1460
00:55:47,600 --> 00:55:50,200
Earth are created on the same day.
1461
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:53,840
As for humans, we're latecomers.
1462
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:55,360
We appear in the last instant
1463
00:55:55,360 --> 00:55:56,240
of cosmic time.
1464
00:55:57,160 --> 00:55:58,240
The history of the universe
1465
00:55:58,240 --> 00:56:04,320
till now was 99.998% over,
1466
00:56:04,320 --> 00:56:06,280
before our species arrived on
1467
00:56:06,280 --> 00:56:07,840
the scene.
1468
00:56:07,840 --> 00:56:10,320
In that vast sweep of eons,
1469
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:11,600
we could not have assumed any
1470
00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:13,320
special responsibilities
1471
00:56:13,320 --> 00:56:15,720
for our planet or life or
1472
00:56:15,720 --> 00:56:17,120
anything else.
1473
00:56:17,120 --> 00:56:19,440
We were not here.
1474
00:56:19,440 --> 00:56:21,240
Our common sense intuitions
1475
00:56:21,240 --> 00:56:22,840
can be mistaken.
1476
00:56:22,840 --> 00:56:25,840
Our preferences don't count. We
1477
00:56:25,840 --> 00:56:28,360
do not live in a privileged
1478
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:31,480
reference frame.
1479
00:56:31,480 --> 00:56:34,480
Well, even if our position, our
1480
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:36,520
epoch, our motion, and our
1481
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,240
world are not unique, maybe we are.
1482
00:56:39,240 --> 00:56:39,880
We're different from
1483
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:41,320
the other animals.
1484
00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:43,520
We're specially created.
1485
00:56:43,520 --> 00:56:45,320
The particular devotion of the
1486
00:56:45,320 --> 00:56:46,560
creator of the universe is
1487
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:49,200
evident in us.
1488
00:56:49,200 --> 00:56:51,680
This position was passionately
1489
00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:52,880
defended on religious and
1490
00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:55,240
other grounds, but in the middle
1491
00:56:55,240 --> 00:56:56,800
19th century Charles Darwin
1492
00:56:56,800 --> 00:56:58,920
showed convincingly how one
1493
00:56:58,920 --> 00:57:01,600
species can evolve into another by
1494
00:57:01,600 --> 00:57:03,800
entirely natural processes
1495
00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:04,680
which come down to the
1496
00:57:04,680 --> 00:57:07,160
heartless business of nature saving
1497
00:57:07,160 --> 00:57:09,040
the heredities that work and
1498
00:57:09,040 --> 00:57:12,200
rejecting those that don't.
1499
00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:14,520
Man, in his arrogance, thinks
1500
00:57:14,520 --> 00:57:17,400
himself a great work, worthy
1501
00:57:17,400 --> 00:57:20,520
of the interposition of a deity.
1502
00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:22,080
More humble, and I think
1503
00:57:22,080 --> 00:57:24,680
truer, to consider him created
1504
00:57:24,680 --> 00:57:26,160
from animals.
1505
00:57:26,680 --> 00:57:28,120
The profound and intimate
1506
00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:29,360
connections of humans with the
1507
00:57:29,360 --> 00:57:31,440
other life-forms on Earth has been
1508
00:57:31,440 --> 00:57:33,200
compellingly demonstrated in
1509
00:57:33,200 --> 00:57:34,920
the late twentieth century by
1510
00:57:34,920 --> 00:57:39,480
the new science of molecular biology."
1511
00:57:39,480 --> 00:57:41,520
Well, even if we're closely
1512
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:42,600
related to some of the other
1513
00:57:42,600 --> 00:57:44,480
animals, we're different.
1514
00:57:44,480 --> 00:57:47,080
Not just in degree, but in kind.
1515
00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:49,080
On what really matters,
1516
00:57:49,080 --> 00:57:51,960
reasoning, self-consciousness,
1517
00:57:51,960 --> 00:57:54,960
tool-making, ethics, altruism,
1518
00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:55,560
religion,
1519
00:57:55,560 --> 00:57:59,440
language, nobility of character.
1520
00:57:59,440 --> 00:58:00,680
Human uniqueness has been
1521
00:58:00,680 --> 00:58:04,400
exaggerated, sometimes grossly so.
1522
00:58:04,400 --> 00:58:06,080
Chimps reason, are
1523
00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:07,600
self-conscious, make tools,
1524
00:58:07,600 --> 00:58:10,400
show devotion, and so on.
1525
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:12,960
Chimps and humans have 99.6%
1526
00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:16,840
of their active genes in common.
1527
00:58:16,840 --> 00:58:19,480
Okay, maybe we're not much.
1528
00:58:19,480 --> 00:58:21,160
Maybe we're humiliatingly
1529
00:58:21,160 --> 00:58:22,720
related to apes.
1530
00:58:22,720 --> 00:58:24,720
But at least we're the best there is.
1531
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:26,720
God and angels aside, we're
1532
00:58:26,720 --> 00:58:28,040
the only intelligent beings in
1533
00:58:28,040 --> 00:58:30,880
the universe.
1534
00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:32,160
But the simple fact is that
1535
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:33,000
we have not yet found
1536
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:34,440
extraterrestrial life.
1537
00:58:34,440 --> 00:58:35,720
We're in the earliest stages
1538
00:58:35,720 --> 00:58:36,800
of looking.
1539
00:58:36,800 --> 00:58:39,040
The question is wide open.
1540
00:58:39,040 --> 00:58:41,320
If I had to guess, especially
1541
00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:42,960
considering our long sequence
1542
00:58:42,960 --> 00:58:45,720
of failed chauvinisms, I'd
1543
00:58:45,720 --> 00:58:46,760
guess that the universe is
1544
00:58:46,760 --> 00:58:48,560
filled with beings far more
1545
00:58:48,560 --> 00:58:50,640
intelligent, far more advanced
1546
00:58:50,640 --> 00:58:52,320
than we are.
1547
00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:55,320
But, of course, I might be wrong.
1548
00:58:55,320 --> 00:58:56,760
Such a conclusion is at best
1549
00:58:56,760 --> 00:58:58,640
based on a plausibility
1550
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:00,480
argument, derived from the
1551
00:59:00,480 --> 00:59:01,640
numbers of planets,
1552
00:59:01,640 --> 00:59:03,280
the ubiquity of organic
1553
00:59:03,280 --> 00:59:05,120
matter, the immense time
1554
00:59:05,120 --> 00:59:06,720
scales available for evolution,
1555
00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:07,960
and so on.
1556
00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:10,440
It's not a scientific demonstration.
1557
00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:11,480
The question is among the
1558
00:59:11,480 --> 00:59:14,160
most fascinating in all of science.
1559
00:59:14,160 --> 00:59:15,480
We are just developing the
1560
00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:18,880
tools to treat it seriously.
1561
00:59:18,880 --> 00:59:19,960
What about the related matter
1562
00:59:19,960 --> 00:59:21,160
of whether we are capable of
1563
00:59:21,160 --> 00:59:22,840
creating intelligences smarter
1564
00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:24,600
than ourselves.
1565
00:59:24,600 --> 00:59:26,080
Computers routinely do
1566
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:27,680
mathematics that no unaided
1567
00:59:27,680 --> 00:59:30,080
human can manage, outperform
1568
00:59:30,080 --> 00:59:31,640
world champions in checkers
1569
00:59:31,640 --> 00:59:34,440
and grandmasters in chess,
1570
00:59:34,440 --> 00:59:35,800
speak and understand English and
1571
00:59:35,800 --> 00:59:37,280
other languages, write
1572
00:59:37,280 --> 00:59:38,640
presentable short stories and
1573
00:59:38,640 --> 00:59:41,000
musical compositions, learn from
1574
00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:43,560
their mistakes, and competently
1575
00:59:43,560 --> 00:59:47,040
pilot ships, airplanes, and spacecraft.
1576
00:59:47,040 --> 00:59:49,200
Their abilities steadily improve.
1577
00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:52,400
They're
getting smaller, faster, and cheaper.
1578
00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:53,800
Every year the tide of
1579
00:59:53,800 --> 00:59:56,160
scientific advance laps a
1580
00:59:56,160 --> 00:59:58,240
little further ashore on the
1581
00:59:58,240 --> 00:59:59,680
island of human and collectual
1582
00:59:59,680 --> 01:00:00,760
uniqueness
1583
01:00:00,760 --> 01:00:04,800
with its embattled castaways.
1584
01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:06,120
The long-standing view, as
1585
01:00:06,120 --> 01:00:08,040
summarized by the philosopher Immanuel
1586
01:00:08,040 --> 01:00:12,520
Kant, that without man the
1587
01:00:12,520 --> 01:00:14,080
whole of creation would be a
1588
01:00:14,080 --> 01:00:17,040
mere wilderness, a thing in vain,
1589
01:00:17,040 --> 01:00:19,720
and have no final end is
1590
01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:24,000
revealed to be self-indulgent folly.
1591
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:24,880
A principle of
1592
01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:27,640
mediocrity seems to apply to
1593
01:00:27,640 --> 01:00:30,080
all our circumstances.
1594
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:31,360
We would not have known
1595
01:00:31,360 --> 01:00:33,000
beforehand that the evidence
1596
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:34,320
would be so repeatedly and
1597
01:00:34,320 --> 01:00:37,240
thoroughly incompatible
1598
01:00:37,240 --> 01:00:38,160
with the proposition that
1599
01:00:38,160 --> 01:00:40,040
human beings are at center
1600
01:00:40,040 --> 01:00:43,520
stage in the universe. But
1601
01:00:43,520 --> 01:00:45,160
Most of the debates have now
1602
01:00:45,160 --> 01:00:48,200
been settled decisively
1603
01:00:48,200 --> 01:00:50,080
in favor of a position that,
1604
01:00:50,080 --> 01:00:51,400
however painful,
1605
01:00:51,400 --> 01:00:53,280
can be encapsulated in a
1606
01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:55,080
single sentence.
1607
01:00:55,080 --> 01:00:56,360
We have not been given the
1608
01:00:56,360 --> 01:01:00,200
lead in the cosmic drama.
1609
01:01:00,200 --> 01:01:02,360
Perhaps someone else has.
1610
01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:04,480
Perhaps no one else has.
1611
01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:06,640
In either case, we have good
1612
01:01:06,640 --> 01:01:15,320
reason for humility.
1613
01:01:15,320 --> 01:01:17,880
When my grandparents were children,
1614
01:01:17,880 --> 01:01:19,680
The electric light, the
1615
01:01:19,680 --> 01:01:22,600
automobile, the airplane, and
1616
01:01:22,600 --> 01:01:26,200
the radio were stupefying technological
1617
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:29,840
advances, the wonders of the age.
1618
01:01:29,840 --> 01:01:31,640
But in that same time, around
1619
01:01:31,640 --> 01:01:33,920
the turn of the last century,
1620
01:01:33,920 --> 01:01:35,360
there were two men who foresaw
1621
01:01:35,360 --> 01:01:37,280
other far more ambitious
1622
01:01:37,280 --> 01:01:39,920
inventions, Konstantin
1623
01:01:39,920 --> 01:01:44,200
Tsiolkovsky and Robert Goddard.
1624
01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:46,480
They dreamt of using rockets
1625
01:01:46,480 --> 01:01:49,760
to journey to the planets and
1626
01:01:49,760 --> 01:01:52,040
the stars.
1627
01:01:52,040 --> 01:01:54,160
Step by step, they worked out
1628
01:01:54,160 --> 01:01:56,120
the fundamental physics and
1629
01:01:56,120 --> 01:01:58,360
many of the details.
1630
01:01:58,360 --> 01:02:02,920
Gradually, their machines took shape.
1631
01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:05,000
Ultimately, their dream
1632
01:02:05,000 --> 01:02:09,120
proved infectious.
1633
01:02:09,120 --> 01:02:11,680
A generation later, inspired
1634
01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:14,280
by Tsiolkovsky and Goddard,
1635
01:02:14,280 --> 01:02:17,000
Werner von Braun was constructing
1636
01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:18,360
the first rocket capable of
1637
01:02:18,360 --> 01:02:22,640
reaching the edge of space, the V-2.
1638
01:02:22,640 --> 01:02:25,920
But in one of those ironies
1639
01:02:25,920 --> 01:02:26,760
with which the twentieth
1640
01:02:26,760 --> 01:02:30,760
century is replete, von Braun was
1641
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:34,520
building it for the Nazis.
1642
01:02:34,520 --> 01:02:35,400
as an instrument of
1643
01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:36,600
indiscriminate slaughter of
1644
01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,160
civilians, as a vengeance
1645
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:42,040
weapon for Hitler.
1646
01:02:42,040 --> 01:02:43,720
The rocket factories staffed
1647
01:02:43,720 --> 01:02:46,440
with slave labor, untold human
1648
01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:48,200
suffering exacted in the construction
1649
01:02:48,200 --> 01:02:50,800
of every booster.
1650
01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:52,520
Another generation later,
1651
01:02:52,520 --> 01:02:53,520
building on the work of
1652
01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:56,560
Tsiolkovsky and Goddard, extending
1653
01:02:56,560 --> 01:02:58,320
Using von Braun's technological
1654
01:02:58,320 --> 01:03:00,760
genius, we were up there in
1655
01:03:00,760 --> 01:03:03,960
space, silently circumnavigating
1656
01:03:03,960 --> 01:03:06,920
the Earth, treading the
1657
01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:11,120
ancient and desolate lunar surface.
1658
01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:13,560
Our machines, increasingly
1659
01:03:13,560 --> 01:03:17,240
competent and autonomous, were
1660
01:03:17,240 --> 01:03:18,600
spreading through the solar
1661
01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:20,220
system, discovering
1662
01:03:20,220 --> 01:03:22,040
discovering new worlds,
1663
01:03:22,040 --> 01:03:23,680
examining them closely,
1664
01:03:23,680 --> 01:03:26,000
searching for life, comparing
1665
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:29,960
them with Earth.
1666
01:03:29,960 --> 01:03:31,840
This is one reason that in
1667
01:03:31,840 --> 01:03:33,240
the long astronomical
1668
01:03:33,240 --> 01:03:35,440
perspective there is something
1669
01:03:35,440 --> 01:03:40,360
truly epical about now.
1670
01:03:40,360 --> 01:03:43,000
And there's a second reason.
1671
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:44,240
This is the first moment in
1672
01:03:44,240 --> 01:03:46,080
the history of our planet
1673
01:03:46,080 --> 01:03:48,800
when any species by its own voluntary
1674
01:03:48,800 --> 01:03:52,560
actions has become a danger to itself.
1675
01:03:52,560 --> 01:03:54,440
We've been burning fossil fuels for
1676
01:03:54,440 --> 01:03:57,240
hundreds of thousands of years.
1677
01:03:57,240 --> 01:03:59,720
By the 1960s there were so
1678
01:03:59,720 --> 01:04:00,920
many of us burning
1679
01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:02,760
wood, coal, oil and natural
1680
01:04:02,760 --> 01:04:06,160
gas on so large a scale that
1681
01:04:06,160 --> 01:04:07,120
scientists began to
1682
01:04:07,120 --> 01:04:08,720
worry about the increasing
1683
01:04:08,720 --> 01:04:11,240
greenhouse effect.
1684
01:04:11,240 --> 01:04:13,800
The dangers of global warming
1685
01:04:13,800 --> 01:04:17,000
began slowly slipping into
1686
01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:19,000
public consciousness.
1687
01:04:19,000 --> 01:04:20,000
Nuclear weapons were
1688
01:04:20,000 --> 01:04:23,000
invented in 1945.
1689
01:04:23,000 --> 01:04:25,240
It took until 1983 before the
1690
01:04:25,240 --> 01:04:26,360
global consequences of
1691
01:04:26,360 --> 01:04:30,280
thermonuclear war were understood.
1692
01:04:30,280 --> 01:04:32,320
Biological warfare has been with us for
1693
01:04:32,320 --> 01:04:34,400
centuries, but it's deadly
1694
01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:37,000
mating with molecular biology
1695
01:04:37,000 --> 01:04:39,600
has occurred only lately.
1696
01:04:39,600 --> 01:04:41,000
We humans have already
1697
01:04:41,000 --> 01:04:42,720
precipitated extinctions of
1698
01:04:42,720 --> 01:04:44,160
species on a
1699
01:04:44,160 --> 01:04:45,760
scale unprecedented since the
1700
01:04:45,760 --> 01:04:48,520
end of the Cretaceous period,
1701
01:04:48,520 --> 01:04:49,440
but only in the last
1702
01:04:49,440 --> 01:04:51,120
decade has the magnitude of
1703
01:04:51,120 --> 01:04:54,000
these extinctions become clear and the
1704
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:57,000
possibility raised that in our
1705
01:04:57,000 --> 01:04:59,280
ignorance of the interrelations
1706
01:04:59,280 --> 01:05:00,840
of life on Earth
1707
01:05:00,840 --> 01:05:05,520
we may be endangering our own future.
1708
01:05:05,520 --> 01:05:07,600
In the littered field of
1709
01:05:07,600 --> 01:05:09,920
discredited, self-congratulatory
1710
01:05:09,920 --> 01:05:12,720
chauvinisms, there is only one
1711
01:05:12,720 --> 01:05:13,080
that seems
1712
01:05:13,080 --> 01:05:15,120
to hold up, one sense in
1713
01:05:15,120 --> 01:05:19,200
which we are special, due to
1714
01:05:19,200 --> 01:05:22,160
our own actions or inactions, and the
1715
01:05:22,160 --> 01:05:24,440
misuse of our technology, we
1716
01:05:24,440 --> 01:05:25,920
live at an extraordinary
1717
01:05:25,920 --> 01:05:26,800
moment for the Earth, at
1718
01:05:26,800 --> 01:05:28,560
least the first
1719
01:05:28,560 --> 01:05:30,400
time that a species has been
1720
01:05:30,400 --> 01:05:33,720
able to wipe itself out.
1721
01:05:33,720 --> 01:05:36,600
But this is also, we may note,
1722
01:05:36,600 --> 01:05:38,040
the first time that a species
1723
01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:40,400
has become able to journey to
1724
01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:43,360
the planets and the stars.
1725
01:05:43,360 --> 01:05:45,800
The two times, brought about
1726
01:05:45,800 --> 01:05:49,880
by the same technology, coincide.
1727
01:05:49,880 --> 01:05:52,080
It might be a familiar progression,
1728
01:05:52,080 --> 01:05:55,080
Transpiring on many worlds, a
1729
01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:58,320
planet, newly formed, placidly
1730
01:05:58,320 --> 01:06:00,960
revolves around its star.
1731
01:06:00,960 --> 01:06:03,440
Life slowly forms.
1732
01:06:03,440 --> 01:06:05,240
A kaleidoscopic procession of
1733
01:06:05,240 --> 01:06:07,720
creatures evolves.
1734
01:06:07,720 --> 01:06:10,720
Intelligence emerges, which, at
1735
01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:13,440
least up to a point, confers
1736
01:06:13,440 --> 01:06:16,240
enormous survival value.
1737
01:06:16,240 --> 01:06:20,720
And then, technology is invented.
1738
01:06:20,720 --> 01:06:22,480
It dawns on them that there
1739
01:06:22,480 --> 01:06:23,880
are such things as laws of
1740
01:06:23,880 --> 01:06:26,400
nature, that these laws can be
1741
01:06:26,400 --> 01:06:28,960
revealed by experiment, and
1742
01:06:28,960 --> 01:06:31,480
that knowledge of these laws
1743
01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:33,840
can be made both to save and
1744
01:06:33,840 --> 01:06:36,160
to take lives, both on
1745
01:06:36,160 --> 01:06:38,440
unprecedented scales.
1746
01:06:38,440 --> 01:06:40,920
Science they recognize grants
1747
01:06:40,920 --> 01:06:43,280
immense powers.
1748
01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:45,760
In a flash, they create
1749
01:06:45,760 --> 01:06:48,920
world-altering contrivances.
1750
01:06:48,920 --> 01:06:50,640
Some planetary civilizations
1751
01:06:50,640 --> 01:06:52,760
see their way through, place
1752
01:06:52,760 --> 01:06:54,280
limits on what may and what
1753
01:06:54,280 --> 01:06:55,880
must not be done,
1754
01:06:55,880 --> 01:06:57,960
and safely pass through the
1755
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:00,000
time of perils.
1756
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:03,120
Others, not so lucky or so
1757
01:07:03,120 --> 01:07:06,520
prudent, perish.
1758
01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:08,640
Since, in the long run, every
1759
01:07:08,640 --> 01:07:09,920
planetary society will be
1760
01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:13,000
endangered by impacts from space,
1761
01:07:13,000 --> 01:07:15,120
Every surviving civilization is
1762
01:07:15,120 --> 01:07:18,000
obliged to become spacefaring.
1763
01:07:18,000 --> 01:07:20,320
Not because of exploratory or
1764
01:07:20,320 --> 01:07:22,320
romantic zeal,
1765
01:07:22,320 --> 01:07:24,000
but for the most practical
1766
01:07:24,000 --> 01:07:25,520
reason imaginable.
1767
01:07:26,360 --> 01:07:29,000
Staying alive.
1768
01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:30,160
And once you're out there in
1769
01:07:30,160 --> 01:07:32,440
space for centuries,
1770
01:07:32,440 --> 01:07:34,360
for millennia,
1771
01:07:34,360 --> 01:07:37,080
moving little worlds around,
1772
01:07:37,080 --> 01:07:39,400
engineering planets,
1773
01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:41,200
Your species has been pried
1774
01:07:41,200 --> 01:07:44,560
loose from its cradle.
1775
01:07:44,560 --> 01:07:47,000
If they exist, many other
1776
01:07:47,000 --> 01:07:49,880
civilizations will eventually
1777
01:07:49,880 --> 01:07:53,600
venture far from home.
1778
01:07:53,600 --> 01:07:54,840
Of course we must keep our
1779
01:07:54,840 --> 01:07:57,040
planet habitable, not on a
1780
01:07:57,040 --> 01:07:59,120
leisurely timescale of centuries
1781
01:07:59,120 --> 01:08:01,120
or millennia, but urgently on
1782
01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:04,640
a timescale of decades or even years.
1783
01:08:04,640 --> 01:08:06,280
This will involve changes in
1784
01:08:06,280 --> 01:08:09,160
government, in industry, in
1785
01:08:09,160 --> 01:08:12,960
ethics, in economics and in religion.
1786
01:08:12,960 --> 01:08:14,200
We've never done such a thing
1787
01:08:14,200 --> 01:08:16,000
before, certainly not on a
1788
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:17,920
global scale.
1789
01:08:17,920 --> 01:08:20,400
It may well be too difficult for us.
1790
01:08:20,400 --> 01:08:22,480
Dangerous technologies may be
1791
01:08:22,480 --> 01:08:24,280
too widespread.
1792
01:08:24,280 --> 01:08:27,000
Corruption may be too pervasive.
1793
01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:28,200
Too many leaders may be
1794
01:08:28,200 --> 01:08:29,960
focused on the short term
1795
01:08:29,960 --> 01:08:32,000
rather than the long.
1796
01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:32,800
There may be too many
1797
01:08:32,800 --> 01:08:34,600
quarreling ethnic groups,
1798
01:08:34,600 --> 01:08:37,280
nation-states, and ideologies
1799
01:08:37,280 --> 01:08:37,960
for the right
1800
01:08:37,960 --> 01:08:40,920
kind of global change to be instituted.
1801
01:08:40,920 --> 01:08:42,240
We may be too foolish to
1802
01:08:42,240 --> 01:08:44,120
perceive even what the real
1803
01:08:44,120 --> 01:08:46,440
dangers are, or that much of what
1804
01:08:46,440 --> 01:08:47,960
we hear about them is
1805
01:08:47,960 --> 01:08:49,240
determined by those with a
1806
01:08:49,240 --> 01:08:51,160
vested interest in minimizing
1807
01:08:51,160 --> 01:08:53,640
fundamental change.
1808
01:08:53,640 --> 01:08:55,040
However, we humans also have
1809
01:08:55,040 --> 01:08:56,600
a history of making
1810
01:08:56,600 --> 01:08:59,160
long-lasting social change that nearly
1811
01:08:59,160 --> 01:09:02,480
everyone thought was impossible.
1812
01:09:02,480 --> 01:09:04,640
Since our earliest days, we've
1813
01:09:04,640 --> 01:09:06,520
worked not just for our
1814
01:09:06,520 --> 01:09:08,600
own advantage, but for our
1815
01:09:08,600 --> 01:09:11,760
children and our grandchildren.
1816
01:09:11,760 --> 01:09:13,440
The newly recognized dangers
1817
01:09:13,440 --> 01:09:17,120
threaten all of us equally.
1818
01:09:17,120 --> 01:09:19,280
No one can say how it will
1819
01:09:19,280 --> 01:09:22,000
turn out down here.
1820
01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:24,040
The moon was where the tree
1821
01:09:24,040 --> 01:09:26,560
of immortality grew in ancient
1822
01:09:26,560 --> 01:09:28,880
Chinese myth.
1823
01:09:28,880 --> 01:09:32,400
The tree of longevity indeed
1824
01:09:32,400 --> 01:09:35,120
grows on other worlds.
1825
01:09:35,120 --> 01:09:36,560
If we were up there among
1826
01:09:36,560 --> 01:09:38,800
the planets, if there were
1827
01:09:38,800 --> 01:09:40,080
self-sufficient human
1828
01:09:40,080 --> 01:09:41,000
communities on many
1829
01:09:41,000 --> 01:09:43,480
worlds, our species would be
1830
01:09:43,480 --> 01:09:46,440
insulated from catastrophe.
1831
01:09:46,440 --> 01:09:47,800
A cataclysmic impact on
1832
01:09:47,800 --> 01:09:49,840
one world would likely leave
1833
01:09:49,840 --> 01:09:52,840
the others untouched.
1834
01:09:52,840 --> 01:09:54,120
The more of us beyond the
1835
01:09:54,120 --> 01:09:55,800
Earth, the greater the
1836
01:09:55,800 --> 01:09:56,920
diversity of worlds we
1837
01:09:56,920 --> 01:09:59,160
inhabit, the more varied the
1838
01:09:59,160 --> 01:10:01,400
planetary engineering, the
1839
01:10:01,400 --> 01:10:02,920
greater the range of societal
1840
01:10:02,920 --> 01:10:05,320
standards and values,
1841
01:10:05,320 --> 01:10:06,920
then the safer the human
1842
01:10:06,920 --> 01:10:09,000
species will be.
1843
01:10:09,000 --> 01:10:12,720
This strategy, breaking up into many
1844
01:10:12,720 --> 01:10:15,600
smaller self-propagating groups,
1845
01:10:15,600 --> 01:10:16,760
each with somewhat different
1846
01:10:16,760 --> 01:10:17,520
strengths and
1847
01:10:17,520 --> 01:10:19,720
concerns but all marked by
1848
01:10:19,720 --> 01:10:22,400
local pride has been widely
1849
01:10:22,400 --> 01:10:23,040
employed in the
1850
01:10:23,040 --> 01:10:25,040
evolution of life on Earth
1851
01:10:25,040 --> 01:10:28,920
and by our own ancestors in particular.
1852
01:10:28,920 --> 01:10:29,560
It may in
1853
01:10:29,560 --> 01:10:31,560
fact be key to understanding
1854
01:10:31,560 --> 01:10:35,360
why we humans are the way we are.
1855
01:10:35,360 --> 01:10:36,020
If our long
1856
01:10:36,020 --> 01:10:38,520
term survival is at stake we
1857
01:10:38,520 --> 01:10:40,720
have a basic responsibility to
1858
01:10:40,720 --> 01:10:42,600
our species to
1859
01:10:42,600 --> 01:10:46,040
venture to other worlds.
1860
01:10:46,040 --> 01:10:51,240
Sailors on a becalmed sea, we
1861
01:10:51,240 --> 01:10:55,240
sense the stirring of a breeze.
1862
01:11:21,800 --> 01:11:25,480
As children, we fear the dark.
1863
01:11:25,480 --> 01:11:27,680
Anything might be out there.
1864
01:11:27,680 --> 01:11:33,320
The unknown troubles us. Ironically,
1865
01:11:33,320 --> 01:11:36,400
Maybe it's our fate to live
1866
01:11:36,400 --> 01:11:38,840
in the dark.
1867
01:11:38,840 --> 01:11:40,600
This unexpected finding of
1868
01:11:40,600 --> 01:11:41,760
science is only about three
1869
01:11:41,760 --> 01:11:43,920
centuries old.
1870
01:11:43,920 --> 01:11:45,000
Head out from the Earth in
1871
01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:49,000
any direction you choose, and
1872
01:11:49,000 --> 01:11:51,440
after an initial flash of blue
1873
01:11:51,440 --> 01:11:52,760
and a longer wait while the
1874
01:11:52,760 --> 01:11:55,520
Sun fades, you are surrounded
1875
01:11:55,520 --> 01:11:58,440
by blackness, punctuated only
1876
01:11:58,440 --> 01:12:01,080
here and there by the faint
1877
01:12:01,080 --> 01:12:04,800
and distant stars.
1878
01:12:04,800 --> 01:12:07,160
Even after we're grown, the
1879
01:12:07,160 --> 01:12:08,920
darkness retains its power to
1880
01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:11,040
frighten us.
1881
01:12:11,040 --> 01:12:12,200
And so there are those who
1882
01:12:12,200 --> 01:12:14,960
say we should not inquire too closely
1883
01:12:14,960 --> 01:12:16,880
into who else might be living
1884
01:12:16,880 --> 01:12:19,200
in that darkness.
1885
01:12:19,200 --> 01:12:24,880
Better not to know, they say.
1886
01:12:24,880 --> 01:12:27,800
There are 400 billion stars
1887
01:12:27,800 --> 01:12:30,320
in the Milky Way galaxy.
1888
01:12:30,320 --> 01:12:32,480
Of this immense multitude,
1889
01:12:32,480 --> 01:12:35,320
could it be that our humdrum sun
1890
01:12:35,320 --> 01:12:37,000
is the only one with an
1891
01:12:37,000 --> 01:12:39,600
inhabited planet?
1892
01:12:39,600 --> 01:12:43,880
Maybe. Maybe the origin of life, or
1893
01:12:43,880 --> 01:12:45,720
intelligence, is
1894
01:12:45,720 --> 01:12:48,360
exceedingly improbable.
1895
01:12:48,360 --> 01:12:53,080
Or, maybe, civilizations arise all the
1896
01:12:53,080 --> 01:12:56,120
time, but wipe themselves out
1897
01:12:56,120 --> 01:12:59,240
as soon as they are able.
1898
01:12:59,240 --> 01:13:02,880
Or, here and there, peppered
1899
01:13:02,880 --> 01:13:05,920
across space, orbiting other
1900
01:13:05,920 --> 01:13:10,120
suns, maybe there are worlds
1901
01:13:10,120 --> 01:13:13,160
something like our own, on which
1902
01:13:13,160 --> 01:13:15,240
other beings gaze up and
1903
01:13:15,240 --> 01:13:17,400
wonder as we do about who
1904
01:13:17,400 --> 01:13:20,920
else lives in the dark.
1905
01:13:20,920 --> 01:13:22,080
Could the Milky Way be
1906
01:13:22,080 --> 01:13:24,000
rippling with life and
1907
01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:26,320
intelligence, worlds calling
1908
01:13:26,320 --> 01:13:27,960
out to worlds,
1909
01:13:27,960 --> 01:13:29,680
while we on Earth are alive
1910
01:13:29,680 --> 01:13:31,640
at the critical moment when
1911
01:13:31,640 --> 01:13:32,840
we first decide to
1912
01:13:32,840 --> 01:13:38,520
listen, our species has
1913
01:13:38,520 --> 01:13:39,240
discovered a way to
1914
01:13:39,240 --> 01:13:42,160
communicate through the dark, to
1915
01:13:42,160 --> 01:13:45,800
transcend immense distances.
1916
01:13:45,800 --> 01:13:47,760
No means of communication is
1917
01:13:47,760 --> 01:13:50,560
faster or cheaper or
1918
01:13:50,560 --> 01:13:55,040
reaches out farther. It's called radio.
1919
01:13:57,960 --> 01:13:59,640
After billions of years of biological
1920
01:13:59,640 --> 01:14:01,920
evolution on their planet and
1921
01:14:01,920 --> 01:14:04,880
ours, an alien civilization
1922
01:14:04,880 --> 01:14:05,760
cannot be in
1923
01:14:05,760 --> 01:14:09,560
technological lockstep with us.
1924
01:14:09,560 --> 01:14:10,600
There have been humans for
1925
01:14:10,600 --> 01:14:11,920
more than 20,000
1926
01:14:11,920 --> 01:14:15,280
centuries, but we've had radio
1927
01:14:15,280 --> 01:14:18,720
only for about one century. If alien
1928
01:14:18,720 --> 01:14:20,760
civilizations are behind us,
1929
01:14:20,760 --> 01:14:21,960
they're likely to be too far
1930
01:14:21,960 --> 01:14:24,640
behind to have radio.
1931
01:14:24,640 --> 01:14:26,440
And if they're ahead of us,
1932
01:14:26,440 --> 01:14:30,760
they're likely to be far ahead of us.
1933
01:14:30,760 --> 01:14:31,160
Think of
1934
01:14:31,160 --> 01:14:32,600
the technical advances in our
1935
01:14:32,600 --> 01:14:36,720
world over just the last few centuries.
1936
01:14:36,720 --> 01:14:37,600
What is for
1937
01:14:37,600 --> 01:14:39,520
us technologically difficult
1938
01:14:39,520 --> 01:14:42,240
or impossible?
1939
01:14:42,240 --> 01:14:43,840
What might seem to us like
1940
01:14:43,840 --> 01:14:48,760
magic might for them be trivially easy.
1941
01:14:48,760 --> 01:14:50,800
They might use other very
1942
01:14:50,800 --> 01:14:51,560
advanced means
1943
01:14:51,560 --> 01:14:52,680
to communicate with their
1944
01:14:52,680 --> 01:14:54,720
peers, but they would know
1945
01:14:54,720 --> 01:14:57,040
about radio as an approach to
1946
01:14:57,040 --> 01:15:00,480
newly emerging civilizations.
1947
01:15:00,480 --> 01:15:01,680
Even with no more than our
1948
01:15:01,680 --> 01:15:03,160
level of technology at the
1949
01:15:03,160 --> 01:15:05,920
transmitting and receiving ends, we
1950
01:15:05,920 --> 01:15:08,360
could communicate today across
1951
01:15:08,360 --> 01:15:10,680
much of the galaxy.
1952
01:15:10,680 --> 01:15:14,200
They should be able to do much better.
1953
01:15:14,200 --> 01:15:19,000
If they exist.
1954
01:15:19,000 --> 01:15:22,040
But our fear of the dark rebels.
1955
01:15:22,040 --> 01:15:24,960
The idea of alien beings troubles us.
1956
01:15:25,680 --> 01:15:28,920
We conjure up objections.
1957
01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:32,680
It's too expensive, some of us say.
1958
01:15:32,680 --> 01:15:34,720
But in its fullest modern
1959
01:15:34,720 --> 01:15:36,720
technological expression,
1960
01:15:36,720 --> 01:15:38,720
it costs less than one attack
1961
01:15:38,720 --> 01:15:41,920
helicopter a year.
1962
01:15:41,920 --> 01:15:42,960
We'll never understand what
1963
01:15:42,960 --> 01:15:43,960
they're saying,
1964
01:15:43,960 --> 01:15:46,600
some of us say.
1965
01:15:46,600 --> 01:15:47,720
But because the message is
1966
01:15:47,720 --> 01:15:51,520
transmitted by radio, we and they must
1967
01:15:51,520 --> 01:15:54,200
have radio physics, radio
1968
01:15:54,200 --> 01:15:57,000
astronomy, and radio technology
1969
01:15:57,000 --> 01:15:58,440
in common.
1970
01:15:58,440 --> 01:15:59,000
The laws of
1971
01:15:59,000 --> 01:16:00,840
nature are the same
1972
01:16:00,840 --> 01:16:03,320
everywhere, so science itself
1973
01:16:03,320 --> 01:16:04,880
provides a means and
1974
01:16:04,880 --> 01:16:07,160
language of communication, even
1975
01:16:07,160 --> 01:16:08,560
between very different kinds
1976
01:16:08,560 --> 01:16:11,000
of beings, provided
1977
01:16:11,000 --> 01:16:13,360
they both have science.
1978
01:16:13,360 --> 01:16:15,360
Figuring out the message, if
1979
01:16:15,360 --> 01:16:16,680
we're fortunate enough to
1980
01:16:16,680 --> 01:16:19,160
receive one, may be much
1981
01:16:19,160 --> 01:16:23,720
easier than acquiring it.
1982
01:16:23,720 --> 01:16:25,720
It would be demoralizing
1983
01:16:25,720 --> 01:16:27,240
to learn that our science is
1984
01:16:27,240 --> 01:16:30,640
primitive, some say.
1985
01:16:30,640 --> 01:16:31,720
But by the standards of the
1986
01:16:31,720 --> 01:16:33,680
next few centuries, at least
1987
01:16:33,680 --> 01:16:34,920
some of our present science
1988
01:16:34,920 --> 01:16:35,640
will be considered
1989
01:16:35,640 --> 01:16:37,360
primitive, extraterrestrials or
1990
01:16:37,360 --> 01:16:39,920
no extraterrestrials.
1991
01:16:39,920 --> 01:16:40,880
Incidentally, so will
1992
01:16:40,880 --> 01:16:42,640
some of our present politics,
1993
01:16:42,640 --> 01:16:46,200
ethics, economics, and religion.
1994
01:16:46,200 --> 01:16:48,520
To go beyond present science
1995
01:16:48,520 --> 01:16:52,400
is one of the chief goals of science.
1996
01:16:52,400 --> 01:16:55,840
The debate is, for the moment, moot.
1997
01:16:56,680 --> 01:17:00,440
We are now on an unprecedented scale,
1998
01:17:00,440 --> 01:17:02,200
listening for radio signals
1999
01:17:02,200 --> 01:17:04,400
from possible other civilizations
2000
01:17:04,400 --> 01:17:07,040
in the depths of space.
2001
01:17:07,040 --> 01:17:08,920
Alive today
2002
01:17:08,920 --> 01:17:11,320
is the first generation of scientists
2003
01:17:11,320 --> 01:17:14,360
to interrogate the darkness.
2004
01:17:14,360 --> 01:17:16,880
Conceivably, it might also be
2005
01:17:16,880 --> 01:17:18,400
the last generation
2006
01:17:18,400 --> 01:17:21,200
before contact is made.
2007
01:17:21,200 --> 01:17:24,000
And this the last moment
2008
01:17:24,000 --> 01:17:26,200
before we discover that someone
2009
01:17:26,200 --> 01:17:31,120
in the darkness is calling out to us.
2010
01:17:31,120 --> 01:17:33,320
Let's permit ourselves though a moment
2011
01:17:33,320 --> 01:17:36,960
of extravagant speculation.
2012
01:17:36,960 --> 01:17:39,480
Then we can estimate from how
2013
01:17:39,480 --> 01:17:40,160
little time we've
2014
01:17:40,160 --> 01:17:41,800
spent watching each piece of
2015
01:17:41,800 --> 01:17:44,240
the sky, how many such
2016
01:17:44,240 --> 01:17:45,760
transmitters there are in the
2017
01:17:45,760 --> 01:17:47,680
entire Milky Way?
2018
01:17:47,680 --> 01:17:50,120
The answer is something
2019
01:17:50,120 --> 01:17:53,200
approaching a million.
2020
01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:54,840
If randomly strewn through space,
2021
01:17:55,760 --> 01:17:57,360
the nearest of them would be
2022
01:17:57,360 --> 01:17:59,640
a few hundred light years away.
2023
01:17:59,640 --> 01:18:01,560
Too far for them to have
2024
01:18:01,560 --> 01:18:03,600
picked up our own TV or
2025
01:18:03,600 --> 01:18:07,280
radar signals yet.
2026
01:18:07,280 --> 01:18:08,920
They would not know for
2027
01:18:08,920 --> 01:18:10,520
another few centuries
2028
01:18:10,520 --> 01:18:12,480
that a technical civilization
2029
01:18:12,480 --> 01:18:14,520
had emerged on Earth.
2030
01:18:14,520 --> 01:18:16,240
The galaxy would be pulsing
2031
01:18:16,240 --> 01:18:18,800
with life and intelligence,
2032
01:18:18,800 --> 01:18:20,400
but unless they're busily
2033
01:18:20,400 --> 01:18:22,120
exploring huge numbers of
2034
01:18:22,120 --> 01:18:23,840
obscure star systems,
2035
01:18:23,840 --> 01:18:26,000
they'd be wholly oblivious of
2036
01:18:26,000 --> 01:18:29,640
what's been happening down here lately.
2037
01:18:29,640 --> 01:18:31,640
A few centuries from now,
2038
01:18:31,640 --> 01:18:33,760
after they do hear from us,
2039
01:18:33,760 --> 01:18:39,800
things might get very interesting.
2040
01:18:39,800 --> 01:18:41,200
Elsewhere, there may be
2041
01:18:41,200 --> 01:18:42,760
engineering on a scale that
2042
01:18:42,760 --> 01:18:47,400
dwarfs our proudest achievements.
2043
01:18:47,400 --> 01:18:49,120
Imagine the energy crisis of
2044
01:18:49,120 --> 01:18:50,400
a really advanced
2045
01:18:50,400 --> 01:18:52,520
planetary civilization.
2046
01:18:52,520 --> 01:18:53,600
They've used up all their
2047
01:18:53,600 --> 01:18:55,840
fuels, they depend on solar
2048
01:18:55,840 --> 01:18:58,080
power, but their growth is still
2049
01:18:58,080 --> 01:18:59,280
severely limited by the
2050
01:18:59,280 --> 01:19:00,720
energy available.
2051
01:19:00,720 --> 01:19:02,000
An enormous amount of energy
2052
01:19:02,000 --> 01:19:03,240
is generated by the local
2053
01:19:03,240 --> 01:19:05,400
star, but most of the star's
2054
01:19:05,400 --> 01:19:08,200
light doesn't fall on their planet.
2055
01:19:08,200 --> 01:19:10,320
So perhaps they would build a
2056
01:19:10,320 --> 01:19:13,560
shell to surround their star
2057
01:19:13,560 --> 01:19:18,800
and harvest every photon of sunlight.
2058
01:19:18,800 --> 01:19:21,720
Such beings, such civilizations
2059
01:19:21,720 --> 01:19:23,440
would bear little resemblance
2060
01:19:23,440 --> 01:19:24,720
to anything we know.
2061
01:19:33,040 --> 01:19:35,600
Perhaps someday there will be
2062
01:19:35,600 --> 01:19:37,080
an entry in the Encyclopedia
2063
01:19:37,080 --> 01:19:40,040
Galactica for our planet.
2064
01:19:40,040 --> 01:19:41,600
Or perhaps even now there
2065
01:19:41,600 --> 01:19:43,880
exists somewhere a planetary
2066
01:19:43,880 --> 01:19:46,400
dossier garnered from our television
2067
01:19:46,400 --> 01:19:48,200
broadcasts or from some
2068
01:19:48,200 --> 01:19:50,720
discrete survey mission.
2069
01:19:50,720 --> 01:19:51,760
They might summon up the
2070
01:19:51,760 --> 01:19:53,240
index of blue worlds
2071
01:19:53,240 --> 01:19:54,800
in our province of the Milky
2072
01:19:54,800 --> 01:19:56,400
Way until they came to the
2073
01:19:56,400 --> 01:19:58,880
listing for Earth. What would
2074
01:19:58,880 --> 01:20:01,320
they know about us?
2075
01:20:01,320 --> 01:20:06,480
What would they think of us?
2076
01:20:06,480 --> 01:20:09,280
We have always watched the stars and
2077
01:20:09,280 --> 01:20:11,440
mused about whether there are
2078
01:20:11,440 --> 01:20:13,600
other beings who think and
2079
01:20:13,600 --> 01:20:19,440
wonder in a cosmic setting vast
2080
01:20:19,440 --> 01:20:20,920
and old, beyond ordinary
2081
01:20:20,920 --> 01:20:22,760
human understanding.
2082
01:20:22,760 --> 01:20:24,640
We are a little lonely.
2083
01:20:26,000 --> 01:20:27,680
In the deepest sense,
2084
01:20:27,680 --> 01:20:29,320
the search for extraterrestrial
2085
01:20:29,320 --> 01:20:32,000
intelligence is a search.
2086
01:21:16,240 --> 01:21:18,360
The spacecraft was a long way
2087
01:21:18,360 --> 01:21:20,600
from home, beyond the orbit
2088
01:21:20,600 --> 01:21:22,360
of the outermost planet and high above
2089
01:21:22,360 --> 01:21:24,600
the ecliptic plane.
2090
01:21:24,600 --> 01:21:25,760
The ship was speeding away
2091
01:21:25,760 --> 01:21:29,240
from the Sun at 40,000 miles an hour.
2092
01:21:29,240 --> 01:21:31,080
But in early February of
2093
01:21:31,080 --> 01:21:33,560
1990, it was overtaken by an
2094
01:21:33,560 --> 01:21:36,840
urgent message from Earth.
2095
01:21:36,840 --> 01:21:38,640
Obediently, it turned its cameras
2096
01:21:38,640 --> 01:21:40,440
back toward the now distant
2097
01:21:40,440 --> 01:21:42,400
planets, slewing
2098
01:21:42,400 --> 01:21:44,440
its scan platform from one spot in
2099
01:21:44,440 --> 01:21:46,600
the sky to another.
2100
01:21:46,600 --> 01:21:48,880
It snapped 60 pictures
2101
01:21:48,880 --> 01:21:50,800
and stored them in digital form
2102
01:21:50,800 --> 01:21:53,120
on its tape recorder.
2103
01:21:53,120 --> 01:21:54,640
Then, slowly, in
2104
01:21:54,640 --> 01:21:56,800
March, April, and May,
2105
01:21:56,800 --> 01:21:59,240
it radioed the data back to Earth.
2106
01:21:59,240 --> 01:22:00,880
The spacecraft was 3.7
2107
01:22:00,880 --> 01:22:02,920
billion miles away from Earth,
2108
01:22:02,920 --> 01:22:05,000
so far away that it took
2109
01:22:05,000 --> 01:22:07,440
each pixel five and a half hours
2110
01:22:07,440 --> 01:22:08,480
traveling at the speed of
2111
01:22:08,480 --> 01:22:10,840
light to reach us.
2112
01:22:10,840 --> 01:22:12,440
The two Voyager robots have
2113
01:22:12,440 --> 01:22:14,760
explored four planets
2114
01:22:14,760 --> 01:22:18,040
and nearly 60 moons.
2115
01:22:18,040 --> 01:22:20,920
They are triumphs of human engineering
2116
01:22:20,920 --> 01:22:22,080
and one of the glories of
2117
01:22:22,080 --> 01:22:24,520
the American space program.
2118
01:22:24,520 --> 01:22:26,240
They will be in the history books
2119
01:22:26,240 --> 01:22:28,080
when much else about our time
2120
01:22:28,080 --> 01:22:30,520
is forgotten.
2121
01:22:30,520 --> 01:22:31,720
The Voyagers were guaranteed
2122
01:22:31,720 --> 01:22:33,200
to work only until the
2123
01:22:33,200 --> 01:22:34,760
Saturn encounter.
2124
01:22:34,760 --> 01:22:35,680
I thought it might be a good
2125
01:22:35,680 --> 01:22:37,480
idea, just after Saturn, to
2126
01:22:37,480 --> 01:22:38,640
have them take one last
2127
01:22:38,640 --> 01:22:40,480
glance homeward.
2128
01:22:40,480 --> 01:22:42,320
From Saturn, I knew, the
2129
01:22:42,320 --> 01:22:43,520
Earth would appear too small
2130
01:22:43,520 --> 01:22:46,080
for Voyager to make out any detail.
2131
01:22:46,080 --> 01:22:47,800
Our planet would be just a
2132
01:22:47,800 --> 01:22:50,560
point of light, a lonely pixel.
2133
01:22:50,560 --> 01:22:51,880
Hardly distinguishable from the
2134
01:22:51,880 --> 01:22:53,440
many other points of light
2135
01:22:53,440 --> 01:22:54,440
Voyager would see,
2136
01:22:55,080 --> 01:22:58,720
nearby planets, far-off suns.
2137
01:22:58,720 --> 01:23:00,520
But precisely because of the
2138
01:23:00,520 --> 01:23:02,080
obscurity of our world thus
2139
01:23:02,080 --> 01:23:04,200
revealed, such a picture might
2140
01:23:04,200 --> 01:23:07,080
be worth having.
2141
01:23:07,080 --> 01:23:08,960
Mariners had painstakingly
2142
01:23:08,960 --> 01:23:10,280
mapped the coastlines of
2143
01:23:10,280 --> 01:23:11,960
the continents.
2144
01:23:11,960 --> 01:23:13,560
Geographers had translated
2145
01:23:13,560 --> 01:23:16,960
these findings into charts and globes.
2146
01:23:16,960 --> 01:23:19,200
Photographs of tiny patches of
2147
01:23:19,200 --> 01:23:21,080
the Earth had been obtained
2148
01:23:21,080 --> 01:23:24,120
first by balloons and aircraft,
2149
01:23:24,120 --> 01:23:25,920
then by rockets in brief
2150
01:23:25,920 --> 01:23:28,360
ballistic flight, and at last
2151
01:23:28,360 --> 01:23:30,800
by orbiting spacecraft, giving
2152
01:23:30,800 --> 01:23:32,000
a perspective like the one
2153
01:23:32,000 --> 01:23:34,000
you achieve by positioning
2154
01:23:34,000 --> 01:23:35,640
your eyeball about an inch above
2155
01:23:35,640 --> 01:23:37,880
a large globe.
2156
01:23:37,880 --> 01:23:38,880
While almost everyone has
2157
01:23:38,880 --> 01:23:39,840
taught that the Earth is a
2158
01:23:39,840 --> 01:23:42,160
sphere, with all of us somehow
2159
01:23:42,160 --> 01:23:44,960
glued to it by gravity, the
2160
01:23:44,960 --> 01:23:46,600
reality of our circumstance
2161
01:23:46,600 --> 01:23:48,200
did not really begin to sink
2162
01:23:48,200 --> 01:23:50,960
begin, until the famous
2163
01:23:50,960 --> 01:23:53,560
frame-filling Apollo photograph
2164
01:23:53,560 --> 01:23:55,760
of the whole Earth, the one taken
2165
01:23:55,760 --> 01:23:57,760
by the Apollo 17 astronauts
2166
01:23:57,760 --> 01:23:59,600
on the last journey of humans
2167
01:23:59,600 --> 01:24:01,600
to the Moon.
2168
01:24:01,600 --> 01:24:03,800
It has become a kind of icon
2169
01:24:03,800 --> 01:24:05,880
of our age.
2170
01:24:05,880 --> 01:24:06,960
You can make out the blue of
2171
01:24:06,960 --> 01:24:09,080
the ocean, the yellow-red of
2172
01:24:09,080 --> 01:24:12,000
the Sahara and the Arabian desert,
2173
01:24:12,000 --> 01:24:14,160
the brown-green of forest
2174
01:24:14,160 --> 01:24:16,040
and grassland.
2175
01:24:16,040 --> 01:24:17,640
And yet, there is no sign of
2176
01:24:17,640 --> 01:24:19,400
humans in this picture.
2177
01:24:19,400 --> 01:24:20,920
Not our reworking of the
2178
01:24:20,920 --> 01:24:23,000
Earth's surface, not our
2179
01:24:23,000 --> 01:24:26,040
machines, not ourselves.
2180
01:24:26,040 --> 01:24:28,120
We are too small, and our
2181
01:24:28,120 --> 01:24:30,280
statecraft is too feeble to
2182
01:24:30,280 --> 01:24:32,680
be seen by a spacecraft between
2183
01:24:32,680 --> 01:24:35,240
the Earth and the Moon.
2184
01:24:35,240 --> 01:24:37,520
From this vantage point, our
2185
01:24:37,520 --> 01:24:39,320
obsession with nationalism is
2186
01:24:39,320 --> 01:24:41,440
nowhere in evidence.
2187
01:24:41,440 --> 01:24:42,680
The Apollo pictures of the
2188
01:24:42,680 --> 01:24:44,400
whole Earth, conveyed to
2189
01:24:44,400 --> 01:24:46,400
multitudes, something well
2190
01:24:46,400 --> 01:24:48,400
known to astronomers,
2191
01:24:48,400 --> 01:24:50,720
on the scale of worlds, to
2192
01:24:50,720 --> 01:24:52,080
say nothing of stars or
2193
01:24:52,080 --> 01:24:56,440
galaxies, humans are inconsequential,
2194
01:24:56,440 --> 01:24:59,280
a thin film of life on an
2195
01:24:59,280 --> 01:25:02,720
obscure and solitary lump of
2196
01:25:02,720 --> 01:25:05,000
rock and metal.
2197
01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:06,160
It seemed to me that another
2198
01:25:06,160 --> 01:25:07,440
picture of the Earth, this
2199
01:25:07,440 --> 01:25:09,720
one taken from a hundred thousand
2200
01:25:09,720 --> 01:25:12,320
times farther away, might help
2201
01:25:12,320 --> 01:25:14,040
in the continuing process of
2202
01:25:14,040 --> 01:25:16,440
revealing to ourselves our true
2203
01:25:16,440 --> 01:25:19,920
circumstance and condition.
2204
01:25:19,920 --> 01:25:21,000
It had been well understood
2205
01:25:21,000 --> 01:25:22,120
by the scientists and
2206
01:25:22,120 --> 01:25:23,480
philosophers of classical
2207
01:25:23,480 --> 01:25:24,800
antiquity that
2208
01:25:24,800 --> 01:25:26,960
the Earth was a mere point
2209
01:25:26,960 --> 01:25:30,960
in a vast, encompassing cosmos.
2210
01:25:30,960 --> 01:25:33,680
But no one had ever seen it as such.
2211
01:25:33,680 --> 01:25:35,640
Here was our first chance,
2212
01:25:35,640 --> 01:25:37,360
and perhaps also our last,
2213
01:25:37,360 --> 01:25:40,080
for decades to come.
2214
01:25:40,080 --> 01:25:43,720
At last, the time came.
2215
01:25:43,720 --> 01:25:45,880
A mosaic of squares laid down
2216
01:25:45,880 --> 01:25:47,480
on top of the planets
2217
01:25:47,480 --> 01:25:49,640
and
a background smattering of
2218
01:25:49,640 --> 01:25:51,800
more distant stars.
2219
01:25:51,800 --> 01:25:53,120
We were able to photograph
2220
01:25:53,120 --> 01:25:54,240
not only the Earth
2221
01:25:54,760 --> 01:25:56,800
but also five other of the
2222
01:25:56,800 --> 01:25:59,440
Sun's nine known planets.
2223
01:25:59,440 --> 01:26:00,520
This is how the planets would
2224
01:26:00,520 --> 01:26:02,400
look to an alien spaceship
2225
01:26:02,400 --> 01:26:04,280
approaching the solar system
2226
01:26:04,280 --> 01:26:08,000
after a long interstellar voyage.
2227
01:26:08,000 --> 01:26:09,080
From this distance, the
2228
01:26:09,080 --> 01:26:10,600
planets seem only points of
2229
01:26:10,600 --> 01:26:13,840
light, smeared or unsmeared, even
2230
01:26:13,840 --> 01:26:14,840
through the high-resolution
2231
01:26:14,840 --> 01:26:17,720
telescope aboard Voyager.
2232
01:26:17,720 --> 01:26:19,000
They are like the planets seen with
2233
01:26:19,000 --> 01:26:19,880
the naked eye from the
2234
01:26:19,880 --> 01:26:22,520
surface of the Earth, luminous
2235
01:26:22,520 --> 01:26:26,080
dots, brighter than most of the stars.
2236
01:26:26,080 --> 01:26:27,280
You cannot tell merely by
2237
01:26:27,280 --> 01:26:28,520
looking at one of these dots
2238
01:26:28,520 --> 01:26:30,720
what it's like, what's on it,
2239
01:26:30,720 --> 01:26:32,840
what its past has been, and
2240
01:26:32,840 --> 01:26:34,240
whether, in this particular
2241
01:26:34,240 --> 01:26:37,800
epoch, anyone lives there.
2242
01:26:37,800 --> 01:26:38,840
Because of the reflection of
2243
01:26:38,840 --> 01:26:40,040
sunlight off the spacecraft,
2244
01:26:40,040 --> 01:26:41,760
the Earth seems to be sitting
2245
01:26:41,760 --> 01:26:43,640
in a beam of light,
2246
01:26:43,640 --> 01:26:45,160
as if there were some special
2247
01:26:45,160 --> 01:26:48,160
significance to this small world.
2248
01:26:48,160 --> 01:26:49,600
But it's just an accident of
2249
01:26:49,600 --> 01:26:52,320
geometry and optics.
2250
01:26:52,320 --> 01:26:54,280
The Sun emits its radiation
2251
01:26:54,280 --> 01:26:56,840
equitably in all directions.
2252
01:26:56,840 --> 01:26:58,000
Had the picture been taken a
2253
01:26:58,000 --> 01:27:00,840
little earlier, or a little later,
2254
01:27:00,840 --> 01:27:01,600
there would have been no
2255
01:27:01,600 --> 01:27:05,160
sunbeam highlighting the Earth.
2256
01:27:05,160 --> 01:27:08,880
And why that cerulean color?
2257
01:27:08,880 --> 01:27:10,400
We can explain the wan
2258
01:27:10,400 --> 01:27:12,680
blueness of this little world
2259
01:27:12,680 --> 01:27:14,600
because we know it well.
2260
01:27:14,600 --> 01:27:16,000
Whether an alien scientist
2261
01:27:16,000 --> 01:27:17,360
newly arrived at the outskirts
2262
01:27:17,360 --> 01:27:19,760
of our solar system could reliably
2263
01:27:19,760 --> 01:27:22,760
deduce oceans and clouds in a
2264
01:27:22,760 --> 01:27:26,560
thickish atmosphere is less certain.
2265
01:27:26,560 --> 01:27:27,920
From this distant vantage
2266
01:27:27,920 --> 01:27:30,360
point, the Earth might not
2267
01:27:30,360 --> 01:27:33,760
seem of any particular interest.
2268
01:27:33,760 --> 01:27:36,840
But for us, it's different.
2269
01:27:36,840 --> 01:27:40,880
Consider again that dot. That's here.
2270
01:27:40,880 --> 01:27:44,040
That's home. That's us.
2271
01:27:44,040 --> 01:27:47,000
On it, everyone you love,
2272
01:27:47,000 --> 01:27:49,240
everyone you know, everyone
2273
01:27:49,240 --> 01:27:51,800
you ever heard of, every human being
2274
01:27:51,800 --> 01:27:54,120
who ever was, lived out their lives.
2275
01:27:55,760 --> 01:27:57,560
The aggregate of our joy and
2276
01:27:57,560 --> 01:28:00,200
suffering, thousands of
2277
01:28:00,200 --> 01:28:02,080
confident religions, ideologies,
2278
01:28:02,080 --> 01:28:02,720
and economic
2279
01:28:02,720 --> 01:28:05,080
doctrines, every hunter and
2280
01:28:05,080 --> 01:28:07,640
forager, every hero and
2281
01:28:07,640 --> 01:28:09,680
coward, every creator and destroyer
2282
01:28:09,680 --> 01:28:12,200
of civilization, every king
2283
01:28:12,200 --> 01:28:14,280
and peasant, every young
2284
01:28:14,280 --> 01:28:16,240
couple in love, every mother
2285
01:28:16,240 --> 01:28:16,980
and father,
2286
01:28:16,980 --> 01:28:19,720
father, hopeful child, inventor
2287
01:28:19,720 --> 01:28:22,440
and explorer, every teacher of
2288
01:28:22,440 --> 01:28:24,120
morals, every corrupt politician,
2289
01:28:24,960 --> 01:28:28,200
every superstar, every supreme
2290
01:28:28,200 --> 01:28:30,680
leader, every saint and sinner
2291
01:28:30,680 --> 01:28:32,880
in the history of our species
2292
01:28:32,880 --> 01:28:35,120
lived there, on the mote of
2293
01:28:35,120 --> 01:28:39,760
dust, suspended in a sunbeam.
2294
01:28:39,760 --> 01:28:42,560
The Earth is a very small
2295
01:28:42,560 --> 01:28:48,080
stage in a vast cosmic arena.
2296
01:28:48,080 --> 01:28:50,960
Think of the rivers of blood
2297
01:28:50,960 --> 01:28:52,800
spilled by all those generals
2298
01:28:52,800 --> 01:28:55,840
and emperors, so that in glory
2299
01:28:55,840 --> 01:28:57,320
and triumph they could become
2300
01:28:57,320 --> 01:29:00,040
the momentary masters of a
2301
01:29:00,040 --> 01:29:03,480
fraction of a dot.
2302
01:29:03,480 --> 01:29:05,240
Think of the endless cruelties
2303
01:29:05,240 --> 01:29:07,480
visited by the inhabitants of
2304
01:29:07,480 --> 01:29:09,640
one corner of this pixel
2305
01:29:09,640 --> 01:29:11,560
on the scarcely distinguishable
2306
01:29:11,560 --> 01:29:14,720
inhabitants of some other corner.
2307
01:29:14,720 --> 01:29:16,000
How frequent their
2308
01:29:16,000 --> 01:29:18,280
misunderstandings, how eager
2309
01:29:18,280 --> 01:29:20,360
they are to kill one another,
2310
01:29:20,360 --> 01:29:21,400
how fervent
2311
01:29:21,400 --> 01:29:26,640
their hatreds, our posturings,
2312
01:29:26,640 --> 01:29:28,720
our imagined self-importance,
2313
01:29:28,720 --> 01:29:30,480
the delusion that we have
2314
01:29:30,480 --> 01:29:32,200
some privileged position in
2315
01:29:32,200 --> 01:29:35,280
the universe are challenged by
2316
01:29:35,280 --> 01:29:38,360
this point of pale light.
2317
01:29:38,360 --> 01:29:42,360
Our planet is a lonely speck
2318
01:29:42,360 --> 01:29:46,560
in the great enveloping cosmic dark.
2319
01:29:46,560 --> 01:29:50,080
In our obscurity, in all this
2320
01:29:50,080 --> 01:29:53,360
vastness, there is no hint
2321
01:29:53,360 --> 01:29:55,480
that help will come from elsewhere
2322
01:29:55,480 --> 01:29:58,640
to save us from ourselves.
2323
01:29:58,640 --> 01:30:00,040
The Earth is the only world
2324
01:30:00,040 --> 01:30:02,960
known so far to harbor life.
2325
01:30:02,960 --> 01:30:04,640
There is nowhere else, at
2326
01:30:04,640 --> 01:30:06,440
least in the near future, to
2327
01:30:06,440 --> 01:30:08,960
which our species could migrate.
2328
01:30:08,960 --> 01:30:10,360
Visit?
2329
01:30:10,360 --> 01:30:11,600
Yes.
2330
01:30:11,600 --> 01:30:14,960
Settle? Not yet.
2331
01:30:14,960 --> 01:30:16,720
Like it or not, for the
2332
01:30:16,720 --> 01:30:19,000
moment, the Earth is where we
2333
01:30:19,000 --> 01:30:21,320
make our stand.
2334
01:30:21,320 --> 01:30:22,240
It has been said that
2335
01:30:22,240 --> 01:30:24,360
astronomy is a humbling and
2336
01:30:24,360 --> 01:30:27,160
character-building experience.
2337
01:30:27,160 --> 01:30:28,440
There is perhaps no better
2338
01:30:28,440 --> 01:30:29,880
demonstration of the folly of
2339
01:30:29,880 --> 01:30:32,840
human conceits than this distant
2340
01:30:32,840 --> 01:30:36,080
image of our tiny world.
2341
01:30:36,080 --> 01:30:38,720
To me, it underscores our
2342
01:30:38,720 --> 01:30:40,400
responsibility to deal more
2343
01:30:40,400 --> 01:30:42,800
kindly with one another and to
2344
01:30:42,800 --> 01:30:45,680
preserve and cherish the pale
2345
01:30:45,680 --> 01:30:48,800
blue dot, the only home we've
2346
01:30:48,800 --> 01:30:53,920
ever known.
2347
01:31:08,360 --> 01:31:09,440
We have considered the
2348
01:31:09,440 --> 01:31:11,280
destruction of worlds and the
2349
01:31:11,280 --> 01:31:14,200
end of civilizations, but there is
2350
01:31:14,200 --> 01:31:15,520
another perspective by which
2351
01:31:15,520 --> 01:31:17,600
to measure human endeavors.
2352
01:31:17,600 --> 01:31:19,640
Let me tell you a story
2353
01:31:19,640 --> 01:31:21,560
about the beginning.
2354
01:31:21,560 --> 01:31:23,720
Some 15 billion years ago,
2355
01:31:23,720 --> 01:31:26,080
our universe began with the
2356
01:31:26,080 --> 01:31:29,560
mightiest explosion of all time.
2357
01:31:29,560 --> 01:31:31,920
The universe expanded, cooled,
2358
01:31:31,920 --> 01:31:33,440
and darkened.
2359
01:31:33,440 --> 01:31:34,440
Energy condensed
2360
01:31:34,440 --> 01:31:36,040
into matter, mostly hydrogen
2361
01:31:36,040 --> 01:31:38,000
atoms, and these atoms
2362
01:31:38,000 --> 01:31:40,680
cumulated into vast clouds,
2363
01:31:40,680 --> 01:31:42,760
rushing away from each other that would
2364
01:31:42,760 --> 01:31:46,640
one day become the galaxies.
2365
01:31:46,640 --> 01:31:48,320
Within these galaxies, the
2366
01:31:48,320 --> 01:31:50,280
first generation of stars was
2367
01:31:50,280 --> 01:31:51,840
born, kindling
2368
01:31:51,840 --> 01:31:53,920
the energy hidden in matter,
2369
01:31:53,920 --> 01:31:56,720
flooding the cosmos with light.
2370
01:31:56,720 --> 01:31:58,560
Hydrogen atoms had made
2371
01:31:58,560 --> 01:32:03,560
suns and starlight.
2372
01:32:03,560 --> 01:32:05,480
There were in those times no
2373
01:32:05,480 --> 01:32:07,280
planets to receive the light
2374
01:32:07,280 --> 01:32:07,960
and no living
2375
01:32:07,960 --> 01:32:09,480
creatures to admire the
2376
01:32:09,480 --> 01:32:11,600
radiance of the heavens.
2377
01:32:11,600 --> 01:32:12,640
But deep in the stellar
2378
01:32:12,640 --> 01:32:14,200
furnaces, nuclear
2379
01:32:14,200 --> 01:32:15,560
fusion was creating the
2380
01:32:15,560 --> 01:32:17,720
heavier atoms, carbon and
2381
01:32:17,720 --> 01:32:20,200
oxygen, silicon and iron.
2382
01:32:20,200 --> 01:32:21,240
These elements,
2383
01:32:21,240 --> 01:32:23,400
the ash left by hydrogen,
2384
01:32:23,400 --> 01:32:25,280
were the raw materials from
2385
01:32:25,280 --> 01:32:26,880
which planets and life would
2386
01:32:26,880 --> 01:32:28,720
later arise.
2387
01:32:28,720 --> 01:32:29,920
At first, the heavy elements
2388
01:32:29,920 --> 01:32:31,520
were trapped in the hearts of
2389
01:32:31,520 --> 01:32:32,760
the stars.
2390
01:32:32,760 --> 01:32:34,680
But massive stars soon
2391
01:32:34,680 --> 01:32:36,480
exhausted their fuel, and in
2392
01:32:36,480 --> 01:32:38,360
their death throes, returned
2393
01:32:38,360 --> 01:32:39,640
most of their substance back
2394
01:32:39,640 --> 01:32:41,200
into space.
2395
01:32:41,200 --> 01:32:42,520
Interstellar gas became
2396
01:32:42,520 --> 01:32:47,080
enriched in heavy elements.
2397
01:32:47,080 --> 01:32:48,920
In the Milky Way galaxy, the
2398
01:32:48,920 --> 01:32:50,200
matter of the cosmos was
2399
01:32:50,200 --> 01:32:53,040
recycled into new generations of stars,
2400
01:32:53,040 --> 01:32:55,360
now rich in heavy atoms, a
2401
01:32:55,360 --> 01:33:00,560
legacy from their stellar ancestors.
2402
01:33:00,560 --> 01:33:03,000
And in the cold of interstellar space,
2403
01:33:03,000 --> 01:33:05,080
great turbulent clouds were
2404
01:33:05,080 --> 01:33:06,880
gathered by gravity and
2405
01:33:06,880 --> 01:33:11,840
stirred by starlight.
2406
01:33:11,840 --> 01:33:13,480
In their depths, the heavy
2407
01:33:13,480 --> 01:33:15,200
atoms condensed into grains of
2408
01:33:15,200 --> 01:33:16,880
rocky dust and ice
2409
01:33:16,880 --> 01:33:20,240
and complex carbon-based molecules.
2410
01:33:20,240 --> 01:33:21,680
In accordance with the laws
2411
01:33:21,680 --> 01:33:23,480
of physics and chemistry,
2412
01:33:23,480 --> 01:33:25,560
hydrogen atoms had brought
2413
01:33:25,560 --> 01:33:29,000
forth the stuff of life.
2414
01:33:29,000 --> 01:33:30,440
In other clouds, more
2415
01:33:30,440 --> 01:33:31,960
massive aggregates of gas and
2416
01:33:31,960 --> 01:33:35,280
dust formed later generations of stars.
2417
01:33:35,280 --> 01:33:35,680
As new
2418
01:33:35,680 --> 01:33:37,640
stars were formed, tiny
2419
01:33:37,640 --> 01:33:38,920
condensations of matter
2420
01:33:38,920 --> 01:33:41,160
accreted near them, inconspicuous
2421
01:33:41,160 --> 01:33:43,120
motes of rock and metal, ice
2422
01:33:43,120 --> 01:33:46,320
and gas, that would become the planets.
2423
01:33:46,320 --> 01:33:46,680
And on
2424
01:33:46,680 --> 01:33:47,960
these worlds, as in
2425
01:33:47,960 --> 01:33:49,920
interstellar clouds, organic
2426
01:33:49,920 --> 01:33:52,360
molecules formed, made of atoms
2427
01:33:52,360 --> 01:33:55,400
that had been cooked inside the stars.
2428
01:33:55,400 --> 01:33:57,200
In the tide pools and oceans
2429
01:33:57,200 --> 01:33:58,680
of many worlds,
2430
01:33:58,680 --> 01:34:00,200
molecules were destroyed by
2431
01:34:00,200 --> 01:34:03,200
sunlight and assembled by chemistry.
2432
01:34:03,200 --> 01:34:05,440
One day, among these natural
2433
01:34:05,440 --> 01:34:07,720
experiments, a molecule arose
2434
01:34:07,720 --> 01:34:09,600
that quite by accident was
2435
01:34:09,600 --> 01:34:14,120
able to make crude copies of itself.
2436
01:34:14,120 --> 01:34:15,160
As time passed,
2437
01:34:15,160 --> 01:34:17,800
self-replication became more accurate.
2438
01:34:17,800 --> 01:34:19,080
Those molecules that copied
2439
01:34:19,080 --> 01:34:21,600
better, produced more copies.
2440
01:34:21,600 --> 01:34:23,720
Natural selection was underway.
2441
01:34:24,360 --> 01:34:26,200
Elaborate molecular machines
2442
01:34:26,200 --> 01:34:27,520
had evolved.
2443
01:34:27,520 --> 01:34:33,840
Slowly, imperceptibly, life had begun.
2444
01:34:33,840 --> 01:34:35,080
Collectives of organic
2445
01:34:35,080 --> 01:34:36,240
molecules evolved
2446
01:34:36,240 --> 01:34:38,360
into one-celled organisms.
2447
01:34:38,360 --> 01:34:41,000
These produced multi-celled colonies.
2448
01:34:41,000 --> 01:34:42,200
Their various parts
2449
01:34:42,200 --> 01:34:44,720
became specialized organs.
2450
01:34:44,720 --> 01:34:46,040
Some colonies attached
2451
01:34:46,040 --> 01:34:48,240
themselves to the sea floor.
2452
01:34:48,240 --> 01:34:52,160
Others swam freely.
2453
01:34:52,160 --> 01:34:53,880
Eyes evolved, and now the
2454
01:34:53,880 --> 01:34:55,400
cosmos could see.
2455
01:34:55,400 --> 01:34:56,720
Living things moved on
2456
01:34:56,720 --> 01:34:58,800
to colonize the land.
2457
01:34:58,800 --> 01:35:00,800
The reptiles held sway for a
2458
01:35:00,800 --> 01:35:02,640
time, but they gave way to
2459
01:35:02,640 --> 01:35:04,440
small warm-blooded creatures
2460
01:35:04,440 --> 01:35:06,040
with bigger brains who
2461
01:35:06,040 --> 01:35:07,880
developed dexterity and
2462
01:35:07,880 --> 01:35:10,200
curiosity about their environment.
2463
01:35:10,200 --> 01:35:12,440
They learned to use tools and fire and
2464
01:35:12,440 --> 01:35:15,200
language, star stuff, the ash
2465
01:35:15,200 --> 01:35:16,880
of stellar alchemy, had
2466
01:35:16,880 --> 01:35:20,320
emerged into consciousness.
2467
01:35:20,320 --> 01:35:22,600
We are a way for the cosmos
2468
01:35:22,600 --> 01:35:23,640
to know itself.
2469
01:35:24,800 --> 01:35:25,920
We are creatures of the
2470
01:35:25,920 --> 01:35:27,760
cosmos and have always
2471
01:35:27,760 --> 01:35:30,520
hungered to know our origins,
2472
01:35:30,520 --> 01:35:31,400
to understand
2473
01:35:31,400 --> 01:35:34,120
our connection with the universe.
2474
01:35:34,120 --> 01:35:37,080
How did everything come to be?
2475
01:35:37,080 --> 01:35:38,320
Every culture on the planet
2476
01:35:38,320 --> 01:35:40,160
has devised its own response
2477
01:35:40,160 --> 01:35:43,560
to the riddle posed by the universe.
2478
01:35:43,560 --> 01:35:45,320
Every culture celebrates the
2479
01:35:45,320 --> 01:35:47,960
cycles of life and nature.
2480
01:35:47,960 --> 01:35:49,240
There are many different ways
2481
01:35:49,240 --> 01:35:51,280
of being human.
2482
01:35:51,280 --> 01:35:52,400
But an extraterrestrial
2483
01:35:52,400 --> 01:35:53,920
visitor, examining the
2484
01:35:53,920 --> 01:35:56,200
differences among human societies,
2485
01:35:56,200 --> 01:35:57,920
would find those differences
2486
01:35:57,920 --> 01:36:01,640
trivial compared to the similarities.
2487
01:36:01,640 --> 01:36:05,240
We are one species.
2488
01:36:05,240 --> 01:36:09,160
We are starstuff harvesting starlight.
2489
01:36:09,160 --> 01:36:11,160
Our lives, our past
2490
01:36:11,160 --> 01:36:14,360
and our future are tied to the Sun,
2491
01:36:14,360 --> 01:36:17,160
the Moon and the stars.
2492
01:36:17,160 --> 01:36:19,080
Our ancestors knew that their
2493
01:36:19,080 --> 01:36:20,720
survival depended on
2494
01:36:20,720 --> 01:36:22,280
understanding the heavens.
2495
01:36:22,280 --> 01:36:23,960
They built observatories and
2496
01:36:23,960 --> 01:36:25,800
computers to predict the
2497
01:36:25,800 --> 01:36:27,640
changing of the seasons by the
2498
01:36:27,640 --> 01:36:30,920
motions in the skies.
2499
01:36:30,920 --> 01:36:32,120
The discovery that there is
2500
01:36:32,120 --> 01:36:33,440
order in the universe, that
2501
01:36:33,440 --> 01:36:34,080
there are laws
2502
01:36:34,080 --> 01:36:36,280
of nature is the foundation
2503
01:36:36,280 --> 01:36:41,200
on which science builds today.
2504
01:36:41,200 --> 01:36:42,680
Science is a collective
2505
01:36:42,680 --> 01:36:44,760
enterprise that embraces many
2506
01:36:44,760 --> 01:36:47,760
cultures and spans the generations.
2507
01:36:47,760 --> 01:36:49,800
In every age, and sometimes
2508
01:36:49,800 --> 01:36:51,840
in the most unlikely places,
2509
01:36:51,840 --> 01:36:53,680
there are those who wish with a great
2510
01:36:53,680 --> 01:36:56,560
passion to understand the world.
2511
01:36:56,560 --> 01:36:57,720
There is no way of knowing
2512
01:36:57,720 --> 01:36:58,880
where the next discovery will
2513
01:36:58,880 --> 01:36:59,880
come from.
2514
01:36:59,880 --> 01:37:02,720
What dream of the mind's eye
2515
01:37:02,720 --> 01:37:07,200
will remake the world?
2516
01:37:07,200 --> 01:37:11,760
These dreams begin as impossibilities.
2517
01:37:11,760 --> 01:37:13,960
Once, even to see a planet through a
2518
01:37:13,960 --> 01:37:16,320
telescope was an astonishment,
2519
01:37:16,320 --> 01:37:18,160
but we studied these worlds
2520
01:37:18,160 --> 01:37:19,200
and figured out how
2521
01:37:19,200 --> 01:37:21,040
they moved in their orbits,
2522
01:37:21,040 --> 01:37:22,480
and soon we were planning
2523
01:37:22,480 --> 01:37:23,520
voyages of discovery
2524
01:37:24,200 --> 01:37:25,960
beyond the Earth, and sending
2525
01:37:25,960 --> 01:37:28,840
robot explorers to the planets
2526
01:37:28,840 --> 01:37:31,280
and the stars.
2527
01:37:31,280 --> 01:37:33,160
We humans long to be
2528
01:37:33,160 --> 01:37:35,480
connected with our origins, so
2529
01:37:35,480 --> 01:37:38,280
we create rituals.
2530
01:37:38,280 --> 01:37:39,520
Science is another way
to
2531
01:37:39,520 --> 01:37:41,000
express this longing.
2532
01:37:41,000 --> 01:37:42,440
It also connects us with our
2533
01:37:42,440 --> 01:37:44,920
origins, and it too has its
2534
01:37:44,920 --> 01:37:48,000
rituals and its commandments.
2535
01:37:48,000 --> 01:37:50,160
Its only sacred truth is that
2536
01:37:50,160 --> 01:37:52,880
there are no sacred truths.
2537
01:37:52,880 --> 01:37:54,240
All assumptions must be
2538
01:37:54,240 --> 01:37:55,680
critically examined.
2539
01:37:55,680 --> 01:37:58,840
Arguments from authority are worthless.
2540
01:37:58,840 --> 01:38:00,200
Whatever is inconsistent with
2541
01:38:00,200 --> 01:38:02,000
the facts, no matter how fond
2542
01:38:02,000 --> 01:38:03,520
of it we are, must be
2543
01:38:03,520 --> 01:38:07,560
discarded or revised.
2544
01:38:07,560 --> 01:38:09,840
Science is not perfect.
2545
01:38:09,840 --> 01:38:13,600
It's often misused. It's only a tool.
2546
01:38:13,600 --> 01:38:15,720
But it's the best tool we have.
2547
01:38:15,720 --> 01:38:18,680
Self-correcting, ever-changing,
2548
01:38:18,680 --> 01:38:21,680
applicable to everything.
2549
01:38:21,680 --> 01:38:24,400
With this tool, we vanquish
2550
01:38:24,400 --> 01:38:27,440
the impossible.
2551
01:38:27,440 --> 01:38:29,520
With the methods of science,
2552
01:38:29,520 --> 01:38:33,720
we have begun to explore the cosmos.
2553
01:38:33,720 --> 01:38:35,800
For the first time, scientific
2554
01:38:35,800 --> 01:38:39,880
discoveries are widely accessible.
2555
01:38:39,880 --> 01:38:41,920
Our machines, the products of
2556
01:38:41,920 --> 01:38:44,440
our science, are now beyond
2557
01:38:44,440 --> 01:38:46,800
the orbit of Saturn.
2558
01:38:46,800 --> 01:38:48,520
A preliminary spacecraft
2559
01:38:48,520 --> 01:38:50,120
reconnaissance has been made
2560
01:38:50,120 --> 01:38:53,160
of 20 new worlds.
2561
01:38:53,160 --> 01:38:55,040
We have learned to value
2562
01:38:55,040 --> 01:38:56,760
careful observations, to
2563
01:38:56,760 --> 01:38:58,240
respect the facts even when
2564
01:38:58,240 --> 01:38:59,600
they are disquieting
2565
01:38:59,600 --> 01:39:00,880
and they seem to contradict
2566
01:39:00,880 --> 01:39:03,840
conventional wisdom.
2567
01:39:03,840 --> 01:39:05,840
We humans have seen the atoms
2568
01:39:05,840 --> 01:39:07,640
which constitute all of matter
2569
01:39:07,640 --> 01:39:09,640
and the forces that sculpt this
2570
01:39:09,640 --> 01:39:12,320
world and others.
2571
01:39:12,320 --> 01:39:13,640
We have found that the
2572
01:39:13,640 --> 01:39:15,280
molecules of life are easily
2573
01:39:15,280 --> 01:39:17,680
formed under conditions common
2574
01:39:17,680 --> 01:39:19,920
throughout the cosmos.
2575
01:39:19,920 --> 01:39:21,320
We have mapped the molecular
2576
01:39:21,320 --> 01:39:23,520
machines at the heart of life.
2577
01:39:23,520 --> 01:39:25,360
We have discovered a microcosm
2578
01:39:25,360 --> 01:39:27,240
in a drop of water.
2579
01:39:27,240 --> 01:39:28,200
We have peered into the
2580
01:39:28,200 --> 01:39:30,280
bloodstream and down on our
2581
01:39:30,280 --> 01:39:31,600
stormy planet
2582
01:39:31,600 --> 01:39:34,560
to see the Earth as a single organism.
2583
01:39:34,560 --> 01:39:36,080
We have found volcanoes on
2584
01:39:36,080 --> 01:39:39,360
other worlds and explosions on the Sun,
2585
01:39:39,360 --> 01:39:40,880
studied comets from the depths
2586
01:39:40,880 --> 01:39:42,120
of space,
2587
01:39:42,120 --> 01:39:45,880
traced their origins and destinies,
2588
01:39:45,880 --> 01:39:47,800
Listened to pulsars and
2589
01:39:47,800 --> 01:39:50,960
searched for other civilizations.
2590
01:39:50,960 --> 01:39:53,040
We humans have set foot on
2591
01:39:53,040 --> 01:39:55,120
another world, in a place
2592
01:39:55,120 --> 01:39:57,280
called the Sea of Tranquility,
2593
01:39:57,280 --> 01:39:59,080
an astonishing achievement for
2594
01:39:59,080 --> 01:40:01,080
creatures such as we, whose
2595
01:40:01,080 --> 01:40:02,960
earliest footsteps, three and
2596
01:40:02,960 --> 01:40:04,840
a half million years old, are
2597
01:40:04,840 --> 01:40:06,880
preserved in the volcanic ash
2598
01:40:06,880 --> 01:40:09,560
of East Africa.
2599
01:40:09,560 --> 01:40:10,720
These are some of the things
2600
01:40:10,720 --> 01:40:13,120
that hydrogen atoms do, given
2601
01:40:13,120 --> 01:40:19,240
15 billion years of cosmic evolution.
2602
01:40:19,240 --> 01:40:21,560
It has the sound of epic
2603
01:40:21,560 --> 01:40:23,640
myth, but it's simply a
2604
01:40:23,640 --> 01:40:24,920
description of the evolution
2605
01:40:24,920 --> 01:40:27,720
of the cosmos as revealed by
2606
01:40:27,720 --> 01:40:29,840
science in our time.
2607
01:40:29,840 --> 01:40:33,120
And we, we who embody the
2608
01:40:33,120 --> 01:40:34,920
local eyes and ears and
2609
01:40:34,920 --> 01:40:37,520
thoughts and feelings of the cosmos,
2610
01:40:37,520 --> 01:40:39,920
We've begun, at last, to
2611
01:40:39,920 --> 01:40:41,920
wonder about our origins.
2612
01:40:41,920 --> 01:40:45,320
Star stuff, contemplating the stars.
2613
01:40:45,320 --> 01:40:47,440
Organized collections of ten
2614
01:40:47,440 --> 01:40:50,160
billion, billion, billion atoms,
2615
01:40:50,160 --> 01:40:52,440
contemplating the evolution of matter,
2616
01:40:52,440 --> 01:40:54,920
tracing that long path by
2617
01:40:54,920 --> 01:40:57,080
which it arrived at consciousness
2618
01:40:57,080 --> 01:40:59,080
here on the planet Earth and,
2619
01:40:59,080 --> 01:41:02,440
perhaps, throughout the cosmos.
2620
01:41:02,440 --> 01:41:05,080
Our loyalties are to the
2621
01:41:05,080 --> 01:41:07,920
species and the planet.
2622
01:41:07,920 --> 01:41:09,920
We speak for Earth.
2623
01:41:09,920 --> 01:41:11,880
Our obligation to survive and
2624
01:41:11,880 --> 01:41:14,360
flourish is owed not just to
2625
01:41:14,360 --> 01:41:16,760
ourselves, but also to that
2626
01:41:16,760 --> 01:41:20,200
cosmos, ancient and vast, from
2627
01:41:20,200 --> 01:41:23,240
which we spring.
2628
01:41:44,160 --> 01:41:46,240
In the vision of a dream, I
2629
01:41:46,240 --> 01:41:48,640
once imagined myself searching
2630
01:41:48,640 --> 01:41:49,960
for other civilizations
2631
01:41:49,960 --> 01:41:52,000
in the cosmos.
2632
01:41:52,000 --> 01:41:53,400
Among a hundred billion
2633
01:41:53,400 --> 01:41:55,160
galaxies and a billion
2634
01:41:55,160 --> 01:41:57,520
trillion stars, life and
2635
01:41:57,520 --> 01:41:58,760
intelligence should
2636
01:41:58,760 --> 01:42:01,720
have arisen on many worlds.
2637
01:42:01,720 --> 01:42:05,520
Some worlds are barren and desolate.
2638
01:42:05,520 --> 01:42:08,360
On them, life never began, or
2639
01:42:08,360 --> 01:42:09,640
may have been extinguished in
2640
01:42:09,640 --> 01:42:12,200
some cosmic catastrophe.
2641
01:42:12,200 --> 01:42:13,560
There may be worlds rich in
2642
01:42:13,560 --> 01:42:16,000
life, but not yet evolved to
2643
01:42:16,000 --> 01:42:19,360
intelligence and high technology.
2644
01:42:19,360 --> 01:42:20,680
There may be civilizations
2645
01:42:20,680 --> 01:42:22,920
that achieve technology and
2646
01:42:22,920 --> 01:42:24,480
then promptly use it to
2647
01:42:24,480 --> 01:42:27,160
destroy themselves.
2648
01:42:27,160 --> 01:42:28,760
And perhaps there are also
2649
01:42:28,760 --> 01:42:30,720
beings who learn to live with
2650
01:42:30,720 --> 01:42:32,840
their technology and themselves
2651
01:42:32,840 --> 01:42:35,760
beings who endure and become
2652
01:42:35,760 --> 01:42:40,320
citizens of the cosmos.
2653
01:42:40,320 --> 01:42:42,360
Immersed in these thoughts, I
2654
01:42:42,360 --> 01:42:43,560
found myself approaching a
2655
01:42:43,560 --> 01:42:46,120
world that was clearly inhabited,
2656
01:42:46,120 --> 01:42:48,800
a world I had visited before.
2657
01:42:48,800 --> 01:42:51,280
I saw a planet encompassed by
2658
01:42:51,280 --> 01:42:53,960
light and recognized the
2659
01:42:53,960 --> 01:42:59,480
signature of intelligence, but suddenly
2660
01:42:59,480 --> 01:43:05,720
darkness, total and absolute.
2661
01:43:05,720 --> 01:43:07,000
Their world society had
2662
01:43:07,000 --> 01:43:09,280
failed, they had made the
2663
01:43:09,280 --> 01:43:12,440
ultimate mistake.
2664
01:43:12,440 --> 01:43:18,240
I felt a longing to return to Earth.
2665
01:43:18,240 --> 01:43:19,760
The television transmissions of
2666
01:43:19,760 --> 01:43:21,800
Earth rushed past me,
2667
01:43:21,800 --> 01:43:23,740
expanding away from our planet at
2668
01:43:23,740 --> 01:43:24,440
at the speed of light.
2669
01:43:24,440 --> 01:43:26,680
There can be no whitewash at
2670
01:43:26,680 --> 01:43:28,160
the White House.
2671
01:43:28,160 --> 01:43:30,080
A series of record oil company profits...
2672
01:43:31,480 --> 01:43:32,560
If the serious course of
2673
01:43:32,560 --> 01:43:33,960
events continue,
2674
01:43:33,960 --> 01:43:36,320
foreign ministers are at this moment...
2675
01:43:36,320 --> 01:43:42,560
Oh, please stand by. Stand by.
2676
01:43:42,560 --> 01:43:46,240
Then, suddenly, silence.
2677
01:43:46,240 --> 01:43:50,320
Total and absolute.
2678
01:43:50,320 --> 01:43:53,120
Had we destroyed our home?
2679
01:43:53,120 --> 01:43:56,000
What had we done to the Earth?
2680
01:43:56,000 --> 01:43:57,200
There had been many ways for
2681
01:43:57,200 --> 01:43:59,320
life to perish at our hands.
2682
01:43:59,320 --> 01:44:01,880
We had poisoned the air and water.
2683
01:44:01,880 --> 01:44:04,440
We had ravaged the land.
2684
01:44:04,440 --> 01:44:07,080
Perhaps we had changed the climate.
2685
01:44:07,080 --> 01:44:10,160
Could it have been a plague?
2686
01:44:10,160 --> 01:44:14,800
Or nuclear war?
2687
01:44:14,800 --> 01:44:17,440
So it was nuclear war, a
2688
01:44:17,440 --> 01:44:20,920
full nuclear exchange.
2689
01:44:20,920 --> 01:44:22,720
There would be no more big
2690
01:44:22,720 --> 01:44:26,360
questions, no more answers.
2691
01:44:26,360 --> 01:44:30,080
Never again a love or a child.
2692
01:44:30,080 --> 01:44:31,880
No descendants to remember us
2693
01:44:31,880 --> 01:44:33,560
and be proud.
2694
01:44:33,560 --> 01:44:36,880
No more voyages to the stars.
2695
01:44:36,880 --> 01:44:44,880
No more songs from the Earth.
2696
01:44:44,880 --> 01:44:47,440
I saw East Africa and
2697
01:44:47,440 --> 01:44:49,040
thought, a few million years
2698
01:44:49,040 --> 01:44:50,920
ago, we humans took our first
2699
01:44:50,920 --> 01:44:52,320
steps there.
2700
01:44:52,320 --> 01:44:55,040
Our brains grew and changed.
2701
01:44:55,040 --> 01:44:56,600
The old parts began to be
2702
01:44:56,600 --> 01:44:58,680
guided by the new parts.
2703
01:44:58,680 --> 01:45:00,320
And this made us human, with
2704
01:45:00,320 --> 01:45:04,480
compassion, foresight, and reason.
2705
01:45:04,480 --> 01:45:06,960
But instead, we listened to
2706
01:45:06,960 --> 01:45:09,240
that reptilian voice within us,
2707
01:45:09,240 --> 01:45:11,200
counseling fear,
2708
01:45:11,200 --> 01:45:14,760
territoriality, aggression.
2709
01:45:14,760 --> 01:45:17,400
We accepted the products of science.
2710
01:45:17,400 --> 01:45:21,440
We rejected its methods.
2711
01:45:21,440 --> 01:45:23,000
Maybe the reptiles will evolve
2712
01:45:23,000 --> 01:45:24,920
intelligence once more.
2713
01:45:24,920 --> 01:45:27,320
Perhaps one day, there will
2714
01:45:27,320 --> 01:45:29,760
be civilizations again on Earth.
2715
01:45:29,760 --> 01:45:31,200
There will be life.
2716
01:45:31,200 --> 01:45:33,720
There will be intelligence.
2717
01:45:33,720 --> 01:45:35,680
But there will be no more humans.
2718
01:46:16,520 --> 01:46:18,480
Two megatons.
2719
01:46:18,480 --> 01:46:21,560
Coventry and Rotterdam, Dresden
2720
01:46:21,560 --> 01:46:23,800
and Tokyo, all the death that
2721
01:46:23,800 --> 01:46:25,040
reigned from the skies
2722
01:46:25,040 --> 01:46:29,200
between 1939 and 1945, 100,000
2723
01:46:29,200 --> 01:46:33,440
blockbusters, two megatons.
2724
01:46:33,440 --> 01:46:36,000
Today, two megatons is the
2725
01:46:36,000 --> 01:46:37,080
equivalent of a single
2726
01:46:37,080 --> 01:46:38,160
thermonuclear bomb,
2727
01:46:38,160 --> 01:46:40,200
one bomb with the destructive
2728
01:46:40,200 --> 01:46:44,120
force of the Second World War.
2729
01:46:44,120 --> 01:46:45,160
But there are tens of
2730
01:46:45,160 --> 01:46:46,880
thousands of nuclear weapons.
2731
01:46:46,880 --> 01:46:49,840
No place on the planet is safe.
2732
01:46:49,840 --> 01:46:52,600
The energy contained in these weapons,
2733
01:46:52,600 --> 01:46:55,200
Genies of death patiently
2734
01:46:55,200 --> 01:46:59,200
awaiting the rubbing of the lamps.
2735
01:46:59,200 --> 01:47:02,120
Totals far more than 10,000 megatons,
2736
01:47:02,120 --> 01:47:04,200
but with the destruction
2737
01:47:04,200 --> 01:47:05,880
concentrated efficiently.
2738
01:47:05,880 --> 01:47:07,800
Not over six years, but over
2739
01:47:07,800 --> 01:47:09,320
a few hours.
2740
01:47:09,320 --> 01:47:11,640
A blockbuster for every family
2741
01:47:11,640 --> 01:47:13,480
on the planet.
2742
01:47:13,480 --> 01:47:16,400
A World War II every second
2743
01:47:16,400 --> 01:47:22,840
for the length of a lazy afternoon.
2744
01:47:26,000 --> 01:47:27,800
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima
2745
01:47:27,800 --> 01:47:30,480
killed 70,000 people.
2746
01:47:30,480 --> 01:47:32,920
In a full nuclear exchange,
2747
01:47:32,920 --> 01:47:35,840
in the paroxysm of global death,
2748
01:47:35,840 --> 01:47:37,080
the equivalent of a million
2749
01:47:37,080 --> 01:47:38,880
Hiroshima bombs
2750
01:47:38,880 --> 01:47:41,800
would be dropped all over the world.
2751
01:47:41,800 --> 01:47:43,000
But in such an exchange, not
2752
01:47:43,000 --> 01:47:44,520
everyone would be killed
2753
01:47:44,520 --> 01:47:45,640
by the blast and the
2754
01:47:45,640 --> 01:47:48,360
firestorm and the immediate radiation.
2755
01:47:48,360 --> 01:47:50,840
There would be other agonies,
2756
01:47:50,840 --> 01:47:52,160
the loss of loved ones,
2757
01:47:52,160 --> 01:47:54,720
the legions of the burned and
2758
01:47:54,720 --> 01:47:56,960
blinded and mutilated,
2759
01:47:56,960 --> 01:47:58,920
the absence of medical care,
2760
01:48:32,000 --> 01:48:34,360
in military endeavors.
2761
01:48:34,360 --> 01:48:35,640
How would we explain all this
2762
01:48:35,640 --> 01:48:37,280
to a dispassionate
2763
01:48:37,280 --> 01:48:38,920
extraterrestrial observer?
2764
01:48:38,920 --> 01:48:41,360
What account would we give of
2765
01:48:41,360 --> 01:48:47,040
our stewardship of the planet Earth?
2766
01:48:47,040 --> 01:48:48,160
From an extraterrestrial
2767
01:48:48,160 --> 01:48:50,440
perspective, our global
2768
01:48:50,440 --> 01:48:52,960
civilization is clearly on the edge
2769
01:48:52,960 --> 01:48:54,520
of failure in the most
2770
01:48:54,520 --> 01:48:56,240
important task it faces,
2771
01:48:56,240 --> 01:48:57,560
preserving the lives and
2772
01:48:57,560 --> 01:48:58,720
well-being of its
2773
01:48:58,720 --> 01:49:00,440
citizens and the future
2774
01:49:00,440 --> 01:49:03,000
habitability of the planet.
2775
01:49:03,000 --> 01:49:05,080
But if we're willing to live
2776
01:49:05,080 --> 01:49:06,440
with the growing likelihood of
2777
01:49:06,440 --> 01:49:08,400
nuclear war, shouldn't we also
2778
01:49:08,400 --> 01:49:09,880
be willing to explore
2779
01:49:09,880 --> 01:49:11,960
vigorously every possible means
2780
01:49:11,960 --> 01:49:13,760
to prevent nuclear war?
2781
01:49:13,760 --> 01:49:16,800
shouldn't we consider in every nation
2782
01:49:16,800 --> 01:49:17,960
major changes in the
2783
01:49:17,960 --> 01:49:19,840
traditional ways of doing things,
2784
01:49:19,840 --> 01:49:22,040
a fundamental restructuring of
2785
01:49:22,040 --> 01:49:22,720
economic,
2786
01:49:22,720 --> 01:49:23,640
political, social, and
2787
01:49:23,640 --> 01:49:26,040
religious institutions?
2788
01:49:26,040 --> 01:49:27,280
We've reached a point where
2789
01:49:27,280 --> 01:49:28,360
there can be
2790
01:49:28,360 --> 01:49:30,400
no more special interests or
2791
01:49:30,400 --> 01:49:31,320
special cases.
2792
01:49:31,320 --> 01:49:33,200
Nuclear arms threaten every
2793
01:49:33,200 --> 01:49:36,160
person on the Earth.
2794
01:49:36,160 --> 01:49:38,200
Fundamental changes in society
2795
01:49:38,200 --> 01:49:40,200
are sometimes labeled
2796
01:49:40,200 --> 01:49:43,840
of impractical or contrary to
2797
01:49:43,840 --> 01:49:45,240
human nature,
2798
01:49:45,240 --> 01:49:46,320
as if nuclear war were
2799
01:49:46,320 --> 01:49:48,200
practical or as if there were
2800
01:49:48,200 --> 01:49:51,400
only one human nature.
2801
01:49:51,400 --> 01:49:53,240
But fundamental changes can
2802
01:49:53,240 --> 01:49:54,120
clearly be made.
2803
01:49:54,120 --> 01:49:56,280
We're surrounded by them.
2804
01:49:56,280 --> 01:49:57,800
In the last two centuries,
2805
01:49:57,800 --> 01:49:59,240
abject slavery,
2806
01:49:59,240 --> 01:50:00,360
which was with us for
2807
01:50:00,360 --> 01:50:01,960
thousands of years,
2808
01:50:01,960 --> 01:50:03,200
has almost entirely been
2809
01:50:03,200 --> 01:50:04,960
eliminated in a stirring
2810
01:50:04,960 --> 01:50:07,160
worldwide revolution.
2811
01:50:07,160 --> 01:50:09,480
Women, systematically mistreated
2812
01:50:09,480 --> 01:50:10,880
for millennia,
2813
01:50:10,880 --> 01:50:12,200
are gradually gaining the
2814
01:50:12,200 --> 01:50:14,000
political
and economic power
2815
01:50:14,000 --> 01:50:16,080
traditionally denied to them.
2816
01:50:16,080 --> 01:50:19,280
The old appeals to racial,
2817
01:50:19,280 --> 01:50:21,520
sexual, and religious chauvinism
2818
01:50:21,520 --> 01:50:24,960
and to rabid nationalist fervor
2819
01:50:24,960 --> 01:50:27,000
are beginning not to work.
2820
01:50:27,000 --> 01:50:28,640
A new consciousness is developing
2821
01:50:28,640 --> 01:50:31,000
which sees the Earth as a
2822
01:50:31,000 --> 01:50:32,680
single organism
2823
01:50:32,680 --> 01:50:34,440
and recognizes that an
2824
01:50:34,440 --> 01:50:38,720
organism at war with itself is doomed.
2825
01:50:38,720 --> 01:50:46,440
We are one planet.
2826
01:50:46,440 --> 01:50:47,800
We who cannot even put our
2827
01:50:47,800 --> 01:50:50,160
own planetary home in order,
2828
01:50:50,160 --> 01:50:53,040
riven with rivalries and hatreds,
2829
01:50:53,040 --> 01:50:56,480
are we to venture out into space?
2830
01:50:56,480 --> 01:50:57,440
By the time we're ready to
2831
01:50:57,440 --> 01:50:59,160
settle even the nearest other
2832
01:50:59,160 --> 01:51:01,040
planetary systems,
2833
01:51:01,040 --> 01:51:03,200
we will have changed.
2834
01:51:03,200 --> 01:51:04,520
The simple passage of so many
2835
01:51:04,520 --> 01:51:07,000
generations will have changed us.
2836
01:51:07,000 --> 01:51:10,000
necessity will have changed us.
2837
01:51:10,000 --> 01:51:13,720
We're an adaptable species.
2838
01:51:13,720 --> 01:51:14,960
It will not be we who
2839
01:51:14,960 --> 01:51:17,160
reach Alpha Centauri and the
2840
01:51:17,160 --> 01:51:18,840
other nearby stars.
2841
01:51:18,840 --> 01:51:20,680
It will be a species very
2842
01:51:20,680 --> 01:51:22,800
like us, but with more of
2843
01:51:22,800 --> 01:51:25,320
our strengths and fewer of
2844
01:51:25,320 --> 01:51:27,040
our weaknesses.
2845
01:51:27,040 --> 01:51:27,400
More
2846
01:51:27,400 --> 01:51:31,240
confident, far-seeing, capable
2847
01:51:31,240 --> 01:51:33,040
and prudent.
2848
01:51:33,040 --> 01:51:35,800
For all our failings, despite our
2849
01:51:35,800 --> 01:51:37,120
limitations and fallibilities,
2850
01:51:37,120 --> 01:51:42,680
we humans are capable of greatness.
2851
01:51:42,680 --> 01:51:43,320
What new
2852
01:51:43,320 --> 01:51:45,320
wonders undreamt of in our
2853
01:51:45,320 --> 01:51:47,840
time will we have wrought in
2854
01:51:47,840 --> 01:51:51,560
another generation and another?
2855
01:51:51,560 --> 01:51:53,440
How far will our nomadic
2856
01:51:53,440 --> 01:51:55,640
species have wandered by the
2857
01:51:55,640 --> 01:51:56,360
end of the next
2858
01:51:56,360 --> 01:52:00,600
century and the next millennium?
2859
01:52:00,600 --> 01:52:03,320
Our remote descendants safely
2860
01:52:03,320 --> 01:52:04,280
arrayed on many
2861
01:52:04,280 --> 01:52:05,320
worlds through the solar
2862
01:52:05,320 --> 01:52:10,200
system and beyond, will be unified.
2863
01:52:10,200 --> 01:52:12,840
By their common heritage, by
2864
01:52:12,840 --> 01:52:14,200
their regard for their home
2865
01:52:14,200 --> 01:52:17,600
planet, and by the knowledge
2866
01:52:17,600 --> 01:52:19,240
that whatever other life may
2867
01:52:19,240 --> 01:52:21,240
be, the only humans in all
2868
01:52:21,240 --> 01:52:24,520
the universe come from Earth,
2869
01:52:24,520 --> 01:52:26,640
they will gaze up and strain
2870
01:52:26,640 --> 01:52:30,880
to find the blue dot in their skies.
2871
01:52:30,880 --> 01:52:33,080
They will marvel at how
2872
01:52:33,080 --> 01:52:34,760
vulnerable the repository of
2873
01:52:34,760 --> 01:52:37,680
all our potential once was,
2874
01:52:37,680 --> 01:52:39,000
how perilous
2875
01:52:39,000 --> 01:52:42,040
our infancy, how humble our
2876
01:52:42,040 --> 01:52:45,640
beginnings, how many rivers we
2877
01:52:45,640 --> 01:52:52,440
had to cross before we found our way.
2878
01:53:18,120 --> 01:53:19,880
If I could travel back into
2879
01:53:19,880 --> 01:53:22,160
time, this is the place I
2880
01:53:22,160 --> 01:53:25,280
would visit, the Library of Alexandria
2881
01:53:25,280 --> 01:53:29,120
at its height 2,000 years ago.
2882
01:53:29,120 --> 01:53:32,000
Here, in an important sense, began
2883
01:53:32,000 --> 01:53:33,800
the intellectual adventure
2884
01:53:33,800 --> 01:53:37,240
which has led us into space.
2885
01:53:37,240 --> 01:53:39,360
All the knowledge in the ancient world
2886
01:53:39,360 --> 01:53:42,680
was once within these marble walls.
2887
01:53:42,680 --> 01:53:44,840
This library was a citadel of
2888
01:53:44,840 --> 01:53:46,480
human consciousness,
2889
01:53:46,480 --> 01:53:50,560
a beacon on our journey to the stars.
2890
01:53:50,560 --> 01:53:52,720
And what did they study?
2891
01:53:52,720 --> 01:53:54,880
They studied everything, the
2892
01:53:54,880 --> 01:53:56,960
entire cosmos.
2893
01:53:56,960 --> 01:53:58,040
But the treasure of the
2894
01:53:58,040 --> 01:54:00,480
library, consecrated to the
2895
01:54:00,480 --> 01:54:02,440
god Serapis,
2896
01:54:02,440 --> 01:54:04,120
built in the city of
2897
01:54:04,120 --> 01:54:07,760
Alexander, was its collection of books.
2898
01:54:07,760 --> 01:54:09,240
Accurate numbers are difficult
2899
01:54:09,240 --> 01:54:10,320
to come by,
2900
01:54:10,320 --> 01:54:11,640
but it seems that the library
2901
01:54:11,640 --> 01:54:14,040
contained at its peak nearly
2902
01:54:14,040 --> 01:54:16,840
one million scrolls.
2903
01:54:16,840 --> 01:54:19,040
What happened to all those books?
2904
01:54:19,040 --> 01:54:19,920
Well, the classical
2905
01:54:19,920 --> 01:54:21,640
civilization that created them
2906
01:54:21,640 --> 01:54:23,240
disintegrated, the library
2907
01:54:23,240 --> 01:54:25,280
itself was destroyed.
2908
01:54:25,280 --> 01:54:27,080
Only a small fraction of the
2909
01:54:27,080 --> 01:54:28,560
works survived.
2910
01:54:28,560 --> 01:54:29,920
And as for the rest, we are
2911
01:54:29,920 --> 01:54:32,200
left only with pathetic,
2912
01:54:32,200 --> 01:54:35,720
scattered fragments.
2913
01:54:35,720 --> 01:54:38,960
Let me tell you about The End.
2914
01:54:38,960 --> 01:54:40,960
It's a story about the last
2915
01:54:40,960 --> 01:54:42,640
scientist to work in this place.
2916
01:54:42,640 --> 01:54:45,200
a mathematician, astronomer,
2917
01:54:45,200 --> 01:54:48,320
physicist, and head of the
2918
01:54:48,320 --> 01:54:49,760
School of Neoplatonic
2919
01:54:49,760 --> 01:54:51,840
Philosophy in Alexandria.
2920
01:54:51,840 --> 01:54:53,360
That's an extraordinary range
2921
01:54:53,360 --> 01:54:54,600
of accomplishments for any
2922
01:54:54,600 --> 01:54:57,120
individual in any age.
2923
01:54:57,120 --> 01:55:00,080
Her name was Hypatia.
2924
01:55:00,080 --> 01:55:02,360
She was born in this city in
2925
01:55:02,360 --> 01:55:07,240
the year 370 A.D.
2926
01:55:07,240 --> 01:55:09,240
This was a time when women
2927
01:55:09,240 --> 01:55:11,120
had essentially no options.
2928
01:55:11,120 --> 01:55:13,640
they were considered property.
2929
01:55:13,640 --> 01:55:15,240
Nevertheless, Hypatia was able
2930
01:55:15,240 --> 01:55:19,400
to move freely, unselfconsciously,
2931
01:55:19,400 --> 01:55:22,320
through traditional male domains.
2932
01:55:23,080 --> 01:55:25,200
By all accounts, she was a
2933
01:55:25,200 --> 01:55:26,520
great beauty.
2934
01:55:26,520 --> 01:55:27,160
And although she had
2935
01:55:27,160 --> 01:55:29,480
many suitors, she had no
2936
01:55:29,480 --> 01:55:32,680
interest in marriage.
2937
01:55:32,680 --> 01:55:34,720
The Alexandria of Hypatia's
2938
01:55:34,720 --> 01:55:36,640
time, by then long under
2939
01:55:36,640 --> 01:55:39,480
Roman rule, was a city in
2940
01:55:39,480 --> 01:55:41,200
grave conflict.
2941
01:55:41,200 --> 01:55:43,880
Slavery, the cancer of the
2942
01:55:43,880 --> 01:55:45,840
ancient world, had sapped classical
2943
01:55:45,840 --> 01:55:49,320
civilization of its vitality.
2944
01:55:49,320 --> 01:55:51,240
The growing Christian Church
2945
01:55:51,240 --> 01:55:53,280
was consolidating its
2946
01:55:53,280 --> 01:55:54,920
power and attempting to
2947
01:55:54,920 --> 01:55:58,840
eradicate pagan influence and culture.
2948
01:55:58,840 --> 01:56:01,080
Hypatia stood at
2949
01:56:01,080 --> 01:56:06,160
the focus, the epicenter of
2950
01:56:06,160 --> 01:56:08,440
mighty social forces.
2951
01:56:08,440 --> 01:56:09,960
Cyril, the bishop of
2952
01:56:09,960 --> 01:56:12,560
Alexandria, despised her, in
2953
01:56:12,560 --> 01:56:13,560
part because of her close
2954
01:56:13,560 --> 01:56:14,600
friendship with the Roman
2955
01:56:14,600 --> 01:56:16,900
governor, but also because she
2956
01:56:16,900 --> 01:56:18,560
was symbolized, she was a
2957
01:56:18,560 --> 01:56:19,960
symbol of learning and
2958
01:56:19,960 --> 01:56:21,960
science, which were largely
2959
01:56:21,960 --> 01:56:23,480
identified by the early church
2960
01:56:23,480 --> 01:56:26,520
with paganism.
2961
01:56:26,520 --> 01:56:28,400
In great personal danger,
2962
01:56:28,400 --> 01:56:30,680
Hypatia continued to teach and
2963
01:56:30,680 --> 01:56:34,120
to publish until, in the year
2964
01:56:34,120 --> 01:56:37,200
415 A.D., on her way to work,
2965
01:56:37,200 --> 01:56:39,640
she was set upon by a
2966
01:56:39,640 --> 01:56:43,240
fanatical mob of Cyril's followers.
2967
01:56:43,240 --> 01:56:44,920
They dragged her from a
2968
01:56:44,920 --> 01:56:47,840
chariot, tore off her clothes,
2969
01:56:47,840 --> 01:56:50,560
and flayed her flesh from her
2970
01:56:50,560 --> 01:56:54,360
bones with abalone shells.
2971
01:56:54,360 --> 01:56:56,160
Her remains were burned,
her
2972
01:56:56,160 --> 01:56:58,080
works obliterated,
2973
01:56:58,080 --> 01:56:59,880
her name forgotten.
2974
01:56:59,880 --> 01:57:06,360
Cyril was made a saint.
2975
01:57:06,360 --> 01:57:07,480
The last remains of the
2976
01:57:07,480 --> 01:57:10,080
library were destroyed within
2977
01:57:10,080 --> 01:57:12,240
a year of Hypatia's death.
2978
01:57:12,240 --> 01:57:13,880
It's as if an entire
2979
01:57:13,880 --> 01:57:16,240
civilization had undergone a
2980
01:57:16,240 --> 01:57:18,960
sort of self-inflicted radical
2981
01:57:18,960 --> 01:57:20,600
brain surgery,
2982
01:57:20,600 --> 01:57:23,040
so that most of its memories,
2983
01:57:23,040 --> 01:57:25,120
discoveries, ideas, and
2984
01:57:25,120 --> 01:57:34,920
passions were irrevocably wiped out.
2985
01:57:34,920 --> 01:57:38,280
History is full of people
2986
01:57:38,280 --> 01:57:41,560
who, out of fear or ignorance
2987
01:57:41,560 --> 01:57:44,840
or a lust for power, have destroyed
2988
01:57:44,840 --> 01:57:48,200
treasures of immeasurable value
2989
01:57:48,200 --> 01:57:52,240
which truly belong to all of us.
2990
01:57:52,240 --> 01:57:56,920
We must not let it happen again.
2991
01:57:56,920 --> 01:57:58,720
We were, at long last,
2992
01:57:58,720 --> 01:58:00,320
beginning to find our true
2993
01:58:00,320 --> 01:58:03,520
bearings in the cosmos.
2994
01:58:03,520 --> 01:58:05,360
The scientists of antiquity
2995
01:58:05,360 --> 01:58:06,960
took the first and most
2996
01:58:06,960 --> 01:58:09,160
important steps in that direction
2997
01:58:09,160 --> 01:58:12,440
before their civilization fell apart.
2998
01:58:12,440 --> 01:58:14,480
But after the Dark Ages, it
2999
01:58:14,480 --> 01:58:15,640
was by and large the
3000
01:58:15,640 --> 01:58:17,480
rediscovery of the works of
3001
01:58:17,480 --> 01:58:18,360
these scholars
3002
01:58:18,360 --> 01:58:20,120
done here that made the
3003
01:58:20,120 --> 01:58:22,160
Renaissance possible and
3004
01:58:22,160 --> 01:58:23,680
thereby powerfully influenced
3005
01:58:23,680 --> 01:58:25,360
our own culture.
3006
01:58:25,360 --> 01:58:26,960
When in the 15th century
3007
01:58:26,960 --> 01:58:29,280
Europe was at last ready to
3008
01:58:29,280 --> 01:58:31,800
awaken from its long sleep,
3009
01:58:31,800 --> 01:58:33,160
it picked up some of the
3010
01:58:33,160 --> 01:58:35,200
tools, the books and the
3011
01:58:35,200 --> 01:58:38,160
concepts laid down here more
3012
01:58:38,160 --> 01:58:45,760
than a thousand years before.
3013
01:58:45,760 --> 01:58:48,160
By 1600, the long-forgotten
3014
01:58:48,160 --> 01:58:50,000
ideas of Aristarchus had
3015
01:58:50,000 --> 01:58:52,160
been rediscovered.
3016
01:58:52,160 --> 01:58:54,640
Johannes Kepler constructed
3017
01:58:54,640 --> 01:58:56,240
elaborate models to understand
3018
01:58:56,240 --> 01:58:57,680
the motion and arrangement of
3019
01:58:57,680 --> 01:58:58,760
the planets,
3020
01:58:58,760 --> 01:59:04,560
the clockwork of the heavens.
3021
01:59:04,560 --> 01:59:06,800
His principal scientific tools
3022
01:59:06,800 --> 01:59:08,120
were the mathematics of the
3023
01:59:08,120 --> 01:59:09,920
Alexandrian library
3024
01:59:09,920 --> 01:59:11,640
and an unswerving respect for
3025
01:59:11,640 --> 01:59:12,760
the facts,
3026
01:59:12,760 --> 01:59:18,160
however disquieting they might be.
3027
01:59:18,160 --> 01:59:19,720
Seventy years later,
3028
01:59:19,720 --> 01:59:21,240
the Sun-centered universe of
3029
01:59:21,240 --> 01:59:23,320
Aristarchus and Copernicus
3030
01:59:23,320 --> 01:59:25,080
was widely accepted in the
3031
01:59:25,080 --> 01:59:27,000
Europe of the Enlightenment.
3032
01:59:27,000 --> 01:59:29,080
The idea arose that the
3033
01:59:29,080 --> 01:59:31,440
planets were worlds, governed
3034
01:59:31,440 --> 01:59:32,840
by laws of nature,
3035
01:59:32,840 --> 01:59:34,200
and scientific speculation
3036
01:59:34,200 --> 01:59:37,240
turned to the motions of the stars.
3037
01:59:37,240 --> 01:59:39,000
The clockwork in the heavens
3038
01:59:39,000 --> 01:59:40,440
was imitated by the
3039
01:59:40,440 --> 01:59:42,520
watchmakers of Earth.
3040
01:59:42,520 --> 01:59:44,200
Precise timekeeping permitted
3041
01:59:44,200 --> 01:59:46,440
great sailing ship voyages of
3042
01:59:46,440 --> 01:59:48,280
exploration and discovery,
3043
01:59:48,280 --> 01:59:52,040
which bound up the Earth.
3044
01:59:52,600 --> 01:59:54,400
This was a time when free
3045
01:59:54,400 --> 01:59:59,000
inquiry was valued once again.
3046
01:59:59,000 --> 02:00:01,080
250 years later, the Earth
3047
02:00:01,080 --> 02:00:02,600
was all explored.
3048
02:00:02,600 --> 02:00:04,400
New adventurers now looked to
3049
02:00:04,400 --> 02:00:06,720
the planets and the stars.
3050
02:00:06,720 --> 02:00:08,400
Galaxies were recognized as
3051
02:00:08,400 --> 02:00:10,400
great aggregates of stars,
3052
02:00:10,400 --> 02:00:13,320
island universes, millions of
3053
02:00:13,320 --> 02:00:15,120
light years away.
3054
02:00:15,120 --> 02:00:17,440
In the 1920s, astronomers had
3055
02:00:17,440 --> 02:00:19,440
begun to measure the speeds
3056
02:00:19,440 --> 02:00:21,600
of distant galaxies.
3057
02:00:21,600 --> 02:00:23,760
They found that the galaxies
3058
02:00:23,760 --> 02:00:26,440
were flying away from one another.
3059
02:00:26,440 --> 02:00:27,640
To the astonishment of
3060
02:00:27,640 --> 02:00:30,200
everyone, the entire universe
3061
02:00:30,200 --> 02:00:32,080
was expanding.
3062
02:00:32,080 --> 02:00:33,920
We had begun to plumb the
3063
02:00:33,920 --> 02:00:37,680
true depths of time and space.
3064
02:00:37,680 --> 02:00:39,440
The long collective enterprise
3065
02:00:39,440 --> 02:00:41,320
of science has revealed a
3066
02:00:41,320 --> 02:00:46,120
universe some 15 billion years old.
3067
02:00:46,120 --> 02:00:47,680
We on Earth have just
3068
02:00:47,680 --> 02:00:50,080
awakened to the great oceans
3069
02:00:50,080 --> 02:00:52,200
of space and time from which
3070
02:00:52,200 --> 02:00:54,040
we have emerged.
3071
02:00:54,040 --> 02:00:56,760
We are the legacy of 15
3072
02:00:56,760 --> 02:00:59,800
billion years of cosmic evolution.
3073
02:00:59,800 --> 02:01:01,800
We have a choice.
3074
02:01:01,800 --> 02:01:03,360
We can enhance life and come
3075
02:01:03,360 --> 02:01:04,360
to know the universe that
3076
02:01:04,360 --> 02:01:06,560
made us, or we can squander
3077
02:01:06,560 --> 02:01:07,560
our 15 billion
3078
02:01:07,560 --> 02:01:09,160
year heritage in
3079
02:01:09,160 --> 02:01:13,120
meaningless self-destruction.
3080
02:01:13,120 --> 02:01:14,240
What happens in the first
3081
02:01:14,240 --> 02:01:15,640
second of the next cosmic
3082
02:01:15,640 --> 02:01:19,160
year depends on what we do here and
3083
02:01:19,160 --> 02:01:22,080
now with our intelligence and
3084
02:01:22,080 --> 02:01:49,560
our knowledge of the cosmos.
3085
02:01:49,560 --> 02:01:51,960
This is the age of planetary
3086
02:01:51,960 --> 02:01:54,240
exploration, when our ships
3087
02:01:54,240 --> 02:01:58,280
have begun to sail the heavens.
3088
02:01:58,280 --> 02:01:59,440
In those heavens there are
3089
02:01:59,440 --> 02:02:02,040
some worlds much like hell.
3090
02:02:02,040 --> 02:02:04,480
Our planet is, in comparison,
3091
02:02:04,480 --> 02:02:06,120
much like a heaven.
3092
02:02:06,120 --> 02:02:07,720
But the gates of heaven and
3093
02:02:07,720 --> 02:02:13,200
hell are adjacent and unmarked.
3094
02:02:13,200 --> 02:02:14,600
We've evolved on the planet
3095
02:02:14,600 --> 02:02:16,400
Earth, and so we find it a
3096
02:02:16,400 --> 02:02:18,000
congenial place.
3097
02:02:18,000 --> 02:02:20,520
But just next door is Venus,
3098
02:02:20,520 --> 02:02:23,720
until recently enveloped in mystery.
3099
02:02:23,720 --> 02:02:24,960
It has almost the same size
3100
02:02:24,960 --> 02:02:26,920
and mass as the Earth.
3101
02:02:26,920 --> 02:02:28,920
Might our sister world be a
3102
02:02:28,920 --> 02:02:31,000
balmy summer planet,
3103
02:02:31,000 --> 02:02:31,960
A little warmer than the
3104
02:02:31,960 --> 02:02:32,920
Earth because it's a little
3105
02:02:32,920 --> 02:02:34,480
closer to the Sun?
3106
02:02:34,480 --> 02:02:36,320
Are there craters, volcanoes,
3107
02:02:36,320 --> 02:02:39,680
mountains, oceans, life?
3108
02:02:39,680 --> 02:02:41,360
From a distance, our sister
3109
02:02:41,360 --> 02:02:43,400
planet seems serene and
3110
02:02:43,400 --> 02:02:46,840
peaceful, its clouds motionless.
3111
02:02:46,840 --> 02:02:48,600
These clouds are near the top
3112
02:02:48,600 --> 02:02:50,440
of a great ocean of air,
3113
02:02:50,440 --> 02:02:51,920
about a hundred kilometers
3114
02:02:51,920 --> 02:02:53,040
thick, composed
3115
02:02:53,040 --> 02:02:56,120
mainly of carbon dioxide.
3116
02:02:56,120 --> 02:02:57,560
There's some nitrogen, a
3117
02:02:57,560 --> 02:02:58,800
little water vapor and other
3118
02:02:58,800 --> 02:03:00,680
gases, but only the merest
3119
02:03:00,680 --> 02:03:03,040
trace of hydrocarbons.
3120
02:03:03,040 --> 02:03:04,160
And the clouds turn out to
3121
02:03:04,160 --> 02:03:06,160
be not water, but a
3122
02:03:06,160 --> 02:03:07,600
concentrated solution
3123
02:03:07,600 --> 02:03:10,400
of sulfuric acid.
3124
02:03:10,400 --> 02:03:12,320
Even in the high clouds,
3125
02:03:12,320 --> 02:03:16,840
Venus is a thoroughly nasty place.
3126
02:03:16,840 --> 02:03:17,360
The clouds
3127
02:03:17,360 --> 02:03:19,680
are stained yellow by sulfur.
3128
02:03:19,680 --> 02:03:21,800
There are great lightning storms.
3129
02:03:21,800 --> 02:03:23,320
As we descend, there are
3130
02:03:23,320 --> 02:03:24,400
increasing
amounts of the
3131
02:03:24,400 --> 02:03:26,840
noxious gas sulfur dioxide.
3132
02:03:26,840 --> 02:03:28,960
The pressures become so high that
3133
02:03:28,960 --> 02:03:30,240
The early Venera spacecraft
3134
02:03:30,240 --> 02:03:32,080
were crushed like old tin
3135
02:03:32,080 --> 02:03:33,720
cans by the weight of the
3136
02:03:33,720 --> 02:03:37,080
surrounding atmosphere.
3137
02:03:37,080 --> 02:03:38,760
Beneath the clouds, in the
3138
02:03:38,760 --> 02:03:40,680
dense, clear air, it's about
3139
02:03:40,680 --> 02:03:42,080
as bright as on an overcast day
3140
02:03:42,080 --> 02:03:43,720
on Earth, but the atmosphere
3141
02:03:43,720 --> 02:03:44,960
is so thick that the ground
3142
02:03:44,960 --> 02:03:48,640
seems to ripple and distort.
3143
02:03:48,640 --> 02:03:50,000
The atmospheric pressure down
3144
02:03:50,000 --> 02:03:52,640
here is 90 times that on Earth.
3145
02:03:52,640 --> 02:03:55,200
The temperature is 380 degrees
3146
02:03:55,200 --> 02:03:58,200
centigrade, 900 Fahrenheit,
3147
02:03:58,200 --> 02:04:01,080
hotter than the hottest household oven.
3148
02:04:01,080 --> 02:04:02,440
This is a world marked by
3149
02:04:02,440 --> 02:04:04,440
searing heat, crushing
3150
02:04:04,440 --> 02:04:06,640
pressures, sulfurous gases in
3151
02:04:06,640 --> 02:04:09,480
a desolate, reddish landscape.
3152
02:04:09,480 --> 02:04:11,360
Far from the balmy paradise
3153
02:04:11,360 --> 02:04:12,480
imagined by some early
3154
02:04:12,480 --> 02:04:14,560
scientists, Venus is the one
3155
02:04:14,560 --> 02:04:16,320
place in the solar system
3156
02:04:16,320 --> 02:04:19,160
most like hell.
3157
02:04:19,160 --> 02:04:20,800
But today, as in ancient
3158
02:04:20,800 --> 02:04:22,840
tradition, there are travelers
3159
02:04:22,840 --> 02:04:24,880
who will dare a visit to
3160
02:04:24,880 --> 02:04:26,560
the underworld.
3161
02:04:26,560 --> 02:04:28,200
Venera 9 was the first
3162
02:04:28,200 --> 02:04:29,880
spacecraft in human history to
3163
02:04:29,880 --> 02:04:30,960
return a photograph from the
3164
02:04:30,960 --> 02:04:32,600
surface of Venus.
3165
02:04:32,600 --> 02:04:34,760
It found the rocks curiously
3166
02:04:34,760 --> 02:04:36,440
eroded, perhaps by the
3167
02:04:36,440 --> 02:04:38,520
corrosive gases, perhaps because the
3168
02:04:38,520 --> 02:04:39,800
temperature is so high that
3169
02:04:39,800 --> 02:04:41,280
the rocks are partly molten
3170
02:04:41,280 --> 02:04:44,120
and sluggishly flow.
3171
02:04:44,120 --> 02:04:46,560
The Soviet Venera spacecraft,
3172
02:04:46,560 --> 02:04:48,160
their electronics long ago
3173
02:04:48,160 --> 02:04:50,960
fried, are slowly corroding on the
3174
02:04:50,960 --> 02:04:51,640
surface of Venus.
3175
02:04:52,720 --> 02:04:54,080
They are the first spaceships
3176
02:04:54,080 --> 02:04:56,320
from Earth ever to land on
3177
02:04:56,320 --> 02:04:59,160
another planet.
3178
02:04:59,160 --> 02:05:01,240
The reason Venus is like hell
3179
02:05:01,240 --> 02:05:02,720
seems to be what's called the
3180
02:05:02,720 --> 02:05:04,480
greenhouse effect.
3181
02:05:04,480 --> 02:05:06,040
Ordinary visible sunlight
3182
02:05:06,040 --> 02:05:07,120
penetrates the clouds and
3183
02:05:07,120 --> 02:05:08,800
heats the surface, but the
3184
02:05:08,800 --> 02:05:09,800
dense atmosphere
3185
02:05:09,800 --> 02:05:11,600
blankets the surface and
3186
02:05:11,600 --> 02:05:12,840
prevents it from cooling off
3187
02:05:12,840 --> 02:05:14,240
into space.
3188
02:05:14,240 --> 02:05:15,960
An atmosphere 90 times as
3189
02:05:15,960 --> 02:05:17,800
dense as ours, made of carbon
3190
02:05:17,800 --> 02:05:20,040
dioxide, water vapor and other gases,
3191
02:05:20,040 --> 02:05:21,120
lets in visible light from
3192
02:05:21,120 --> 02:05:22,920
the Sun, but will not let
3193
02:05:22,920 --> 02:05:24,520
out the infrared light
3194
02:05:24,520 --> 02:05:26,400
radiated by the surface.
3195
02:05:26,400 --> 02:05:28,160
So the temperature rises until
3196
02:05:28,160 --> 02:05:29,200
the infrared radiation
3197
02:05:29,200 --> 02:05:32,080
trickling out to space just balances
3198
02:05:32,080 --> 02:05:35,400
the Sunlight reaching the surface.
3199
02:05:35,400 --> 02:05:37,160
The greenhouse effect can make
3200
02:05:37,160 --> 02:05:39,000
an Earth-like world into a
3201
02:05:39,000 --> 02:05:42,120
planetary inferno.
3202
02:05:42,120 --> 02:05:43,600
In this cauldron, there is
3203
02:05:43,600 --> 02:05:44,680
not likely to be anything
3204
02:05:44,680 --> 02:05:46,480
alive, even creatures very
3205
02:05:46,480 --> 02:05:47,760
different from us.
3206
02:05:47,760 --> 02:05:49,560
Organic and other conceivable
3207
02:05:49,560 --> 02:05:51,240
biological molecules would
3208
02:05:51,240 --> 02:05:54,080
simply fall to pieces.
3209
02:05:54,080 --> 02:05:55,760
The hell of Venus is in
3210
02:05:55,760 --> 02:05:57,360
stark contrast with the
3211
02:05:57,360 --> 02:05:59,200
comparative heaven of its
3212
02:05:59,200 --> 02:06:00,640
neighboring world,
3213
02:06:00,640 --> 02:06:05,920
our little planetary home, the Earth.
3214
02:06:05,920 --> 02:06:08,520
Here, the atmosphere is 90
3215
02:06:08,520 --> 02:06:10,040
times thinner.
3216
02:06:10,040 --> 02:06:12,040
Here, the carbon dioxide and
3217
02:06:12,040 --> 02:06:13,920
water vapor make a modest
3218
02:06:13,920 --> 02:06:15,960
greenhouse effect, which heats the
3219
02:06:15,960 --> 02:06:17,120
ground above the freezing
3220
02:06:17,120 --> 02:06:18,560
point of water.
3221
02:06:18,560 --> 02:06:20,680
Without it, our oceans would
3222
02:06:20,680 --> 02:06:23,160
be frozen solid.
3223
02:06:23,160 --> 02:06:25,120
A little greenhouse effect is
3224
02:06:25,120 --> 02:06:27,120
a good thing.
3225
02:06:27,120 --> 02:06:28,800
But Venus is an ominous
3226
02:06:28,800 --> 02:06:30,760
reminder that on a world
3227
02:06:30,760 --> 02:06:33,440
rather like the Earth, things
3228
02:06:33,440 --> 02:06:35,200
can go wrong.
3229
02:06:35,200 --> 02:06:36,400
There is no guarantee that
3230
02:06:36,400 --> 02:06:37,680
our planet will always be
3231
02:06:37,680 --> 02:06:39,920
so hospitable.
3232
02:06:39,920 --> 02:06:41,440
To maintain this clement
3233
02:06:41,440 --> 02:06:44,200
world, we must understand it
3234
02:06:44,200 --> 02:06:46,600
and appreciate it.
3235
02:06:46,600 --> 02:06:48,640
The Earth is a place to our
3236
02:06:48,640 --> 02:06:51,040
eyes more beautiful than any
3237
02:06:51,040 --> 02:06:52,920
other that we know.
3238
02:06:52,920 --> 02:06:54,800
The destruction of trees and
3239
02:06:54,800 --> 02:06:56,880
grasslands makes the surface
3240
02:06:56,880 --> 02:06:58,800
of the Earth brighter.
3241
02:06:58,800 --> 02:07:00,400
It reflects more sunlight back
3242
02:07:00,400 --> 02:07:02,860
to space and cools our planet.
3243
02:07:02,860 --> 02:07:05,800
But after we discovered fire,
3244
02:07:05,800 --> 02:07:08,400
we began to incinerate forests
3245
02:07:08,400 --> 02:07:09,520
intentionally to clear
3246
02:07:09,520 --> 02:07:11,680
the land by a process called
3247
02:07:11,680 --> 02:07:14,880
slash-and-burn agriculture.
3248
02:07:14,880 --> 02:07:17,000
And today, forests and
3249
02:07:17,000 --> 02:07:19,840
grasslands are being destroyed
3250
02:07:19,840 --> 02:07:23,760
frivolously, carelessly, by humans
3251
02:07:23,760 --> 02:07:25,120
who are heedless of the
3252
02:07:25,120 --> 02:07:27,240
beauty of our cousins, the
3253
02:07:27,240 --> 02:07:29,680
trees, and ignorant of the
3254
02:07:29,680 --> 02:07:30,720
possible climatic
3255
02:07:30,720 --> 02:07:33,240
catastrophes which large-scale
3256
02:07:33,240 --> 02:07:37,640
burning of forests may bring.
3257
02:07:37,640 --> 02:07:39,000
The indiscriminate destruction
3258
02:07:39,000 --> 02:07:40,920
of vegetation may alter the
3259
02:07:40,920 --> 02:07:42,840
global climate in ways that
3260
02:07:42,840 --> 02:07:46,640
no scientist can yet predict.
3261
02:07:46,640 --> 02:07:48,480
It has already deadened large
3262
02:07:48,480 --> 02:07:49,640
patches of the Earth's
3263
02:07:49,640 --> 02:07:51,440
life-supporting skin.
3264
02:07:52,480 --> 02:07:54,720
And yet we ravage the Earth
3265
02:07:54,720 --> 02:07:57,200
at an accelerated pace, as if
3266
02:07:57,200 --> 02:07:59,520
it belonged to this one generation,
3267
02:07:59,520 --> 02:08:01,120
as if it were ours to do
3268
02:08:01,120 --> 02:08:03,560
with as we please.
3269
02:08:03,560 --> 02:08:04,920
The Earth has mechanisms to
3270
02:08:04,920 --> 02:08:06,120
cleanse itself,
3271
02:08:06,120 --> 02:08:07,640
to neutralize the toxic
3272
02:08:07,640 --> 02:08:09,680
substances in its system.
3273
02:08:09,680 --> 02:08:11,040
But these mechanisms work only
3274
02:08:11,040 --> 02:08:12,360
up to a point.
3275
02:08:12,360 --> 02:08:14,640
Beyond some critical threshold,
3276
02:08:14,640 --> 02:08:16,120
they break down.
3277
02:08:16,120 --> 02:08:20,560
The damage becomes irreversible.
3278
02:08:20,560 --> 02:08:22,720
Our generation must choose.
3279
02:08:22,720 --> 02:08:24,320
Which do we value more,
3280
02:08:24,320 --> 02:08:25,960
short-term profits
3281
02:08:25,960 --> 02:08:28,080
or the long-term habitability
3282
02:08:28,080 --> 02:08:31,080
of our planetary home?
3283
02:08:31,080 --> 02:08:32,080
The world is divided
3284
02:08:32,080 --> 02:08:34,000
politically, but ecologically
3285
02:08:34,000 --> 02:08:35,840
it is tightly interwoven.
3286
02:08:35,840 --> 02:08:37,400
There are no useless threads
3287
02:08:37,400 --> 02:08:39,800
in the fabric of the ecosystem.
3288
02:08:39,800 --> 02:08:41,160
If you cut any one of them,
3289
02:08:41,160 --> 02:08:44,320
you will unravel many others.
3290
02:08:44,320 --> 02:08:45,800
We have uncovered other worlds
3291
02:08:45,800 --> 02:08:48,000
with choking atmospheres and
3292
02:08:48,000 --> 02:08:49,640
deadly surfaces.
3293
02:08:49,640 --> 02:08:51,200
Shall we then recreate these
3294
02:08:51,200 --> 02:08:55,640
hells on Earth?
3295
02:08:55,640 --> 02:08:56,920
We have encountered desolate
3296
02:08:56,920 --> 02:08:59,800
moons and barren asteroids.
3297
02:08:59,800 --> 02:09:02,040
Shall we then scar and crater
3298
02:09:02,040 --> 02:09:05,760
this blooming world in their likeness?
3299
02:09:05,760 --> 02:09:08,640
Natural catastrophes are rare,
3300
02:09:08,640 --> 02:09:10,360
but they come often enough.
3301
02:09:10,360 --> 02:09:14,120
We need not force the hand of nature.
3302
02:09:14,120 --> 02:09:16,080
If we ruin the Earth, there
3303
02:09:16,080 --> 02:09:18,600
is no place else to go.
3304
02:09:18,600 --> 02:09:20,360
This is not a disposable
3305
02:09:20,360 --> 02:09:22,160
world, and we are not yet
3306
02:09:22,160 --> 02:09:25,920
able to re-engineer the planets.
3307
02:09:25,920 --> 02:09:28,600
The cruelest desert on Earth
3308
02:09:28,600 --> 02:09:31,120
is far more hospitable than
3309
02:09:31,120 --> 02:09:34,200
any place on Mars.
3310
02:09:34,200 --> 02:09:35,960
The bright sandy surface and
3311
02:09:35,960 --> 02:09:37,800
dusty atmosphere of Mars
3312
02:09:37,800 --> 02:09:39,000
reflect enough sunlight back
3313
02:09:39,000 --> 02:09:41,560
to space to cool the planet,
3314
02:09:41,560 --> 02:09:43,440
freezing out all its water,
3315
02:09:43,440 --> 02:09:47,720
locking it in a perpetual ice age.
3316
02:09:47,720 --> 02:09:49,960
Human activities brighten our
3317
02:09:49,960 --> 02:09:52,400
landscape and our atmosphere.
3318
02:09:52,400 --> 02:09:53,880
Might this ultimately make an
3319
02:09:53,880 --> 02:09:56,760
ice age here?
3320
02:09:56,760 --> 02:09:57,920
At the same time, we are
3321
02:09:57,920 --> 02:09:59,600
releasing vast quantities of
3322
02:09:59,600 --> 02:10:02,040
carbon dioxide, increasing the
3323
02:10:02,040 --> 02:10:03,840
greenhouse effect.
3324
02:10:03,840 --> 02:10:05,080
The Earth need not resemble
3325
02:10:05,080 --> 02:10:07,120
Venus very closely for it to
3326
02:10:07,120 --> 02:10:11,600
become barren and lifeless.
3327
02:10:11,600 --> 02:10:12,880
It may not take much to
3328
02:10:12,880 --> 02:10:15,120
destabilize the Earth's climate,
3329
02:10:15,120 --> 02:10:17,000
to convert this heaven, our
3330
02:10:17,000 --> 02:10:19,080
only home in the cosmos, into
3331
02:10:19,080 --> 02:10:21,320
a kind of hell.
3332
02:10:23,280 --> 02:10:24,440
The study of the global
3333
02:10:24,440 --> 02:10:27,360
climate, the Sun's influence,
3334
02:10:27,360 --> 02:10:28,480
the comparison of the Earth
3335
02:10:28,480 --> 02:10:30,520
with other worlds, these are
3336
02:10:30,520 --> 02:10:31,280
subjects in their
3337
02:10:31,280 --> 02:10:33,760
earliest stages of development.
3338
02:10:33,760 --> 02:10:35,800
They are funded poorly and
3339
02:10:35,800 --> 02:10:37,360
grudgingly, and
3340
02:10:37,360 --> 02:10:39,040
meanwhile we continue to load
3341
02:10:39,040 --> 02:10:40,320
the Earth's atmosphere with
3342
02:10:40,320 --> 02:10:41,680
materials about
3343
02:10:41,680 --> 02:10:43,040
whose long-term influence we
3344
02:10:43,040 --> 02:10:47,400
are almost entirely ignorant.
3345
02:10:47,400 --> 02:10:49,080
There are worlds that
3346
02:10:49,080 --> 02:10:50,560
began with as much apparent
3347
02:10:50,560 --> 02:10:52,480
promise as Earth, but
3348
02:10:52,480 --> 02:10:55,480
something went wrong. Knowing
3349
02:10:55,480 --> 02:10:58,360
that worlds can die alerts us
3350
02:10:58,360 --> 02:11:00,840
to our danger.
3351
02:11:00,840 --> 02:11:02,120
If a visitor arrived from
3352
02:11:02,120 --> 02:11:03,480
another world, what
3353
02:11:03,480 --> 02:11:05,280
account would we give of our
3354
02:11:05,280 --> 02:11:13,720
stewardship of the planet Earth?
3355
02:11:13,720 --> 02:11:15,760
Spaceflight speaks to something
3356
02:11:15,760 --> 02:11:20,560
deep inside us, many of us, if not all.
3357
02:11:20,560 --> 02:11:22,080
An emerging cosmic
3358
02:11:22,080 --> 02:11:24,440
perspective, an improved
3359
02:11:24,440 --> 02:11:25,320
understanding of our place in
3360
02:11:25,320 --> 02:11:28,000
the universe, a highly visible
3361
02:11:28,000 --> 02:11:29,320
program affecting our view of
3362
02:11:29,320 --> 02:11:32,240
ourselves, might clarify the
3363
02:11:32,240 --> 02:11:35,440
fragility of our planetary environment
3364
02:11:35,440 --> 02:11:37,280
and the common peril and
3365
02:11:37,280 --> 02:11:39,040
responsibility of all the
3366
02:11:39,040 --> 02:11:43,080
nations and peoples of Earth.
3367
02:11:43,080 --> 02:11:44,480
And human missions to Mars
3368
02:11:44,480 --> 02:11:46,480
would provide hopeful
3369
02:11:46,480 --> 02:11:48,600
prospects, rich in adventure,
3370
02:11:48,600 --> 02:11:49,600
for the wanderers
3371
02:11:49,600 --> 02:11:53,000
among us, especially the young.
3372
02:11:53,000 --> 02:11:55,400
Even vicarious exploration has
3373
02:11:55,400 --> 02:11:58,440
social utility.
3374
02:11:58,440 --> 02:12:00,480
It's no accident that whatever
3375
02:12:00,480 --> 02:12:04,440
their human flaws, and however
3376
02:12:04,440 --> 02:12:06,000
moribund the human space
3377
02:12:06,000 --> 02:12:09,880
program has become, astronauts
3378
02:12:09,880 --> 02:12:11,960
and cosmonauts are still
3379
02:12:11,960 --> 02:12:13,560
widely regarded as heroes of
3380
02:12:13,560 --> 02:12:16,120
our species.
3381
02:12:16,120 --> 02:12:17,320
A scientific colleague tells
3382
02:12:17,320 --> 02:12:18,360
me about a recent trip to
3383
02:12:18,360 --> 02:12:20,600
the New Guinea highlands, where she
3384
02:12:20,600 --> 02:12:22,760
visited a Stone Age culture
3385
02:12:22,760 --> 02:12:23,920
hardly contacted by
3386
02:12:23,920 --> 02:12:26,360
Western civilization.
3387
02:12:26,360 --> 02:12:27,960
They were ignorant of
3388
02:12:27,960 --> 02:12:29,960
wristwatches, soft drinks,
3389
02:12:29,960 --> 02:12:32,360
frozen food, but they knew
3390
02:12:32,360 --> 02:12:34,480
about Apollo 11.
3391
02:12:34,480 --> 02:12:36,240
They knew that humans had
3392
02:12:36,240 --> 02:12:38,240
walked on the Moon.
3393
02:12:38,240 --> 02:12:39,120
They knew the names of
3394
02:12:39,120 --> 02:12:43,200
Armstrong and Aldrin and Collins.
3395
02:12:43,200 --> 02:12:44,920
They wanted to know who was
3396
02:12:44,920 --> 02:12:49,960
visiting the Moon these days.
3397
02:12:49,960 --> 02:12:51,320
Winning a foothold on other
3398
02:12:51,320 --> 02:12:54,920
worlds whispers in our ears
3399
02:12:54,920 --> 02:12:57,560
that we're more than Picts,
3400
02:12:57,560 --> 02:13:04,600
or Serbs, or Tongans. We're humans.
3401
02:13:04,600 --> 02:13:07,720
Exploratory spaceflight puts
3402
02:13:07,720 --> 02:13:10,080
scientific ideas, scientific
3403
02:13:10,080 --> 02:13:11,840
thinking, and scientific
3404
02:13:11,840 --> 02:13:15,280
vocabulary in the public eye.
3405
02:13:15,280 --> 02:13:17,360
It elevates the general level
3406
02:13:17,360 --> 02:13:20,360
of intellectual inquiry.
3407
02:13:20,360 --> 02:13:22,080
The idea that we've now
3408
02:13:22,080 --> 02:13:23,720
understood something never
3409
02:13:23,720 --> 02:13:25,720
grasped by anybody who ever
3410
02:13:25,720 --> 02:13:28,000
lived before,
3411
02:13:28,000 --> 02:13:30,520
that exhilaration, especially
3412
02:13:30,520 --> 02:13:31,560
intense for the scientists
3413
02:13:31,560 --> 02:13:33,240
involved but perceptible to
3414
02:13:33,240 --> 02:13:36,600
nearly everybody, propagates
3415
02:13:36,600 --> 02:13:38,280
through the society, bounces
3416
02:13:38,280 --> 02:13:41,760
off walls, and comes back at us.
3417
02:13:41,760 --> 02:13:43,440
It encourages us to address
3418
02:13:43,440 --> 02:13:45,960
problems in other fields that
3419
02:13:45,960 --> 02:13:48,600
have also never been solved.
3420
02:13:48,600 --> 02:13:49,960
It increases the general sense
3421
02:13:49,960 --> 02:13:52,600
of optimism in the society.
3422
02:13:52,600 --> 02:13:54,080
It gives currency to critical
3423
02:13:54,080 --> 02:13:56,280
thinking of the sort urgently
3424
02:13:56,280 --> 02:13:58,320
needed if we're going to
3425
02:13:58,320 --> 02:14:00,440
solve hitherto intractable
3426
02:14:00,440 --> 02:14:02,640
social issues.
3427
02:14:02,640 --> 02:14:03,800
It helps stimulate a new
3428
02:14:03,800 --> 02:14:06,240
generation of scientists.
3429
02:14:06,240 --> 02:14:07,320
The more science in the
3430
02:14:07,320 --> 02:14:09,560
media, the healthier, I
3431
02:14:09,560 --> 02:14:11,420
believe, the society is.
3432
02:14:11,420 --> 02:14:14,800
Just people everywhere, hunger
3433
02:14:14,800 --> 02:14:17,680
to understand.
3434
02:14:17,680 --> 02:14:19,920
When I was a child, my most
3435
02:14:19,920 --> 02:14:23,640
exultant dreams were about flying.
3436
02:14:23,640 --> 02:14:28,240
Not in some machine, but all by myself.
3437
02:14:28,240 --> 02:14:31,360
I'd be skipping or hopping,
3438
02:14:31,360 --> 02:14:33,240
and slowly I could pull my
3439
02:14:33,240 --> 02:14:35,240
trajectory higher.
3440
02:14:35,240 --> 02:14:36,320
It would take longer to fall
3441
02:14:36,320 --> 02:14:37,320
back to the ground.
3442
02:14:37,320 --> 02:14:39,880
and soon I'd be on such a
3443
02:14:39,880 --> 02:14:42,120
high arc that I wouldn't come
3444
02:14:42,120 --> 02:14:44,760
down at all.
3445
02:14:44,760 --> 02:14:46,560
I would alight like a
3446
02:14:46,560 --> 02:14:48,600
gargoyle
in a niche near the
3447
02:14:48,600 --> 02:14:52,080
pinnacle of a skyscraper, or I'd
3448
02:14:52,080 --> 02:14:55,200
gently settle down on a cloud.
3449
02:14:55,200 --> 02:14:56,960
In the dream, which I must
3450
02:14:56,960 --> 02:14:58,080
have had in its many
3451
02:14:58,080 --> 02:15:02,040
variations at least a hundred times,
3452
02:15:02,040 --> 02:15:03,520
achieving flight required a
3453
02:15:03,520 --> 02:15:06,440
certain cast of mind.
3454
02:15:06,440 --> 02:15:07,840
It's impossible to describe it
3455
02:15:07,840 --> 02:15:10,200
in words, but I can remember
3456
02:15:10,200 --> 02:15:13,000
what it was like, to this day.
3457
02:15:13,000 --> 02:15:14,280
You did something inside your
3458
02:15:14,280 --> 02:15:15,960
head and at the pit of your
3459
02:15:15,960 --> 02:15:19,000
stomach, and then you could lift
3460
02:15:19,000 --> 02:15:21,000
yourself up by an effort of
3461
02:15:21,000 --> 02:15:23,960
will alone, your limbs hanging
3462
02:15:23,960 --> 02:15:29,120
limply, off you'd soar.
3463
02:15:29,120 --> 02:15:30,200
I know many people have had
3464
02:15:30,200 --> 02:15:32,440
similar dreams, maybe most
3465
02:15:32,440 --> 02:15:35,800
people, maybe everyone.
3466
02:15:35,800 --> 02:15:37,240
Perhaps it goes back 10
3467
02:15:37,240 --> 02:15:39,000
million years or more, when
3468
02:15:39,000 --> 02:15:41,320
our ancestors were gracefully
3469
02:15:41,320 --> 02:15:43,360
flinging themselves from branch
3470
02:15:43,360 --> 02:15:46,560
to branch in the primeval forest.
3471
02:15:46,560 --> 02:15:47,920
A wish to soar like the
3472
02:15:47,920 --> 02:15:49,760
birds motivated many of the
3473
02:15:49,760 --> 02:15:51,640
pioneers of flight, including
3474
02:15:51,640 --> 02:15:53,560
Leonardo da Vinci and the
3475
02:15:53,560 --> 02:15:55,320
Wright brothers.
3476
02:15:55,320 --> 02:15:56,800
Maybe that's part of the
3477
02:15:56,800 --> 02:16:00,200
appeal of spaceflight too.
3478
02:16:00,200 --> 02:16:03,120
In orbit around any world, or
3479
02:16:03,120 --> 02:16:04,560
in interplanetary flight,
3480
02:16:04,560 --> 02:16:06,520
you're literally weightless.
3481
02:16:06,520 --> 02:16:08,600
You can propel yourself to
3482
02:16:08,600 --> 02:16:11,640
the spacecraft ceiling with a
3483
02:16:11,640 --> 02:16:13,880
slight push off the floor.
3484
02:16:13,880 --> 02:16:15,120
You can go tumbling through
3485
02:16:15,120 --> 02:16:16,440
the air down the long axis
3486
02:16:16,440 --> 02:16:18,560
of the spacecraft.
3487
02:16:18,560 --> 02:16:21,400
Humans experience weightlessness
3488
02:16:21,400 --> 02:16:23,520
as joy.
3489
02:16:23,520 --> 02:16:24,640
This has been reported by
3490
02:16:24,640 --> 02:16:28,800
almost every astronaut and cosmonaut.
3491
02:16:28,800 --> 02:16:29,960
But because spacecraft are
3492
02:16:29,960 --> 02:16:32,160
still so small, and because
3493
02:16:32,160 --> 02:16:35,040
space walks have been done with
3494
02:16:35,040 --> 02:16:37,720
extreme caution, no human has
3495
02:16:37,720 --> 02:16:39,600
yet enjoyed this wonder and
3496
02:16:39,600 --> 02:16:43,241
glory, propelling yourself
3497
02:16:43,240 --> 02:16:44,679
by an almost imperceptible
3498
02:16:44,680 --> 02:16:47,600
push, with no machinery
3499
02:16:47,600 --> 02:16:50,480
driving you, untethered,
3500
02:16:50,479 --> 02:16:51,479
eventually with no
3501
02:16:51,479 --> 02:16:53,919
spacecraft in sight, high up
3502
02:16:53,920 --> 02:16:56,200
into the sky, into the
3503
02:16:56,200 --> 02:16:59,399
blackness of interplanetary space.
3504
02:16:59,399 --> 02:17:00,679
You become a living satellite
3505
02:17:00,680 --> 02:17:02,880
of the Earth, or a human
3506
02:17:02,880 --> 02:17:06,200
planet of the Sun.
3507
02:17:06,200 --> 02:17:08,479
Planetary exploration satisfies
3508
02:17:08,479 --> 02:17:09,879
our inclination for great
3509
02:17:09,880 --> 02:17:14,200
enterprises and wanderings and quests
3510
02:17:14,200 --> 02:17:15,399
that has been with us since
3511
02:17:15,399 --> 02:17:16,799
our days as hunters and
3512
02:17:16,800 --> 02:17:20,080
gatherers on the East African savannas
3513
02:17:20,080 --> 02:17:24,840
a million years ago. By chance.
3514
02:17:24,840 --> 02:17:25,960
It is possible, I say, to
3515
02:17:25,960 --> 02:17:27,760
imagine many skeins of historical
3516
02:17:27,760 --> 02:17:29,600
causality in which this would
3517
02:17:29,600 --> 02:17:31,600
not have transpired.
3518
02:17:31,600 --> 02:17:35,600
In our age, we're able to begin again.
3519
02:17:35,600 --> 02:17:36,080
Exploring
3520
02:17:36,080 --> 02:17:38,519
other worlds employs precisely
3521
02:17:38,520 --> 02:17:41,000
the same qualities of daring,
3522
02:17:41,000 --> 02:17:43,760
planning, cooperative enterprise,
3523
02:17:43,760 --> 02:17:45,760
and valor that mark the
3524
02:17:45,760 --> 02:17:49,360
finest in the military tradition.
3525
02:17:49,359 --> 02:17:51,240
Never mind the night launch of
3526
02:17:51,240 --> 02:17:53,120
Apollo spacecraft bound for
3527
02:17:53,120 --> 02:17:55,240
another world, that makes the
3528
02:17:55,240 --> 02:17:57,880
conclusion foregone.
3529
02:17:57,880 --> 02:18:01,040
Witness mere F-14s taking off
3530
02:18:01,040 --> 02:18:03,280
from adjacent flight decks,
3531
02:18:03,280 --> 02:18:05,359
gracefully canting left and
3532
02:18:05,359 --> 02:18:08,559
right after burners flaming,
3533
02:18:08,560 --> 02:18:09,360
and there's something that
3534
02:18:09,359 --> 02:18:12,080
sweeps you away, or at least
3535
02:18:12,080 --> 02:18:14,000
it does me.
3536
02:18:14,000 --> 02:18:15,160
And no amount of knowledge of
3537
02:18:15,160 --> 02:18:16,519
the potential abuses of
3538
02:18:16,520 --> 02:18:19,360
carrier task forces can affect the
3539
02:18:19,359 --> 02:18:21,160
depth of that feeling.
3540
02:18:21,160 --> 02:18:24,639
It simply speaks to another part of me.
3541
02:18:24,640 --> 02:18:26,720
It doesn't want recriminations
3542
02:18:26,720 --> 02:18:28,640
or politics.
3543
02:18:28,640 --> 02:18:33,241
It just wants to fly.
3544
02:18:33,240 --> 02:18:34,359
The philosopher Bertrand
3545
02:18:34,359 --> 02:18:40,960
Russell, in 1959, wrote as follows.
3546
02:18:40,960 --> 02:18:42,200
The future possibilities of
3547
02:18:42,200 --> 02:18:44,359
space travel, which are now
3548
02:18:44,359 --> 02:18:47,559
left mainly to unfounded fantasy,
3549
02:18:47,560 --> 02:18:50,040
could be more soberly treated,
3550
02:18:50,040 --> 02:18:51,000
without ceasing to be
3551
02:18:51,000 --> 02:18:53,439
interesting, and could show to even
3552
02:18:53,439 --> 02:18:54,759
the most adventurous of the
3553
02:18:54,760 --> 02:18:57,120
young that a world without
3554
02:18:57,120 --> 02:18:59,920
war need not be a world without
3555
02:18:59,920 --> 02:19:04,000
adventurous and hazardous glory.
3556
02:19:04,000 --> 02:19:05,640
To this kind of contest there
3557
02:19:05,640 --> 02:19:07,241
is no limit.
3558
02:19:07,240 --> 02:19:09,120
Each victory is only a
3559
02:19:09,120 --> 02:19:11,280
prelude to another, and no
3560
02:19:11,280 --> 02:19:14,920
boundaries can be set to rational hope.
3561
02:19:14,920 --> 02:19:17,080
Russell's phrase is noteworthy,
3562
02:19:17,080 --> 02:19:20,200
adventurous and hazardous glory.
3563
02:19:20,200 --> 02:19:21,960
Even if we could make human
3564
02:19:21,960 --> 02:19:24,080
spaceflight risk-free, and of
3565
02:19:24,080 --> 02:19:25,800
course we can't, it might
3566
02:19:25,800 --> 02:19:27,280
be counterproductive.
3567
02:19:27,280 --> 02:19:29,679
The hazard is an inseparable
3568
02:19:29,680 --> 02:19:32,440
component of the glory.
3569
02:19:32,439 --> 02:19:34,319
In the meantime, the most
3570
02:19:34,319 --> 02:19:35,799
important step we can take
3571
02:19:35,800 --> 02:19:38,120
toward Mars is to make significant
3572
02:19:38,120 --> 02:19:40,120
progress on Earth.
3573
02:19:40,120 --> 02:19:42,040
Even modest improvements in
3574
02:19:42,040 --> 02:19:43,120
the social, economic, and
3575
02:19:43,120 --> 02:19:44,280
political problems that our
3576
02:19:44,280 --> 02:19:47,120
global civilization now faces
3577
02:19:47,120 --> 02:19:49,000
could release enormous
3578
02:19:49,000 --> 02:19:51,240
resources, both material and
3579
02:19:51,240 --> 02:19:55,439
human, for other goals.
3580
02:19:55,439 --> 02:19:57,479
There's plenty of housework to
3581
02:19:57,479 --> 02:20:00,000
be done down here on Earth,
3582
02:20:00,000 --> 02:20:01,560
and our commitment to it must
3583
02:20:01,560 --> 02:20:04,040
be steadfast.
3584
02:20:04,040 --> 02:20:05,960
But we're the kind of species
3585
02:20:05,960 --> 02:20:08,800
that needs a frontier,
3586
02:20:08,800 --> 02:20:12,600
for fundamental biological reasons.
3587
02:20:12,600 --> 02:20:14,600
Every time humanity stretches
3588
02:20:14,600 --> 02:20:15,920
itself and
3589
02:20:15,920 --> 02:20:18,280
turns a new corner, it
3590
02:20:18,280 --> 02:20:20,040
receives a jolt of productive
3591
02:20:20,040 --> 02:20:22,040
vitality that can carry it
3592
02:20:22,040 --> 02:20:24,680
for centuries.
3593
02:20:24,680 --> 02:20:27,040
There's a new world next door
3594
02:20:27,040 --> 02:20:48,880
and we know how to get there.
3595
02:20:48,880 --> 02:20:50,840
The Voyager spacecraft are
3596
02:20:50,840 --> 02:20:52,960
bound for the stars.
3597
02:20:52,960 --> 02:20:54,560
They're on escape trajectories from
3598
02:20:54,560 --> 02:20:56,520
the solar system barreling
3599
02:20:56,520 --> 02:20:59,640
along at almost a million miles a day.
3600
02:20:59,640 --> 02:21:01,080
The gravitational fields of
3601
02:21:01,080 --> 02:21:02,359
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
3602
02:21:02,359 --> 02:21:05,399
Neptune have flung them at such
3603
02:21:05,399 --> 02:21:07,200
high speeds that they've
3604
02:21:07,200 --> 02:21:09,359
broken the bonds that once
3605
02:21:09,359 --> 02:21:13,160
tied them to the Sun.
3606
02:21:13,160 --> 02:21:16,080
Have they left the solar system yet?
3607
02:21:16,080 --> 02:21:17,160
The answer depends very much
3608
02:21:17,160 --> 02:21:18,200
on how you define the
3609
02:21:18,200 --> 02:21:20,559
boundary of the Sun's realm.
3610
02:21:21,439 --> 02:21:22,479
If you define the outer
3611
02:21:22,479 --> 02:21:23,839
limits of the solar system as
3612
02:21:23,840 --> 02:21:26,200
the heliopause, where the
3613
02:21:26,200 --> 02:21:27,080
interplanetary
3614
02:21:27,080 --> 02:21:28,559
particles and magnetic fields
3615
02:21:28,560 --> 02:21:30,360
are replaced by their
3616
02:21:30,359 --> 02:21:34,240
interstellar counterparts, then neither
3617
02:21:34,240 --> 02:21:35,800
voyager has yet left the
3618
02:21:35,800 --> 02:21:37,760
solar system, although they
3619
02:21:37,760 --> 02:21:40,760
may do so in the next few decades.
3620
02:21:40,760 --> 02:21:42,000
But if your definition of the
3621
02:21:42,000 --> 02:21:44,080
edge of the solar system is
3622
02:21:44,080 --> 02:21:45,559
the distance at which our
3623
02:21:45,560 --> 02:21:47,920
stark and no longer hold
3624
02:21:47,920 --> 02:21:50,600
worlds in orbit around it,
3625
02:21:50,600 --> 02:21:51,880
then the Voyagers will not leave
3626
02:21:51,880 --> 02:21:53,720
the solar system for hundreds
3627
02:21:53,720 --> 02:21:55,040
of centuries.
3628
02:21:55,040 --> 02:21:57,399
Weakly grasped by the Sun's
3629
02:21:57,399 --> 02:21:59,200
gravity in every
3630
02:21:59,200 --> 02:22:02,200
direction in the sky is that
3631
02:22:02,200 --> 02:22:04,880
immense horde of a trillion
3632
02:22:04,880 --> 02:22:09,680
comets or more, the Oort Cloud.
3633
02:22:09,680 --> 02:22:11,000
The two Voyager spacecraft
3634
02:22:11,000 --> 02:22:12,040
will finish their passage
3635
02:22:12,040 --> 02:22:14,720
through the Oort Cloud in another
3636
02:22:14,720 --> 02:22:18,040
20,000 years or so.
3637
02:22:18,040 --> 02:22:20,640
Then at last, completing their
3638
02:22:20,640 --> 02:22:21,760
long goodbye to the
3639
02:22:21,760 --> 02:22:25,120
solar system, broken free of
3640
02:22:25,120 --> 02:22:27,760
the gravitational shackles that
3641
02:22:27,760 --> 02:22:28,360
once bound
3642
02:22:28,359 --> 02:22:31,639
them to the Sun, the Voyagers
3643
02:22:31,640 --> 02:22:33,840
will make for the open sea
3644
02:22:33,840 --> 02:22:36,680
of interstellar space.
3645
02:22:36,680 --> 02:22:39,840
Only then will phase two of
3646
02:22:39,840 --> 02:22:42,760
their mission begin.
3647
02:22:42,760 --> 02:22:43,920
Their radio transmitters
3648
02:22:43,920 --> 02:22:46,440
long dead, the spacecraft will
3649
02:22:46,439 --> 02:22:49,599
wander for ages in the calm,
3650
02:22:49,600 --> 02:22:53,201
cold, interstellar blackness,
3651
02:22:53,200 --> 02:22:54,559
where there is almost nothing
3652
02:22:54,560 --> 02:22:56,560
to erode them.
3653
02:22:56,560 --> 02:22:58,720
Once out of the solar system,
3654
02:22:58,720 --> 02:22:59,560
they will remain
3655
02:22:59,560 --> 02:23:01,960
intact for a billion years or
3656
02:23:01,960 --> 02:23:04,040
more, as they circumnavigate
3657
02:23:04,040 --> 02:23:07,880
the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
3658
02:23:07,880 --> 02:23:09,240
We do not know whether there
3659
02:23:09,240 --> 02:23:11,559
are other spacefaring
3660
02:23:11,560 --> 02:23:14,480
civilizations in the Milky Way.
3661
02:23:14,479 --> 02:23:16,479
If they do exist, we don't
3662
02:23:16,479 --> 02:23:17,759
know how abundant they
3663
02:23:17,760 --> 02:23:20,440
are, much less where they are.
3664
02:23:21,279 --> 02:23:23,000
But there is at least a
3665
02:23:23,000 --> 02:23:24,760
chance that sometime in
3666
02:23:24,760 --> 02:23:26,560
the remote future, one of the
3667
02:23:26,560 --> 02:23:29,201
Voyagers will be intercepted
3668
02:23:29,200 --> 02:23:33,000
and examined by an alien craft.
3669
02:23:33,000 --> 02:23:35,080
Accordingly, as each Voyager
3670
02:23:35,080 --> 02:23:36,479
left Earth for the planets and the
3671
02:23:36,479 --> 02:23:39,160
stars, it carried with it a
3672
02:23:39,160 --> 02:23:41,080
golden phonograph record,
3673
02:23:41,080 --> 02:23:46,559
encased in a golden mirrored jacket,
3674
02:23:46,560 --> 02:23:50,040
containing, among other things,
3675
02:23:50,040 --> 02:23:51,680
greetings in 59 human
3676
02:23:51,680 --> 02:23:58,560
languages, and one whale language,
3677
02:23:58,560 --> 02:24:00,920
a 12-minute sound essay,
3678
02:24:00,920 --> 02:24:02,720
including a kiss, a baby's
3679
02:24:02,720 --> 02:24:05,400
cry, and an EEG record of
3680
02:24:05,399 --> 02:24:06,519
the meditations
3681
02:24:06,520 --> 02:24:09,280
of a young woman in love.
3682
02:24:09,279 --> 02:24:12,960
116 encoded pictures on our
3683
02:24:12,960 --> 02:24:15,359
science, our civilization,
3684
02:24:15,359 --> 02:24:17,479
and ourselves.
3685
02:24:17,479 --> 02:24:18,879
And 90 minutes of the Earth's
3686
02:24:18,880 --> 02:24:20,359
greatest hits.
3687
02:24:21,000 --> 02:24:21,600
Eastern and
3688
02:24:21,600 --> 02:24:25,000
Western, classical and folk,
3689
02:24:25,000 --> 02:24:26,680
including a Navajo night
3690
02:24:26,680 --> 02:24:29,280
chant, a Japanese shakuhachi
3691
02:24:29,279 --> 02:24:31,240
piece, a pygmy girl's
3692
02:24:31,240 --> 02:24:33,719
initiation song, a Peruvian
3693
02:24:33,720 --> 02:24:36,280
wedding song, a 3,000 year old
3694
02:24:36,279 --> 02:24:38,519
composition for the chin
3695
02:24:38,520 --> 02:24:41,840
called Flowing Streams, Bach,
3696
02:24:41,840 --> 02:24:43,319
Beethoven, Mozart,
3697
02:24:43,319 --> 02:24:46,319
Stravinsky, Louis Armstrong,
3698
02:24:46,319 --> 02:24:48,319
Blind Willie Johnson, and
3699
02:24:48,319 --> 02:24:50,160
Chuck Berry's Johnny B.
3700
02:24:50,160 --> 02:24:54,359
Goode. Space is nearly empty.
3701
02:24:54,359 --> 02:24:55,519
There's virtually no chance
3702
02:24:55,520 --> 02:24:56,640
that one of the Voyagers will
3703
02:24:56,640 --> 02:24:59,161
ever enter another solar system.
3704
02:24:59,160 --> 02:25:01,160
And this is true even if
3705
02:25:01,160 --> 02:25:02,760
every star in the sky is
3706
02:25:02,760 --> 02:25:05,200
accompanied by planets.
3707
02:25:05,200 --> 02:25:06,519
The instructions on the record
3708
02:25:06,520 --> 02:25:10,121
jackets, written in what we believe
3709
02:25:10,120 --> 02:25:12,479
to be readily comprehensible
3710
02:25:12,479 --> 02:25:15,319
scientific hieroglyphics, can
3711
02:25:15,319 --> 02:25:17,519
be read and the contents of
3712
02:25:17,520 --> 02:25:20,520
the records understood.
3713
02:25:20,520 --> 02:25:22,800
Only if alien beings somewhere
3714
02:25:22,800 --> 02:25:24,760
in the remote future find
3715
02:25:24,760 --> 02:25:26,640
Voyager in the depths
3716
02:25:26,640 --> 02:25:29,161
of interstellar space.
3717
02:25:29,160 --> 02:25:30,319
Since both Voyagers will
3718
02:25:30,319 --> 02:25:31,120
circle the center of the
3719
02:25:31,120 --> 02:25:34,080
Milky Way galaxy essentially forever.
3720
02:25:34,080 --> 02:25:35,120
There's plenty of time for
3721
02:25:35,120 --> 02:25:37,359
the records to be found, if
3722
02:25:37,359 --> 02:25:37,880
there's anyone
3723
02:25:37,880 --> 02:25:40,319
out there to do the finding.
3724
02:25:40,319 --> 02:25:41,160
We can't know how much of
3725
02:25:41,160 --> 02:25:43,680
the records they would understand.
3726
02:25:43,680 --> 02:25:45,600
Surely the greetings would be
3727
02:25:45,600 --> 02:25:47,560
incomprehensible, but their
3728
02:25:47,560 --> 02:25:50,320
intent may not be. We thought it
3729
02:25:50,319 --> 02:25:53,920
would be impolite not to say hello.
3730
02:25:53,920 --> 02:25:55,160
The hypothetical aliens are
3731
02:25:55,160 --> 02:25:56,680
bound to be very different from
3732
02:25:56,680 --> 02:25:59,320
us, since they're independently
3733
02:25:59,319 --> 02:26:02,000
evolved in another world, are
3734
02:26:02,000 --> 02:26:03,040
we really sure they
3735
02:26:03,040 --> 02:26:04,720
can understand anything at all
3736
02:26:04,720 --> 02:26:08,600
of our message? Every time I feel these
3737
02:26:08,600 --> 02:26:09,360
concerns
3738
02:26:09,359 --> 02:26:13,799
stirring though, I reassure myself.
3739
02:26:13,800 --> 02:26:14,560
Whatever the
3740
02:26:14,560 --> 02:26:16,560
incomprehensibilities of the
3741
02:26:16,560 --> 02:26:19,241
Voyager record, any alien ship
3742
02:26:19,240 --> 02:26:21,160
that finds it will have
3743
02:26:21,160 --> 02:26:22,519
another standard by
3744
02:26:22,520 --> 02:26:24,680
which to judge us, because
3745
02:26:24,680 --> 02:26:28,400
each Voyager is itself a message.
3746
02:26:28,399 --> 02:26:31,479
In their exploratory intent,
3747
02:26:31,479 --> 02:26:33,040
in the lofty ambition of
3748
02:26:33,040 --> 02:26:35,840
their objectives, in their
3749
02:26:35,840 --> 02:26:39,240
utter lack of intent to do harm,
3750
02:26:39,240 --> 02:26:40,479
and in the brilliance of
3751
02:26:40,479 --> 02:26:43,040
their design and performance,
3752
02:26:43,040 --> 02:26:48,319
these robots speak eloquently for us.
3753
02:26:48,319 --> 02:26:49,679
But being much more advanced
3754
02:26:49,680 --> 02:26:52,120
scientists and engineers than we,
3755
02:26:52,120 --> 02:26:53,559
otherwise they'd never be able
3756
02:26:53,560 --> 02:26:56,760
to find and retrieve the small, silent
3757
02:26:56,760 --> 02:27:00,680
spacecraft in interstellar space.
3758
02:27:00,680 --> 02:27:02,160
Perhaps
the aliens would have no
3759
02:27:02,160 --> 02:27:03,680
difficulty understanding what
3760
02:27:03,680 --> 02:27:07,241
is encoded on these golden records.
3761
02:27:07,240 --> 02:27:08,319
Perhaps they
3762
02:27:08,319 --> 02:27:10,319
would recognize the
3763
02:27:10,319 --> 02:27:13,599
tentativeness of our society,
3764
02:27:13,600 --> 02:27:15,600
the mismatch between our
3765
02:27:15,600 --> 02:27:18,600
technology and our wisdom.
3766
02:27:18,600 --> 02:27:20,280
Had we destroyed ourselves
3767
02:27:20,279 --> 02:27:22,120
since launching Voyager, they
3768
02:27:22,120 --> 02:27:24,479
might wonder, or have we gone
3769
02:27:24,479 --> 02:27:28,000
on to greater things?
3770
02:27:28,000 --> 02:27:29,120
Or perhaps the records will
3771
02:27:29,120 --> 02:27:30,680
never be intercepted.
3772
02:27:30,680 --> 02:27:31,960
Perhaps no one in five
3773
02:27:31,960 --> 02:27:35,240
billion years will ever come upon them.
3774
02:27:35,240 --> 02:27:38,240
Five billion years is a long time.
3775
02:27:38,240 --> 02:27:40,000
In five billion years, all
3776
02:27:40,000 --> 02:27:41,040
humans will have become
3777
02:27:41,040 --> 02:27:45,080
extinct or evolved into other beings.
3778
02:27:45,080 --> 02:27:46,600
None of our artifacts will
3779
02:27:46,600 --> 02:27:49,480
have survived on Earth.
3780
02:27:49,479 --> 02:27:51,319
The continents will have
3781
02:27:51,319 --> 02:27:53,599
become unrecognizably altered
3782
02:27:53,600 --> 02:27:56,121
or destroyed,
3783
02:27:56,120 --> 02:27:58,200
and the evolution of the Sun
3784
02:27:58,200 --> 02:28:01,679
will have burned the Earth to a crisp,
3785
02:28:01,680 --> 02:28:08,680
or reduced it to a world of adults.
3786
02:28:08,680 --> 02:28:11,880
and far from home, untouched
3787
02:28:11,880 --> 02:28:14,160
by these remote events, the
3788
02:28:14,160 --> 02:28:16,399
voyagers, bearing the
3789
02:28:16,399 --> 02:28:17,879
memories of a world that is
3790
02:28:17,880 --> 02:28:20,120
no more, will fly on.
3791
02:28:46,920 --> 02:28:50,120
The Sun is the nearest star, a
3792
02:28:50,120 --> 02:28:52,720
glowing sphere of gas, shining
3793
02:28:52,720 --> 02:28:54,440
because of its heat, like a
3794
02:28:54,439 --> 02:28:56,359
red-hot poker.
3795
02:28:56,359 --> 02:28:58,120
The
surface we see in ordinary
3796
02:28:58,120 --> 02:28:59,920
visible light is at 6,000
3797
02:28:59,920 --> 02:29:02,560
degrees centigrade, but in its
3798
02:29:02,560 --> 02:29:04,280
hidden interior, in the
3799
02:29:04,279 --> 02:29:05,920
nuclear furnace where sunlight
3800
02:29:05,920 --> 02:29:08,040
is ultimately generated, its
3801
02:29:08,040 --> 02:29:08,920
temperature
3802
02:29:08,920 --> 02:29:11,640
is 20 million degrees.
3803
02:29:11,640 --> 02:29:14,120
All this churning power is
3804
02:29:14,120 --> 02:29:16,800
driven by the Sun's interior, which is
3805
02:29:16,800 --> 02:29:19,080
converting 400 million tons of
3806
02:29:19,080 --> 02:29:22,399
hydrogen into helium every second.
3807
02:29:22,399 --> 02:29:25,080
The Sun is a great fusion
3808
02:29:25,080 --> 02:29:27,040
reactor into which a million
3809
02:29:27,040 --> 02:29:28,960
Earths would fit.
3810
02:29:28,960 --> 02:29:31,200
Luckily for us it's safely
3811
02:29:31,200 --> 02:29:36,720
placed 150 million kilometers away.
3812
02:29:36,720 --> 02:29:38,360
It is the destiny of stars
3813
02:29:38,359 --> 02:29:41,599
to collapse but on
3814
02:29:41,600 --> 02:29:43,201
their ways to their separate
3815
02:29:43,200 --> 02:29:47,040
fates all stars experience a
3816
02:29:47,040 --> 02:29:49,080
premonition of death.
3817
02:29:49,080 --> 02:29:50,640
Before the final gravitational
3818
02:29:50,640 --> 02:29:54,000
collapse, the star shudders,
3819
02:29:54,000 --> 02:29:57,880
briefly swells into some grotesque
3820
02:29:57,880 --> 02:29:59,680
parody of itself.
3821
02:29:59,680 --> 02:30:01,520
With its last gasp, it
3822
02:30:01,520 --> 02:30:04,480
becomes a red giant.
3823
02:30:04,479 --> 02:30:06,200
Some five billion years from
3824
02:30:06,200 --> 02:30:08,639
now, there will be a last
3825
02:30:08,640 --> 02:30:11,640
perfect day on Earth.
3826
02:30:11,640 --> 02:30:14,080
Then, the Sun will slowly
3827
02:30:14,080 --> 02:30:18,880
change, and the Earth will die.
3828
02:30:18,880 --> 02:30:20,000
There is only so much
3829
02:30:20,000 --> 02:30:21,960
hydrogen fuel in the Sun,
3830
02:30:21,960 --> 02:30:23,520
when it's almost all converted
3831
02:30:23,520 --> 02:30:24,560
to helium,
3832
02:30:24,560 --> 02:30:25,960
the solar interior will
3833
02:30:25,960 --> 02:30:28,439
continue its original collapse,
3834
02:30:28,439 --> 02:30:30,799
the higher temperatures in its core
3835
02:30:30,800 --> 02:30:31,800
will make the outside of the
3836
02:30:31,800 --> 02:30:34,440
Sun expand, and the Earth
3837
02:30:34,439 --> 02:30:36,960
will become slowly warmer.
3838
02:30:36,960 --> 02:30:39,000
Eventually, life will be
3839
02:30:39,000 --> 02:30:41,439
extinguished, the oceans will
3840
02:30:41,439 --> 02:30:45,160
evaporate and boil, and our atmosphere
3841
02:30:45,160 --> 02:30:48,080
will gush away to space.
3842
02:30:48,080 --> 02:30:50,279
The Sun will become a bloated
3843
02:30:50,279 --> 02:30:52,920
red giant star, filling the
3844
02:30:52,920 --> 02:30:55,800
sky, enveloping and devouring
3845
02:30:55,800 --> 02:30:58,160
the planets Mercury and Venus,
3846
02:30:58,160 --> 02:31:01,399
and probably the Earth as well.
3847
02:31:01,399 --> 02:31:03,559
The inner solar system will
3848
02:31:03,560 --> 02:31:08,241
reside inside the Sun, but
3849
02:31:08,240 --> 02:31:10,920
perhaps by then our descendants
3850
02:31:10,920 --> 02:31:14,080
will have ventured somewhere else.
3851
02:31:14,080 --> 02:31:16,279
In its final agonies, the Sun
3852
02:31:16,279 --> 02:31:18,639
will slowly pulsate.
3853
02:31:18,640 --> 02:31:20,480
By then, its core will have
3854
02:31:20,479 --> 02:31:21,959
become so hot that it
3855
02:31:21,960 --> 02:31:23,880
temporarily converts helium
3856
02:31:23,880 --> 02:31:25,359
into carbon.
3857
02:31:25,359 --> 02:31:27,040
The ash from today's nuclear
3858
02:31:27,040 --> 02:31:29,519
fusion will become the fuel
3859
02:31:29,520 --> 02:31:31,161
to power the Sun near the end of
3860
02:31:31,160 --> 02:31:34,479
its life, in its red giant stage.
3861
02:31:34,479 --> 02:31:36,639
Then the Sun will lose great
3862
02:31:36,640 --> 02:31:38,800
shells of its outer atmosphere
3863
02:31:38,800 --> 02:31:41,000
to space, filling the solar
3864
02:31:41,000 --> 02:31:42,840
system with eerily glowing
3865
02:31:42,840 --> 02:31:47,040
gas, the ghost of a star outward bound.
3866
02:31:47,040 --> 02:31:48,279
Perhaps half the mass of the
3867
02:31:48,279 --> 02:31:49,840
Sun will be lost in this way.
3868
02:31:50,640 --> 02:31:52,760
Viewed from elsewhere, our system
3869
02:31:52,760 --> 02:31:54,720
will then resemble the Ring
3870
02:31:54,720 --> 02:31:57,241
Nebula in Lyra, the atmosphere
3871
02:31:57,240 --> 02:31:59,359
of the Sun expanding outward
3872
02:31:59,359 --> 02:32:01,080
like a soap bubble.
3873
02:32:01,080 --> 02:32:02,680
And at the very center will
3874
02:32:02,680 --> 02:32:05,080
be a white dwarf, the hot
3875
02:32:05,080 --> 02:32:07,479
exposed core of the Sun, its
3876
02:32:07,479 --> 02:32:09,719
nuclear fuel now exhausted,
3877
02:32:09,720 --> 02:32:11,640
slowly cooling to become a
3878
02:32:11,640 --> 02:32:16,040
cold, dead star. Such is the life of an
3879
02:32:16,040 --> 02:32:19,359
ordinary star, born in a gas cloud,
3880
02:32:19,359 --> 02:32:21,279
maturing as a yellow sun,
3881
02:32:21,279 --> 02:32:23,479
decaying as a red giant, and
3882
02:32:23,479 --> 02:32:25,040
dying as a white dwarf
3883
02:32:25,040 --> 02:32:31,160
enveloped in its shroud of gas.
3884
02:32:31,160 --> 02:32:33,240
The cosmos was originally all
3885
02:32:33,240 --> 02:32:35,200
hydrogen and helium.
3886
02:32:35,200 --> 02:32:36,479
Heavier elements were made in
3887
02:32:36,479 --> 02:32:38,799
red giants and supernovas
3888
02:32:38,800 --> 02:32:41,040
and then blown off to space,
3889
02:32:41,040 --> 02:32:42,319
where they were available for
3890
02:32:42,319 --> 02:32:44,000
subsequent generations
3891
02:32:44,000 --> 02:32:45,800
of stars and planets.
3892
02:32:45,800 --> 02:32:48,120
Our Sun is probably a third
3893
02:32:48,120 --> 02:32:49,840
generation star.
3894
02:32:49,840 --> 02:32:51,680
Except for hydrogen and helium,
3895
02:32:51,680 --> 02:32:53,880
every atom in the Sun and the Earth
3896
02:32:53,880 --> 02:32:56,800
was synthesized in other stars.
3897
02:32:56,800 --> 02:32:58,400
The silicon in the rocks, the
3898
02:32:58,399 --> 02:33:00,559
oxygen in the air, the carbon
3899
02:33:00,560 --> 02:33:02,241
in our DNA, the gold in our
3900
02:33:02,240 --> 02:33:04,359
banks, the uranium in our
3901
02:33:04,359 --> 02:33:06,960
arsenals, were all made
3902
02:33:06,960 --> 02:33:09,040
thousands of light years away
3903
02:33:09,040 --> 02:33:09,880
and billions
3904
02:33:09,880 --> 02:33:11,400
of years ago.
3905
02:33:11,399 --> 02:33:14,519
Our planet, our society, and
3906
02:33:14,520 --> 02:33:19,760
we ourselves are built of star stuff.
3907
02:33:21,920 --> 02:33:23,640
The lives and deaths of the
3908
02:33:23,640 --> 02:33:26,600
stars seem impossibly remote
3909
02:33:26,600 --> 02:33:28,720
from human experience, and yet we're
3910
02:33:28,720 --> 02:33:30,080
related in the most intimate
3911
02:33:30,080 --> 02:33:32,240
way to their life cycles.
3912
02:33:32,240 --> 02:33:33,599
The very matter that makes us
3913
02:33:33,600 --> 02:33:35,440
up was generated
3914
02:33:35,439 --> 02:33:38,080
long ago and far away in red
3915
02:33:38,080 --> 02:33:40,479
giant stars.
3916
02:33:40,479 --> 02:33:44,120
A blade of grass, as Walt Whitman said,
3917
02:33:44,120 --> 02:33:46,800
is the journey work of the stars.
3918
02:33:46,800 --> 02:33:48,080
The formation of the solar
3919
02:33:48,080 --> 02:33:49,279
system may have been triggered
3920
02:33:49,279 --> 02:33:51,960
by a nearby supernova explosion.
3921
02:33:51,960 --> 02:33:53,600
After the Sun turned on its
3922
02:33:53,600 --> 02:33:55,000
ultraviolet light
3923
02:33:55,000 --> 02:33:56,560
poured into our atmosphere,
3924
02:33:56,560 --> 02:33:58,840
its warmth generated lightning,
3925
02:33:58,840 --> 02:33:59,920
and these energy sources
3926
02:33:59,920 --> 02:34:02,800
sparked the origin of life.
3927
02:34:02,800 --> 02:34:05,240
Plants harvest sunlight,
3928
02:34:05,240 --> 02:34:09,000
converting solar into chemical energy.
3929
02:34:09,000 --> 02:34:10,359
We and the other animals are
3930
02:34:10,359 --> 02:34:12,639
parasites on the plants, so
3931
02:34:12,640 --> 02:34:16,640
we are, all of us, solar-powered.
3932
02:34:16,640 --> 02:34:17,720
The evolution of life is
3933
02:34:17,720 --> 02:34:19,760
driven by mutations, their
3934
02:34:19,760 --> 02:34:21,920
cause partly by natural radioactivity
3935
02:34:21,920 --> 02:34:24,279
and cosmic rays, but they are
3936
02:34:24,279 --> 02:34:25,399
both generated in the
3937
02:34:25,399 --> 02:34:27,879
spectacular deaths of massive stars
3938
02:34:27,880 --> 02:34:31,760
thousands of light-years distant.
3939
02:34:31,760 --> 02:34:33,840
Think of the Sun's heat on
3940
02:34:33,840 --> 02:34:35,680
your upturned face on a
3941
02:34:35,680 --> 02:34:37,920
cloudless summer's day.
3942
02:34:37,920 --> 02:34:40,440
From 150 million kilometers
3943
02:34:40,439 --> 02:34:44,080
away, we recognize its power.
3944
02:34:44,080 --> 02:34:44,600
What would we
3945
02:34:44,600 --> 02:34:46,121
feel on its seething
3946
02:34:46,120 --> 02:34:48,240
self-luminous surface or
3947
02:34:48,240 --> 02:34:51,059
immerse in its heart of nuclear fire?
3948
02:34:51,060 --> 02:34:53,161
And
And yet, the Sun is an
3949
02:34:53,160 --> 02:34:56,880
ordinary, even a mediocre star.
3950
02:34:56,880 --> 02:34:58,520
Our ancestors worshipped the
3951
02:34:58,520 --> 02:35:00,960
Sun and they were far from foolish.
3952
02:35:00,960 --> 02:35:02,359
It makes good sense to revere
3953
02:35:02,359 --> 02:35:04,200
the Sun and the stars,
3954
02:35:04,200 --> 02:35:10,960
because we are their children.
3955
02:35:10,960 --> 02:35:12,600
We have witnessed the life
3956
02:35:12,600 --> 02:35:15,320
cycles of the stars.
3957
02:35:15,319 --> 02:35:18,160
They are born, they mature,
3958
02:35:18,160 --> 02:35:20,040
and then they die.
3959
02:35:20,040 --> 02:35:21,240
As time goes on, there are
3960
02:35:21,240 --> 02:35:22,519
more white dwarfs, more
3961
02:35:22,520 --> 02:35:25,121
neutron stars, more black holes.
3962
02:35:25,120 --> 02:35:26,720
The remains of the stars
3963
02:35:26,720 --> 02:35:30,360
accumulate as the eons pass.
3964
02:35:30,359 --> 02:35:31,679
But interstellar space also
3965
02:35:31,680 --> 02:35:33,120
becomes progressively enriched
3966
02:35:33,120 --> 02:35:34,439
in heavy elements,
3967
02:35:34,439 --> 02:35:35,879
out of which form new
3968
02:35:35,880 --> 02:35:37,600
generations of stars and
3969
02:35:37,600 --> 02:35:40,880
planets, life and intelligence.
3970
02:35:40,880 --> 02:35:42,440
The events in one star can
3971
02:35:42,439 --> 02:35:43,759
influence a world halfway
3972
02:35:43,760 --> 02:35:45,520
across the galaxy and a
3973
02:35:45,520 --> 02:35:49,081
billion years in the future.
3974
02:35:49,080 --> 02:35:50,960
Surrounding the Milky Way is
3975
02:35:50,960 --> 02:35:53,000
a halo of matter, which
3976
02:35:53,000 --> 02:35:56,240
includes the globular clusters, each
3977
02:35:56,240 --> 02:35:57,880
containing up to a million
3978
02:35:57,880 --> 02:35:59,680
elderly stars.
3979
02:35:59,680 --> 02:36:01,040
At the centers of globular
3980
02:36:01,040 --> 02:36:02,920
clusters and at the core of
3981
02:36:02,920 --> 02:36:05,240
the galaxy, there may be massive
3982
02:36:05,240 --> 02:36:07,559
black holes ticking and
3983
02:36:07,560 --> 02:36:09,720
purring, the subject of
3984
02:36:09,720 --> 02:36:11,440
future exploration.
3985
02:36:11,439 --> 02:36:13,160
We on Earth marvel, and
3986
02:36:13,160 --> 02:36:15,319
rightly so, at the daily
3987
02:36:15,319 --> 02:36:17,719
return of our single sun.
3988
02:36:17,720 --> 02:36:19,200
But from a planet orbiting a
3989
02:36:19,200 --> 02:36:20,760
star in a distant globular
3990
02:36:20,760 --> 02:36:23,240
cluster, a still more glorious
3991
02:36:23,240 --> 02:36:24,679
dawn awaits.
3992
02:36:24,680 --> 02:36:28,241
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise.
3993
02:36:28,240 --> 02:36:30,439
A morning filled with 400
3994
02:36:30,439 --> 02:36:32,919
billion suns, the rising of
3995
02:36:32,920 --> 02:36:34,600
the Milky Way.
3996
02:36:34,600 --> 02:36:37,161
An enormous spiral form with
3997
02:36:37,160 --> 02:36:38,760
collapsing gas clouds,
3998
02:36:38,760 --> 02:36:41,440
condensing planetary systems, luminous
3999
02:36:41,439 --> 02:36:43,839
supergiants, stable middle-aged
4000
02:36:43,840 --> 02:36:45,920
stars, red giants, white
4001
02:36:45,920 --> 02:36:49,560
dwarfs, planetary nebulas, supernovas,
4002
02:36:49,560 --> 02:36:52,040
neutron stars, pulsars, black
4003
02:36:52,040 --> 02:36:54,479
holes, and, there is every
4004
02:36:54,479 --> 02:36:56,559
reason to think, other exotic
4005
02:36:56,560 --> 02:36:58,000
objects that we have not
4006
02:36:58,000 --> 02:37:02,120
yet discovered.
4007
02:37:02,120 --> 02:37:04,160
From such a world high above
4008
02:37:04,160 --> 02:37:06,240
the disk of the Milky Way,
4009
02:37:06,240 --> 02:37:08,359
it would be clear, as it is beginning
4010
02:37:08,359 --> 02:37:10,399
to be clear on our world,
4011
02:37:10,399 --> 02:37:11,719
that we are made by the
4012
02:37:11,720 --> 02:37:14,960
atoms and the stars, that our matter
4013
02:37:14,960 --> 02:37:17,920
and our form are determined
4014
02:37:17,920 --> 02:37:41,279
by the cosmos of which we are a part.
4015
02:37:41,279 --> 02:37:42,800
Here we are in the
4016
02:37:42,800 --> 02:37:45,560
constellation Andromeda.
4017
02:37:45,560 --> 02:37:49,280
This star is Beta Andromedae.
4018
02:37:49,279 --> 02:37:51,559
The light by which we see
4019
02:37:51,560 --> 02:37:54,680
this star has spent 75 years
4020
02:37:54,680 --> 02:37:56,480
traversing interstellar space on
4021
02:37:56,479 --> 02:37:59,160
its journey to the Earth.
4022
02:37:59,160 --> 02:38:01,080
In the unlikely event that
4023
02:38:01,080 --> 02:38:03,920
Beta Andromedae blew itself up
4024
02:38:03,920 --> 02:38:06,040
a week ago Tuesday, we will
4025
02:38:06,040 --> 02:38:07,319
not know of it for another
4026
02:38:07,319 --> 02:38:10,279
75 years as this interesting
4027
02:38:10,279 --> 02:38:12,080
information traveling at the speed
4028
02:38:12,080 --> 02:38:14,080
of light crosses the enormous
4029
02:38:14,080 --> 02:38:16,720
interstellar distances.
4030
02:38:16,720 --> 02:38:17,720
When the light we see from
4031
02:38:17,720 --> 02:38:20,640
the star set out on its long
4032
02:38:20,640 --> 02:38:22,960
interstellar voyage, the young
4033
02:38:22,960 --> 02:38:26,520
Albert Einstein, working as a
4034
02:38:26,520 --> 02:38:28,760
Swiss patent clerk, had just
4035
02:38:28,760 --> 02:38:30,720
published his epical special
4036
02:38:30,720 --> 02:38:34,560
theory of relativity here on Earth.
4037
02:38:34,560 --> 02:38:37,880
We see that space and time
4038
02:38:37,880 --> 02:38:40,359
are intertwined.
4039
02:38:40,359 --> 02:38:43,479
we cannot look out into space
4040
02:38:43,479 --> 02:38:46,919
without looking back into time.
4041
02:38:46,920 --> 02:38:47,480
The speed of
4042
02:38:47,479 --> 02:38:52,040
light is very fast but space
4043
02:38:52,040 --> 02:38:55,040
is very empty and the stars
4044
02:38:55,040 --> 02:38:57,120
are very far apart.
4045
02:38:57,120 --> 02:38:58,359
In fact the distances that
4046
02:38:58,359 --> 02:38:59,479
we've been talking about up
4047
02:38:59,479 --> 02:39:01,359
to now are very small
4048
02:39:01,359 --> 02:39:04,599
by the usual astronomical standards.
4049
02:39:04,600 --> 02:39:06,560
In fact the distance from the
4050
02:39:06,560 --> 02:39:07,360
Earth to the
4051
02:39:07,359 --> 02:39:08,559
center of the Milky Way
4052
02:39:08,560 --> 02:39:13,400
galaxy is 30,000 light-years.
4053
02:39:13,399 --> 02:39:15,240
From our galaxy to the
4054
02:39:15,240 --> 02:39:17,240
nearest spiral galaxy like our
4055
02:39:17,240 --> 02:39:22,519
own, called M31, is two
4056
02:39:22,520 --> 02:39:25,720
million light-years.
4057
02:39:25,720 --> 02:39:27,560
When the light we see today
4058
02:39:27,560 --> 02:39:30,560
from M31 left on its journey
4059
02:39:30,560 --> 02:39:32,121
for Earth, there were
4060
02:39:32,120 --> 02:39:34,000
no human beings on the Earth,
4061
02:39:34,000 --> 02:39:36,279
although our ancestors were
4062
02:39:36,279 --> 02:39:37,679
nicely evolving and
4063
02:39:37,680 --> 02:39:41,160
very rapidly to our present form.
4064
02:39:41,160 --> 02:39:42,040
There are much greater
4065
02:39:42,040 --> 02:39:44,399
distances in astronomy. The distance
4066
02:39:44,399 --> 02:39:45,920
from the Earth to the most
4067
02:39:45,920 --> 02:39:49,600
distant quasars is 8 or 10
4068
02:39:49,600 --> 02:39:52,560
billion light
years. We see them
4069
02:39:52,560 --> 02:39:54,800
as they were before the Earth
4070
02:39:54,800 --> 02:39:57,200
itself accumulated, before the
4071
02:39:57,200 --> 02:40:00,359
Milky Way galaxy was formed. The
4072
02:40:00,359 --> 02:40:01,920
fastest space vehicles ever
4073
02:40:01,920 --> 02:40:03,760
launched by the human species
4074
02:40:03,760 --> 02:40:06,000
are the Voyager spacecraft.
4075
02:40:06,000 --> 02:40:07,880
They are traveling so fast
4076
02:40:07,880 --> 02:40:10,600
that it's only 10,000 times
4077
02:40:10,600 --> 02:40:13,480
slower than the speed of light.
4078
02:40:13,479 --> 02:40:14,639
The Voyager spacecraft will
4079
02:40:14,640 --> 02:40:16,720
take 40,000 years to go the
4080
02:40:16,720 --> 02:40:18,760
distance to the nearest stars, and
4081
02:40:18,760 --> 02:40:19,880
they're not even headed
4082
02:40:19,880 --> 02:40:22,080
towards the nearest stars.
4083
02:40:22,080 --> 02:40:23,559
But is there a method by
4084
02:40:23,560 --> 02:40:25,040
which we could travel in a
4085
02:40:25,040 --> 02:40:28,479
conveniently short time to the stars?
4086
02:40:28,479 --> 02:40:29,839
Can we travel close to the
4087
02:40:29,840 --> 02:40:31,520
speed of light?
4088
02:40:31,520 --> 02:40:32,760
And what's magic about the
4089
02:40:32,760 --> 02:40:34,480
speed of light?
4090
02:40:34,479 --> 02:40:37,240
Can't we travel faster than that?
4091
02:40:37,240 --> 02:40:39,040
It turns out that there is
4092
02:40:39,040 --> 02:40:41,560
something very strange about
4093
02:40:41,560 --> 02:40:43,000
the speed of light.
4094
02:40:43,000 --> 02:40:44,479
Something that provides the
4095
02:40:44,479 --> 02:40:46,639
key to our understanding of
4096
02:40:46,640 --> 02:40:49,320
time and space.
4097
02:40:49,319 --> 02:40:50,559
If the world is to be
4098
02:40:50,560 --> 02:40:52,560
understood, if we are to
4099
02:40:52,560 --> 02:40:55,680
avoid logical paradoxes when travelling
4100
02:40:55,680 --> 02:40:57,040
at high speeds, then there
4101
02:40:57,040 --> 02:40:59,600
are certain rules which must be obeyed.
4102
02:40:59,600 --> 02:41:01,640
Einstein called these rules
4103
02:41:01,640 --> 02:41:04,560
the special theory of relativity.
4104
02:41:04,560 --> 02:41:05,840
Light from a moving object
4105
02:41:05,840 --> 02:41:07,279
travels at the same speed
4106
02:41:07,279 --> 02:41:08,359
no matter whether the object
4107
02:41:08,359 --> 02:41:11,200
is at rest or in motion.
4108
02:41:11,200 --> 02:41:14,399
Thou shalt not add my speed
4109
02:41:14,399 --> 02:41:16,040
to the speed of light.
4110
02:41:16,040 --> 02:41:17,640
Also, no material object can
4111
02:41:17,640 --> 02:41:21,000
travel at or beyond the speed of light.
4112
02:41:21,000 --> 02:41:21,880
There's nothing in physics
4113
02:41:21,880 --> 02:41:23,040
that prevents you from traveling
4114
02:41:23,040 --> 02:41:24,240
as close to the speed of
4115
02:41:24,240 --> 02:41:25,240
light as you like.
4116
02:41:25,240 --> 02:41:29,319
99.9% the speed of light is just fine.
4117
02:41:29,319 --> 02:41:31,200
But no matter how hard you try,
4118
02:41:31,200 --> 02:41:33,160
you can never gain that last
4119
02:41:33,160 --> 02:41:34,760
decimal point.
4120
02:41:34,760 --> 02:41:36,320
For the world to be logically
4121
02:41:36,319 --> 02:41:37,319
consistent,
4122
02:41:37,319 --> 02:41:41,319
there must be a cosmic speed limit.
4123
02:41:41,319 --> 02:41:42,920
The most bizarre aspect of
4124
02:41:42,920 --> 02:41:44,680
traveling near the speed of light
4125
02:41:44,680 --> 02:41:47,880
is that time slows down.
4126
02:41:47,880 --> 02:41:50,560
All clocks, mechanical and biological,
4127
02:41:50,560 --> 02:41:52,360
tick more slowly near the
4128
02:41:52,359 --> 02:41:53,599
speed of light.
4129
02:41:53,600 --> 02:41:55,400
But stationary clocks tick at
4130
02:41:55,399 --> 02:41:57,200
their usual rate.
4131
02:41:57,200 --> 02:41:58,519
If we travel close to light
4132
02:41:58,520 --> 02:42:01,041
speed, we age more slowly
4133
02:42:01,040 --> 02:42:07,120
than those we left behind.
4134
02:42:07,120 --> 02:42:10,680
Today, we have preliminary
4135
02:42:10,680 --> 02:42:13,520
designs of ships which will
4136
02:42:13,520 --> 02:42:16,480
take people to the stars.
4137
02:42:16,479 --> 02:42:18,439
They are constructed in Earth
4138
02:42:18,439 --> 02:42:22,319
orbit, and from there, they
4139
02:42:22,319 --> 02:42:24,479
venture on their great
4140
02:42:24,479 --> 02:42:26,759
interstellar journeys.
4141
02:42:26,760 --> 02:42:32,720
One of them is called Project Orion.
4142
02:42:32,720 --> 02:42:34,960
It utilizes nuclear weapons,
4143
02:42:34,960 --> 02:42:37,680
hydrogen bombs, against an
4144
02:42:37,680 --> 02:42:39,520
inertial plate,
4145
02:42:39,520 --> 02:42:41,201
each explosion providing a
4146
02:42:41,200 --> 02:42:44,240
kind of putt-putt of vast
4147
02:42:44,240 --> 02:42:47,760
nuclear motorboat in space.
4148
02:42:47,760 --> 02:42:51,360
Orion seems entirely practical
4149
02:42:51,359 --> 02:42:52,279
and was under serious
4150
02:42:52,279 --> 02:42:54,120
development in the United States
4151
02:42:54,120 --> 02:42:56,120
until the signing of the
4152
02:42:56,120 --> 02:42:58,120
international treaty forbidding
4153
02:42:58,120 --> 02:43:01,080
nuclear weapons explosions in space.
4154
02:43:01,080 --> 02:43:06,359
Orion might go 10% the speed of light.
4155
02:43:06,359 --> 02:43:08,519
So a trip to Alpha Centauri,
4156
02:43:08,520 --> 02:43:10,081
four and a half light years
4157
02:43:10,080 --> 02:43:12,200
away, would take 45 years,
4158
02:43:12,200 --> 02:43:14,760
less than a human lifetime.
4159
02:43:14,760 --> 02:43:16,280
Such ships could not travel
4160
02:43:16,279 --> 02:43:18,599
close enough to the speed of light
4161
02:43:18,600 --> 02:43:20,440
for the time-slowing effects
4162
02:43:20,439 --> 02:43:22,000
of special relativity to
4163
02:43:22,000 --> 02:43:24,120
become important.
4164
02:43:24,120 --> 02:43:26,000
It does not seem likely that
4165
02:43:26,000 --> 02:43:27,560
such ships would be built
4166
02:43:27,560 --> 02:43:29,840
before the middle of the 21st century,
4167
02:43:29,840 --> 02:43:31,520
although we could build an
4168
02:43:31,520 --> 02:43:34,000
Orion starship now.
4169
02:43:34,000 --> 02:43:35,920
For voyages beyond the nearest
4170
02:43:35,920 --> 02:43:38,319
stars, something must be added.
4171
02:43:38,319 --> 02:43:39,519
Perhaps they could be used as
4172
02:43:39,520 --> 02:43:41,840
multi-generation ships,
4173
02:43:41,840 --> 02:43:43,800
so those arriving would be
4174
02:43:43,800 --> 02:43:45,200
the remote descendants of
4175
02:43:45,200 --> 02:43:46,519
those who had originally set
4176
02:43:46,520 --> 02:43:49,360
out centuries before.
4177
02:43:49,359 --> 02:43:51,359
Or perhaps some safe means of
4178
02:43:51,359 --> 02:43:53,559
human hibernation might be found,
4179
02:43:53,560 --> 02:43:54,800
so that the space travelers
4180
02:43:54,800 --> 02:43:56,640
might be frozen and then
4181
02:43:56,640 --> 02:43:59,000
bought out when they arrive
4182
02:43:59,000 --> 02:44:02,520
at the destination centuries later.
4183
02:44:02,520 --> 02:44:04,121
But fast interstellar space
4184
02:44:04,120 --> 02:44:05,840
flight, approaching the speed
4185
02:44:05,840 --> 02:44:09,080
of light, is much more difficult.
4186
02:44:09,080 --> 02:44:10,880
That's an objective not for a
4187
02:44:10,880 --> 02:44:12,560
hundred years, but for a
4188
02:44:12,560 --> 02:44:15,320
thousand, or for ten thousand.
4189
02:44:15,319 --> 02:44:19,040
But it also is possible.
4190
02:44:20,160 --> 02:44:22,279
A kind of interstellar ramjet
4191
02:44:22,279 --> 02:44:23,399
has been proposed,
4192
02:44:23,399 --> 02:44:25,200
which scoops up the hydrogen
4193
02:44:25,200 --> 02:44:28,279
atoms which float between the stars,
4194
02:44:28,279 --> 02:44:29,519
accelerates them into an
4195
02:44:29,520 --> 02:44:33,241
engine, and spits them out the back.
4196
02:44:33,240 --> 02:44:34,840
For most of the trip, the
4197
02:44:34,840 --> 02:44:36,279
velocity would be very close
4198
02:44:36,279 --> 02:44:37,679
to the speed of light,
4199
02:44:37,680 --> 02:44:41,160
and time would slow down enormously.
4200
02:44:41,160 --> 02:44:43,599
By how much?
4201
02:44:43,600 --> 02:44:45,760
Barnard's star could be
4202
02:44:45,760 --> 02:44:47,280
reached by such a ship
4203
02:44:47,279 --> 02:44:50,479
in eight years' ship time.
4204
02:44:50,479 --> 02:44:51,679
The center of the Milky Way
4205
02:44:51,680 --> 02:44:54,640
galaxy in 21 years.
4206
02:44:54,640 --> 02:44:59,161
The Andromeda galaxy in 28 years.
4207
02:44:59,160 --> 02:45:00,439
Of course, the people left
4208
02:45:00,439 --> 02:45:01,200
behind on the Earth
4209
02:45:01,200 --> 02:45:03,760
would see things somewhat differently.
4210
02:45:03,760 --> 02:45:05,040
Instead of 21 years to the
4211
02:45:05,040 --> 02:45:06,000
center of the galaxy,
4212
02:45:06,000 --> 02:45:09,760
they would measure it as 30,000 years.
4213
02:45:09,760 --> 02:45:11,880
When we got back, very few
4214
02:45:11,880 --> 02:45:12,720
of our friends would
4215
02:45:12,720 --> 02:45:15,640
be around to greet us.
4216
02:45:15,640 --> 02:45:17,600
In principle, such a journey,
4217
02:45:17,600 --> 02:45:19,880
mounting the decimal points closer
4218
02:45:19,880 --> 02:45:21,080
and closer to the speed of
4219
02:45:21,080 --> 02:45:23,600
light, would even permit us
4220
02:45:23,600 --> 02:45:26,121
to circumnavigate the known universe
4221
02:45:26,120 --> 02:45:30,080
in 56 years ship time.
4222
02:45:30,080 --> 02:45:32,600
We would return tens of
4223
02:45:32,600 --> 02:45:35,320
billions
of years in the far
4224
02:45:35,319 --> 02:45:37,880
future with the Earth a
4225
02:45:37,880 --> 02:45:43,120
charred cinder and the Sun dead.
4226
02:45:43,120 --> 02:45:44,160
Relativistic space
4227
02:45:44,160 --> 02:45:45,840
flight makes the universe
4228
02:45:45,840 --> 02:45:47,360
accessible to advanced
4229
02:45:47,359 --> 02:45:50,399
civilizations but only to those
4230
02:45:50,399 --> 02:45:51,759
who go on the journey, not
4231
02:45:51,760 --> 02:45:55,000
to those who stay home.
4232
02:45:55,000 --> 02:45:59,279
These designs are probably further
4233
02:45:59,279 --> 02:46:01,120
from the actual interstellar
4234
02:46:01,120 --> 02:46:04,399
spacecraft of the future
4235
02:46:04,399 --> 02:46:07,200
than Leonardo's models are
4236
02:46:07,200 --> 02:46:09,160
from the supersonic transports
4237
02:46:09,160 --> 02:46:11,160
of the present.
4238
02:46:11,160 --> 02:46:13,240
But if we do not destroy ourselves,
4239
02:46:13,240 --> 02:46:15,399
I believe that we will one
4240
02:46:15,399 --> 02:46:18,719
day venture to the stars.
4241
02:46:18,720 --> 02:46:21,600
When our solar system is all explored,
4242
02:46:21,600 --> 02:46:46,520
the planets of other stars will beckon.
4243
02:46:46,520 --> 02:46:47,880
Even when our descendants are
4244
02:46:47,880 --> 02:46:49,680
established on near-Earth
4245
02:46:49,680 --> 02:46:51,760
asteroids and Mars
4246
02:46:51,760 --> 02:46:52,800
and the Moons of the outer
4247
02:46:52,800 --> 02:46:56,000
solar system and the Kuiper comet belt,
4248
02:46:56,000 --> 02:47:00,399
it still won't be entirely safe.
4249
02:47:00,399 --> 02:47:02,960
In the long run, the Sun may
4250
02:47:02,960 --> 02:47:05,120
generate stupendous X-ray and
4251
02:47:05,120 --> 02:47:07,840
ultraviolet outbursts.
4252
02:47:07,840 --> 02:47:09,200
The solar system will enter
4253
02:47:09,200 --> 02:47:11,399
one of the vast interstellar clouds
4254
02:47:11,399 --> 02:47:13,240
lurking nearby, and the
4255
02:47:13,240 --> 02:47:16,519
planets will darken and cool.
4256
02:47:16,520 --> 02:47:17,640
A shower of deadly
4257
02:47:17,640 --> 02:47:19,241
comets will come roaring out
4258
02:47:19,240 --> 02:47:21,200
of the Oort cloud, threatening
4259
02:47:21,200 --> 02:47:25,479
civilizations on many adjacent worlds.
4260
02:47:25,479 --> 02:47:26,879
We will recognize that a
4261
02:47:26,880 --> 02:47:28,760
nearby star is about to
4262
02:47:28,760 --> 02:47:31,480
become a supernova.
4263
02:47:31,479 --> 02:47:34,000
And in the really long run,
4264
02:47:34,000 --> 02:47:35,920
the Sun, on its way to
4265
02:47:35,920 --> 02:47:36,920
becoming a red giant
4266
02:47:36,920 --> 02:47:40,960
star will get bigger and brighter.
4267
02:47:40,960 --> 02:47:42,080
The Earth will begin to lose
4268
02:47:42,080 --> 02:47:45,000
its air and water to space.
4269
02:47:45,000 --> 02:47:47,359
The soil will char.
4270
02:47:47,359 --> 02:47:50,319
The oceans will evaporate and boil.
4271
02:47:50,319 --> 02:47:53,599
The rocks will vaporize. And our
4272
02:47:53,600 --> 02:47:55,680
planet may even be swallowed
4273
02:47:55,680 --> 02:47:59,120
up into the interior of the Sun.
4274
02:47:59,120 --> 02:48:02,640
Far from being made for us, eventually
4275
02:48:02,640 --> 02:48:04,280
the solar system will become
4276
02:48:04,279 --> 02:48:06,800
too dangerous for us.
4277
02:48:06,800 --> 02:48:08,840
In the long run, putting
4278
02:48:08,840 --> 02:48:10,160
all our eggs in a single
4279
02:48:10,160 --> 02:48:12,760
stellar basket, no matter how
4280
02:48:12,760 --> 02:48:13,880
reliable the solar system
4281
02:48:13,880 --> 02:48:17,840
has been lately, may be too risky.
4282
02:48:17,840 --> 02:48:19,880
In the long run, as
4283
02:48:19,880 --> 02:48:21,560
Tsiolkovsky and Goddard
4284
02:48:21,560 --> 02:48:24,000
long ago recognized, we need
4285
02:48:24,000 --> 02:48:28,600
to leave the solar system.
4286
02:48:28,600 --> 02:48:31,400
Such a future would, I think,
4287
02:48:31,399 --> 02:48:33,120
naturally evolve by slow
4288
02:48:33,120 --> 02:48:35,720
increments, even without any
4289
02:48:35,720 --> 02:48:38,480
grand goal of interstellar travel.
4290
02:48:38,479 --> 02:48:39,799
Here's how it might work.
4291
02:48:39,800 --> 02:48:42,560
For safety, some communities may
4292
02:48:42,560 --> 02:48:44,280
wish to sever their ties with
4293
02:48:44,279 --> 02:48:46,399
the rest of humanity,
4294
02:48:46,399 --> 02:48:47,599
uninfluenced by other
4295
02:48:47,600 --> 02:48:50,960
societies, other ethical codes,
4296
02:48:50,960 --> 02:48:54,279
other technological imperatives.
4297
02:48:54,279 --> 02:48:55,559
In a time when comets and
4298
02:48:55,560 --> 02:48:57,081
asteroids are being routinely
4299
02:48:57,080 --> 02:48:58,800
repositioned, we will
4300
02:48:58,800 --> 02:49:00,240
be able to populate a small
4301
02:49:00,240 --> 02:49:03,319
world and then cut it loose.
4302
02:49:03,319 --> 02:49:05,799
In successive generations, as
4303
02:49:05,800 --> 02:49:08,600
this world sped outward, the
4304
02:49:08,600 --> 02:49:10,920
Earth would fade from bright
4305
02:49:10,920 --> 02:49:15,840
star to pale dot to invisibility.
4306
02:49:15,840 --> 02:49:17,800
The Sun would appear dimmer
4307
02:49:17,800 --> 02:49:19,040
until it was no more than a
4308
02:49:19,040 --> 02:49:21,760
vaguely yellow point of light lost
4309
02:49:21,760 --> 02:49:25,640
among thousands of others.
4310
02:49:25,640 --> 02:49:28,480
The travelers would approach
4311
02:49:28,479 --> 02:49:31,639
interstellar night.
4312
02:49:31,640 --> 02:49:33,201
Some
such communities may be
4313
02:49:33,200 --> 02:49:35,519
content with occasional radio
4314
02:49:35,520 --> 02:49:36,920
and laser traffic with
4315
02:49:36,920 --> 02:49:39,239
the old home worlds.
4316
02:49:39,239 --> 02:49:41,559
Others, confident of the
4317
02:49:41,560 --> 02:49:43,280
superiority of their own survival
4318
02:49:43,279 --> 02:49:45,920
chances and wary of
4319
02:49:45,920 --> 02:49:48,640
contamination, may try to disappear.
4320
02:49:49,680 --> 02:49:50,680
Perhaps all contact
4321
02:49:50,680 --> 02:49:52,000
with them will ultimately be
4322
02:49:52,000 --> 02:49:59,560
lost, their very existence forgotten.
4323
02:49:59,560 --> 02:50:00,720
Even the resources of a
4324
02:50:00,720 --> 02:50:02,680
sizeable asteroid or comet are
4325
02:50:02,680 --> 02:50:06,480
finite, and eventually more resources
4326
02:50:06,479 --> 02:50:08,919
must be sought elsewhere,
4327
02:50:08,920 --> 02:50:10,399
especially water needed for
4328
02:50:10,399 --> 02:50:13,000
drink, for a breathable oxygen
4329
02:50:13,000 --> 02:50:15,319
atmosphere and for hydrogen to
4330
02:50:15,319 --> 02:50:17,759
power fusion reactors.
4331
02:50:17,760 --> 02:50:20,040
So, in the long run, these
4332
02:50:20,040 --> 02:50:22,399
communities must migrate from
4333
02:50:22,399 --> 02:50:24,719
world to world with no lasting
4334
02:50:24,720 --> 02:50:27,840
loyalty to any.
4335
02:50:27,840 --> 02:50:31,120
We might call it pioneering
4336
02:50:31,120 --> 02:50:33,640
or homesteading.
4337
02:50:33,640 --> 02:50:34,960
A less sympathetic observer
4338
02:50:34,960 --> 02:50:36,800
might describe it as sucking
4339
02:50:36,800 --> 02:50:38,400
dry the resources of little
4340
02:50:38,399 --> 02:50:41,120
world after little world.
4341
02:50:41,120 --> 02:50:43,080
But there are a trillion
4342
02:50:43,080 --> 02:50:46,680
little worlds in the Oort Comet Cloud.
4343
02:50:46,680 --> 02:50:48,640
Living in small numbers on a
4344
02:50:48,640 --> 02:50:51,240
modest stepmother world, far
4345
02:50:51,239 --> 02:50:52,960
from the Sun, we will know that
4346
02:50:52,960 --> 02:50:54,640
every scrap of food and every
4347
02:50:54,640 --> 02:50:57,560
drop of water is dependent on
4348
02:50:57,560 --> 02:50:59,000
the smooth operation of a
4349
02:50:59,000 --> 02:51:02,279
farsighted technology.
4350
02:51:02,279 --> 02:51:03,840
But these conditions are not
4351
02:51:03,840 --> 02:51:05,160
radically unlike those to
4352
02:51:05,160 --> 02:51:08,200
which we are already accustomed.
4353
02:51:08,200 --> 02:51:09,720
Digging resources out of the
4354
02:51:09,720 --> 02:51:12,800
ground and stalking passing
4355
02:51:12,800 --> 02:51:17,520
resources seems oddly familiar,
4356
02:51:17,520 --> 02:51:21,560
like a forgotten memory of childhood.
4357
02:51:21,560 --> 02:51:24,480
It is, with a few significant
4358
02:51:24,479 --> 02:51:27,160
changes, the strategy of our
4359
02:51:27,160 --> 02:51:29,960
hunter-gatherer ancestors.
4360
02:51:29,960 --> 02:51:32,480
For 99.9% of the tenure of
4361
02:51:32,479 --> 02:51:36,040
humans on Earth we lived such a life.
4362
02:51:36,040 --> 02:51:37,399
Judging from some of the last
4363
02:51:37,399 --> 02:51:39,359
surviving hunter-gatherers, just
4364
02:51:39,359 --> 02:51:41,279
before they were engulfed by
4365
02:51:41,279 --> 02:51:43,960
the present global civilization,
4366
02:51:43,960 --> 02:51:46,680
we may have been relatively happy.
4367
02:51:46,680 --> 02:51:48,520
It's the kind of life that forged us.
4368
02:51:50,160 --> 02:51:54,000
So, after a brief, only
4369
02:51:54,000 --> 02:51:56,800
partially successful, sedentary
4370
02:51:56,800 --> 02:51:59,120
experiment, we may become
4371
02:51:59,120 --> 02:52:01,800
wanderers again.
4372
02:52:01,800 --> 02:52:03,600
More technological than last
4373
02:52:03,600 --> 02:52:05,920
time, but even then, our
4374
02:52:05,920 --> 02:52:07,600
technology, stone tools and
4375
02:52:07,600 --> 02:52:10,320
fire was our only hedge
4376
02:52:10,319 --> 02:52:13,759
against extinction.
4377
02:52:13,760 --> 02:52:15,239
I don't know where my train
4378
02:52:15,239 --> 02:52:17,359
of argument ends.
4379
02:52:17,359 --> 02:52:18,519
As more time passes,
4380
02:52:19,479 --> 02:52:21,839
attractive new denizens of the
4381
02:52:21,840 --> 02:52:24,560
cosmic zoo will draw us
4382
02:52:24,560 --> 02:52:25,660
further outward,
4383
02:52:25,660 --> 02:52:27,440
hard, and increasingly
4384
02:52:27,439 --> 02:52:28,479
improbable and deadly
4385
02:52:28,479 --> 02:52:31,839
catastrophes must come to pass.
4386
02:52:31,840 --> 02:52:33,400
The probabilities are
4387
02:52:33,399 --> 02:52:36,120
cumulative, but as time goes
4388
02:52:36,120 --> 02:52:37,720
on, technological species will
4389
02:52:37,720 --> 02:52:38,400
also accrue
4390
02:52:38,399 --> 02:52:40,479
greater and greater powers,
4391
02:52:40,479 --> 02:52:42,839
far surpassing any we can
4392
02:52:42,840 --> 02:52:45,400
imagine today.
4393
02:52:45,399 --> 02:52:47,319
Perhaps if we're very
4394
02:52:47,319 --> 02:52:50,040
skillful—lucky, I think, won't
4395
02:52:50,040 --> 02:52:52,640
be enough—we will ultimately
4396
02:52:52,640 --> 02:52:55,480
spread far from home, sailing
4397
02:52:55,479 --> 02:52:58,200
through the starry archipelagos
4398
02:52:58,200 --> 02:53:02,960
of the vast Milky Way galaxy.
4399
02:53:02,960 --> 02:53:05,160
Even a modest extrapolation of
4400
02:53:05,160 --> 02:53:06,439
our recent advances in
4401
02:53:06,439 --> 02:53:10,120
transportation suggests that in
4402
02:53:10,120 --> 02:53:12,319
only a few centuries we will
4403
02:53:12,319 --> 02:53:13,639
be able to travel close to
4404
02:53:13,640 --> 02:53:16,320
the speed of light.
4405
02:53:16,319 --> 02:53:18,439
Perhaps this is hopelessly optimistic.
4406
02:53:19,359 --> 02:53:20,599
Perhaps it will really take
4407
02:53:20,600 --> 02:53:23,520
millennia or more.
4408
02:53:23,520 --> 02:53:26,280
But unless we destroy ourselves first,
4409
02:53:26,279 --> 02:53:27,719
we will be inventing new
4410
02:53:27,720 --> 02:53:31,240
technologies as strange to us,
4411
02:53:31,239 --> 02:53:33,359
as Voyager might be to our
4412
02:53:33,359 --> 02:53:35,719
hunter-gatherer ancestors.
4413
02:53:35,720 --> 02:53:38,280
Even today we can think of ways,
4414
02:53:38,279 --> 02:53:41,719
clumsy, ruinously expensive,
4415
02:53:41,720 --> 02:53:43,960
inefficient to be sure,
4416
02:53:43,960 --> 02:53:45,920
of constructing a starship
4417
02:53:45,920 --> 02:53:48,680
that approaches light speed.
4418
02:53:48,680 --> 02:53:51,280
In time, the designs will
4419
02:53:51,279 --> 02:53:53,359
become more elegant, more
4420
02:53:53,359 --> 02:53:57,000
affordable, more efficient.
4421
02:53:57,000 --> 02:53:59,200
The day will come when we
4422
02:53:59,200 --> 02:54:00,639
overcome the necessity of
4423
02:54:00,640 --> 02:54:04,000
jumping from comet to comet,
4424
02:54:04,000 --> 02:54:04,880
we will begin
4425
02:54:04,880 --> 02:54:06,279
to soar through the light
4426
02:54:06,279 --> 02:54:09,639
years and, as St.
4427
02:54:09,640 --> 02:54:12,080
Augustine said of the gods of the
4428
02:54:12,080 --> 02:54:17,519
ancient
Greeks and Romans, colonize the sky.
4429
02:54:17,520 --> 02:54:19,440
Such descendants may be tens
4430
02:54:19,439 --> 02:54:21,120
or hundreds of generations
4431
02:54:21,120 --> 02:54:24,000
removed from anyone who ever lived
4432
02:54:24,000 --> 02:54:26,920
on the surface of a planet.
4433
02:54:26,920 --> 02:54:27,920
Their cultures will be
4434
02:54:27,920 --> 02:54:30,440
different, their technologies
4435
02:54:30,439 --> 02:54:33,000
far advanced, their languages
4436
02:54:33,000 --> 02:54:34,720
changed, their
4437
02:54:34,720 --> 02:54:35,920
association with machine
4438
02:54:35,920 --> 02:54:37,040
intelligence much more
4439
02:54:37,040 --> 02:54:39,760
intimate, perhaps their very
4440
02:54:39,760 --> 02:54:40,920
appearances
4441
02:54:40,920 --> 02:54:44,520
markedly altered from that of
4442
02:54:44,520 --> 02:54:46,041
their nearly mythical ancestors
4443
02:54:46,040 --> 02:54:48,760
who first tentatively set forth in the
4444
02:54:48,760 --> 02:54:51,040
late 20th century into the
4445
02:54:51,040 --> 02:54:53,479
sea of space.
4446
02:54:53,479 --> 02:54:55,080
But they will be human, at
4447
02:54:55,080 --> 02:54:57,479
least in large part. They will
4448
02:54:57,479 --> 02:55:00,599
be practitioners of high technology.
4449
02:55:00,600 --> 02:55:04,000
They will have historical records.
4450
02:55:04,000 --> 02:55:06,040
Despite Augustine's
4451
02:55:06,040 --> 02:55:11,080
judgment on Lot's wife that
4452
02:55:11,080 --> 02:55:12,840
no one who is being saved
4453
02:55:12,840 --> 02:55:15,760
should long for what he is leaving.
4454
02:55:15,760 --> 02:55:18,320
They will not wholly forget the Earth.
4455
02:55:21,359 --> 02:55:23,559
In modern western society,
4456
02:55:23,560 --> 02:55:24,920
writes the scholar Charles
4457
02:55:24,920 --> 02:55:29,319
Lindholm, the erosion of tradition
4458
02:55:29,319 --> 02:55:30,719
and the collapse of accepted
4459
02:55:30,720 --> 02:55:33,960
religious belief leaves us
4460
02:55:33,960 --> 02:55:37,640
without a telos, an end to which
4461
02:55:37,640 --> 02:55:41,360
we strive, a sanctified notion
4462
02:55:41,359 --> 02:55:44,359
of humanity's potential.
4463
02:55:44,359 --> 02:55:47,239
Bereft of a sacred project,
4464
02:55:47,239 --> 02:55:48,920
we have only a demystified
4465
02:55:48,920 --> 02:55:51,880
image of a frail and fallible
4466
02:55:51,880 --> 02:55:55,440
humanity no longer capable of
4467
02:55:55,439 --> 02:55:57,319
becoming godlike."
4468
02:55:59,040 --> 02:56:01,920
I believe it's healthy, indeed
4469
02:56:01,920 --> 02:56:03,920
essential, to keep our frailty
4470
02:56:03,920 --> 02:56:05,239
and fallibility firmly
4471
02:56:05,239 --> 02:56:07,359
in mind, and I worry about
4472
02:56:07,359 --> 02:56:10,519
people who aspire to be god-like.
4473
02:56:10,520 --> 02:56:13,000
But as for a long-term goal,
4474
02:56:13,000 --> 02:56:15,200
and a sacred project, there
4475
02:56:15,200 --> 02:56:17,559
is one before us.
4476
02:56:17,560 --> 02:56:20,000
On it, the very survival of
4477
02:56:20,000 --> 02:56:22,040
our species depends.
4478
02:56:22,040 --> 02:56:23,399
If we've been locked and
4479
02:56:23,399 --> 02:56:25,559
bolted into a prison of the
4480
02:56:25,560 --> 02:56:30,240
self, here is an escape hatch.
4481
02:56:30,239 --> 02:56:33,279
something worthy, something
4482
02:56:33,279 --> 02:56:35,759
vastly larger than ourselves,
4483
02:56:35,760 --> 02:56:40,200
a crucial act on behalf of humanity.
4484
02:56:40,200 --> 02:56:42,880
Peopling other worlds unifies
4485
02:56:42,880 --> 02:56:44,880
nations and ethnic groups,
4486
02:56:44,880 --> 02:56:46,960
binds the generations,
4487
02:56:46,960 --> 02:56:49,480
and requires us to be both
4488
02:56:49,479 --> 02:56:52,000
smart and wise.
4489
02:56:52,000 --> 02:56:56,239
It liberates our nature and, in part,
4490
02:56:56,239 --> 02:56:58,880
returns us to our beginnings.
4491
02:56:58,880 --> 02:57:03,080
Even now, this new telos is
4492
02:57:03,080 --> 02:57:18,160
within our grasp.
4493
02:57:36,600 --> 02:57:38,960
In 1633, the Roman Catholic
4494
02:57:38,960 --> 02:57:41,040
Church condemned Galileo for
4495
02:57:41,040 --> 02:57:42,040
teaching that the Earth goes
4496
02:57:42,040 --> 02:57:44,040
around the Sun.
4497
02:57:44,040 --> 02:57:45,160
Let's take a closer look at
4498
02:57:45,160 --> 02:57:47,599
this famous controversy.
4499
02:57:47,600 --> 02:57:48,960
In the preface to his
4500
02:57:48,960 --> 02:57:50,399
book comparing the two
4501
02:57:50,399 --> 02:57:52,719
hypotheses, an Earth-centered
4502
02:57:52,720 --> 02:57:54,680
and a Sun-centered universe,
4503
02:57:54,680 --> 02:57:55,860
Galileo had written
4504
02:57:55,860 --> 02:57:58,720
In these words, the celestial
4505
02:57:58,720 --> 02:58:01,000
phenomena will be examined,
4506
02:58:01,000 --> 02:58:02,439
strengthening the Copernican
4507
02:58:02,439 --> 02:58:04,799
hypothesis until it might seem
4508
02:58:04,800 --> 02:58:08,239
that this must triumph absolutely.
4509
02:58:08,239 --> 02:58:09,319
And later in the book he
4510
02:58:09,319 --> 02:58:11,840
confessed, Nor can I ever
4511
02:58:11,840 --> 02:58:13,720
sufficiently admire Copernicus
4512
02:58:13,720 --> 02:58:15,480
and his followers.
4513
02:58:15,479 --> 02:58:16,959
They have, through sheer force
4514
02:58:16,960 --> 02:58:18,840
of intellect, done such
4515
02:58:18,840 --> 02:58:21,080
violence to their own senses as
4516
02:58:21,080 --> 02:58:22,760
to prefer what reason told
4517
02:58:22,760 --> 02:58:24,720
them over what sensible
4518
02:58:24,720 --> 02:58:28,480
experience plainly showed them.
4519
02:58:28,479 --> 02:58:30,279
The Church declared, in its
4520
02:58:30,279 --> 02:58:33,439
indictment of Galileo, the
4521
02:58:33,439 --> 02:58:34,960
doctrine that the Earth is neither
4522
02:58:34,960 --> 02:58:36,640
the center of the universe
4523
02:58:36,640 --> 02:58:39,161
nor immovable, but moves even
4524
02:58:39,160 --> 02:58:42,439
with a daily rotation, is absurd,
4525
02:58:42,439 --> 02:58:44,080
and both psychologically and
4526
02:58:44,080 --> 02:58:46,359
theologically false, and at
4527
02:58:46,359 --> 02:58:50,960
the least an error of faith.
4528
02:58:50,960 --> 02:58:53,680
Galileo replied, The doctrine
4529
02:58:53,680 --> 02:58:54,960
of the movements of the Earth
4530
02:58:54,960 --> 02:58:57,239
and the fixity of the Sun is
4531
02:58:57,239 --> 02:58:58,599
condemned on the ground that
4532
02:58:58,600 --> 02:59:00,000
the scriptures
speak in many
4533
02:59:00,000 --> 02:59:01,800
places of the Sun moving and
4534
02:59:01,800 --> 02:59:04,800
the Earth standing still.
4535
02:59:04,800 --> 02:59:06,279
It is piously spoken that the
4536
02:59:06,279 --> 02:59:08,719
scriptures cannot lie, but
4537
02:59:08,720 --> 02:59:10,680
none will deny that they are frequently
4538
02:59:10,680 --> 02:59:12,400
abstruse and their true
4539
02:59:12,399 --> 02:59:14,319
meaning difficult to discover
4540
02:59:14,319 --> 02:59:17,679
and more than the bare words signify.
4541
02:59:17,680 --> 02:59:18,640
I think that in the
4542
02:59:18,640 --> 02:59:20,680
discussion of natural problems
4543
02:59:20,680 --> 02:59:22,520
we ought to begin not with
4544
02:59:22,520 --> 02:59:23,800
the Scriptures,
4545
02:59:23,800 --> 02:59:25,239
but with experiments
4546
02:59:25,239 --> 02:59:28,479
and demonstrations.
4547
02:59:28,479 --> 02:59:31,080
But in his recantation on
4548
02:59:31,080 --> 02:59:34,519
June 22, 1633, Galileo was
4549
02:59:34,520 --> 02:59:37,280
made to say these words,
4550
02:59:37,279 --> 02:59:38,559
having been admonished
4551
02:59:38,560 --> 02:59:40,440
by the Holy Office entirely
4552
02:59:40,439 --> 02:59:42,719
to abandon the false opinion
4553
02:59:42,720 --> 02:59:43,720
that the Sun was the center
4554
02:59:43,720 --> 02:59:46,040
of the universe and immovable,
4555
02:59:46,040 --> 02:59:47,000
and that the Earth was not
4556
02:59:47,000 --> 02:59:48,200
the center of the same, and
4557
02:59:48,200 --> 02:59:50,279
that it moved, I have been
4558
02:59:50,279 --> 02:59:53,439
suspected of heresy, that is,
4559
02:59:53,439 --> 02:59:55,879
of having held and believed that
4560
02:59:55,880 --> 02:59:56,920
the Sun is the center of the
4561
02:59:56,920 --> 02:59:58,760
universe and immovable, and
4562
02:59:58,760 --> 02:59:59,880
that the Earth is not the center
4563
02:59:59,880 --> 03:00:03,000
of the same, and that it does move.
4564
03:00:03,000 --> 03:00:06,359
I abjure with a sincere heart
4565
03:00:06,359 --> 03:00:08,599
and unfeigned faith.
4566
03:00:08,600 --> 03:00:12,000
I curse and detest the same
4567
03:00:12,000 --> 03:00:14,479
errors and heresies, and
4568
03:00:14,479 --> 03:00:17,319
generally all and every error and sect
4569
03:00:17,319 --> 03:00:21,120
contrary to the Holy Catholic Church.
4570
03:00:21,120 --> 03:00:23,760
It took the Church until 1832
4571
03:00:23,760 --> 03:00:25,360
to remove Galileo's work from
4572
03:00:25,359 --> 03:00:27,559
its list of books which Catholics
4573
03:00:27,560 --> 03:00:29,600
were forbidden to read at the
4574
03:00:29,600 --> 03:00:31,400
risk of dire punishment of
4575
03:00:31,399 --> 03:00:34,279
their immortal souls.
4576
03:00:34,279 --> 03:00:35,679
To its credit, although
4577
03:00:35,680 --> 03:00:38,160
belatedly and reluctantly, the
4578
03:00:38,160 --> 03:00:40,319
Church in 1992 repudiated its
4579
03:00:40,319 --> 03:00:42,799
denunciation of Galileo.
4580
03:00:42,800 --> 03:00:44,000
It still cannot quite bring
4581
03:00:44,000 --> 03:00:45,120
itself, though, to see the
4582
03:00:45,120 --> 03:00:47,439
significance of its opposition.
4583
03:00:47,439 --> 03:00:49,639
In a 1992 speech, Pope John
4584
03:00:49,640 --> 03:00:53,161
Paul II argued as follows.
4585
03:00:53,160 --> 03:00:54,279
From the beginning of the Age
4586
03:00:54,279 --> 03:00:56,120
of Enlightenment, he said,
4587
03:00:56,120 --> 03:00:58,479
down to our own day, the Galileo
4588
03:00:58,479 --> 03:00:59,799
case has been a sort of
4589
03:00:59,800 --> 03:01:01,800
myth, in which the image
4590
03:01:01,800 --> 03:01:04,080
fabricated out of the events is quite
4591
03:01:04,080 --> 03:01:06,359
far removed from reality.
4592
03:01:06,359 --> 03:01:08,040
In this perspective, the
4593
03:01:08,040 --> 03:01:09,479
Galileo case was a symbol of
4594
03:01:09,479 --> 03:01:11,399
the Catholic Church's supposed
4595
03:01:11,399 --> 03:01:12,719
rejection of scientific
4596
03:01:12,720 --> 03:01:15,440
progress, or of dogmatic
4597
03:01:15,439 --> 03:01:17,519
obscurantism opposed to the
4598
03:01:17,520 --> 03:01:18,280
free search for
4599
03:01:18,279 --> 03:01:19,040
truth."
4600
03:01:21,960 --> 03:01:23,040
But surely the Holy
4601
03:01:23,040 --> 03:01:24,920
Inquisition, ushering the
4602
03:01:24,920 --> 03:01:27,600
elderly and infirm Galileo in
4603
03:01:27,600 --> 03:01:28,480
to inspect
4604
03:01:28,479 --> 03:01:30,200
the instruments of torture in
4605
03:01:30,200 --> 03:01:32,319
the dungeons of the Church
4606
03:01:32,319 --> 03:01:35,000
not only admits, but requires
4607
03:01:35,000 --> 03:01:37,439
just such an interpretation.
4608
03:01:37,439 --> 03:01:39,519
This was not mere scientific
4609
03:01:39,520 --> 03:01:41,800
caution and restraint, a
4610
03:01:41,800 --> 03:01:43,000
reluctance to shift the
4611
03:01:43,000 --> 03:01:44,920
paradigm until compelling
4612
03:01:44,920 --> 03:01:46,600
evidence such as the annual
4613
03:01:46,600 --> 03:01:48,080
parallax was available.
4614
03:01:48,080 --> 03:01:49,479
This was fear of discussion
4615
03:01:49,479 --> 03:01:51,639
and debate, censoring
4616
03:01:51,640 --> 03:01:53,400
alternative views and
4617
03:01:53,399 --> 03:01:54,479
threatening to torture
4618
03:01:54,479 --> 03:01:57,359
their proponents, betray a
4619
03:01:57,359 --> 03:01:58,559
lack of faith in the very
4620
03:01:58,560 --> 03:02:00,161
doctrine and parishioners that are
4621
03:02:00,160 --> 03:02:02,519
ostensibly being protected?
4622
03:02:02,520 --> 03:02:04,201
Why were threats and Galileo's
4623
03:02:04,200 --> 03:02:05,920
house arrest needed?
4624
03:02:05,920 --> 03:02:08,279
Can a truth defend itself in
4625
03:02:08,279 --> 03:02:11,639
its confrontation with error?
4626
03:02:11,640 --> 03:02:12,800
The Pope does, though, go on
4627
03:02:12,800 --> 03:02:16,360
to add, The error of the
4628
03:02:16,359 --> 03:02:18,880
theologians of the time, when they
4629
03:02:18,880 --> 03:02:20,200
maintained the centrality of
4630
03:02:20,200 --> 03:02:22,160
the Earth, was to think that
4631
03:02:22,160 --> 03:02:23,399
our understanding of the physical
4632
03:02:23,399 --> 03:02:24,759
world structure was in some
4633
03:02:24,760 --> 03:02:27,440
way imposed by the literal
4634
03:02:27,439 --> 03:02:29,239
sense of sacred scriptures."
4635
03:02:31,520 --> 03:02:32,560
But if the Bible is not
4636
03:02:32,560 --> 03:02:34,560
everywhere literally true,
4637
03:02:34,560 --> 03:02:36,880
which parts are divinely inspired and
4638
03:02:36,880 --> 03:02:39,800
which are merely fallible and human?
4639
03:02:39,800 --> 03:02:40,840
As soon as we admit that
4640
03:02:40,840 --> 03:02:43,160
there are scriptural mistakes
4641
03:02:43,160 --> 03:02:45,239
or concessions to the ignorance of
4642
03:02:45,239 --> 03:02:47,319
the times, then how can the
4643
03:02:47,319 --> 03:02:49,239
Bible be an inerrant guide to
4644
03:02:49,239 --> 03:02:51,239
ethics and morals?
4645
03:02:51,239 --> 03:02:53,120
Might sects and individuals
4646
03:02:53,120 --> 03:02:54,559
now accept as authentic the
4647
03:02:54,560 --> 03:02:56,560
parts of the Bible they like,
4648
03:02:56,560 --> 03:02:58,000
and reject those that are
4649
03:02:58,000 --> 03:03:01,680
inconvenient or burdensome?
4650
03:03:01,680 --> 03:03:03,360
We lack consensus about our
4651
03:03:03,359 --> 03:03:05,120
place in the universe.
4652
03:03:05,120 --> 03:03:06,399
There is no generally
4653
03:03:06,399 --> 03:03:08,759
agreed-upon, long-term vision
4654
03:03:08,760 --> 03:03:11,800
of the goal of our species, other than
4655
03:03:11,800 --> 03:03:14,600
perhaps simple survival.
4656
03:03:14,600 --> 03:03:15,760
Especially when times are
4657
03:03:15,760 --> 03:03:17,960
hard, we become desperate for
4658
03:03:17,960 --> 03:03:20,560
encouragement, unreceptive to
4659
03:03:20,560 --> 03:03:22,360
the litany of great demotions
4660
03:03:22,359 --> 03:03:24,639
and dashed hopes, and much
4661
03:03:24,640 --> 03:03:26,240
more willing to hear that
4662
03:03:26,239 --> 03:03:27,239
we're special,
4663
03:03:27,239 --> 03:03:28,519
never mind if the evidence is
4664
03:03:28,520 --> 03:03:30,560
paper thin.
4665
03:03:30,560 --> 03:03:31,840
If it takes a little myth
4666
03:03:31,840 --> 03:03:33,279
and ritual to get us through
4667
03:03:33,279 --> 03:03:35,880
a night that seems endless, who
4668
03:03:35,880 --> 03:03:37,920
among us cannot sympathize
4669
03:03:37,920 --> 03:03:39,480
and understand?
4670
03:03:39,479 --> 03:03:40,959
But if our objective is deep
4671
03:03:40,960 --> 03:03:42,720
knowledge rather than shallow
4672
03:03:42,720 --> 03:03:45,200
reassurance, the gains from this
4673
03:03:45,200 --> 03:03:46,920
new perspective far outweigh
4674
03:03:46,920 --> 03:03:47,720
the losses.
4675
03:03:47,720 --> 03:03:48,640
circumstances.
4676
03:03:48,640 --> 03:03:49,800
The scientific revolution
4677
03:03:49,800 --> 03:03:51,040
permitted us to glimpse an
4678
03:03:51,040 --> 03:03:53,600
underlying, ordered universe in
4679
03:03:53,600 --> 03:03:55,040
which there was a literal
4680
03:03:55,040 --> 03:03:56,880
harmony of the worlds.
4681
03:03:56,880 --> 03:03:58,680
If we understand nature, there
4682
03:03:58,680 --> 03:03:59,960
is a prospect of controlling
4683
03:03:59,960 --> 03:04:01,960
it, or at least mitigating
4684
03:04:01,960 --> 03:04:03,399
the harm it may bring.
4685
03:04:03,399 --> 03:04:06,200
In this sense, science brought hope.
4686
03:04:06,200 --> 03:04:07,160
Most of the great
4687
03:04:07,160 --> 03:04:08,519
deprovincializing debates were
4688
03:04:08,520 --> 03:04:09,840
entered into with no thought
4689
03:04:09,840 --> 03:04:12,560
for their practical implications.
4690
03:04:12,560 --> 03:04:14,201
Passionate and curious humans
4691
03:04:14,200 --> 03:04:15,239
wish to understand their
4692
03:04:15,239 --> 03:04:17,040
actual circumstances,
4693
03:04:17,040 --> 03:04:18,840
how unique or pedestrian they
4694
03:04:18,840 --> 03:04:20,640
in their world are,
4695
03:04:20,640 --> 03:04:22,560
their ultimate origins and
4696
03:04:22,560 --> 03:04:26,000
destinies, how the universe works.
4697
03:04:26,000 --> 03:04:27,960
Surprisingly, some of these
4698
03:04:27,960 --> 03:04:29,600
debates have yielded the most
4699
03:04:29,600 --> 03:04:31,560
profound practical benefits.
4700
03:04:31,560 --> 03:04:32,520
The very method of
4701
03:04:32,520 --> 03:04:33,920
mathematical reasoning that
4702
03:04:33,920 --> 03:04:35,080
Isaac Newton introduced
4703
03:04:35,080 --> 03:04:36,600
to explain the motion of the
4704
03:04:36,600 --> 03:04:38,480
planets around the Sun
4705
03:04:38,479 --> 03:04:39,599
has led to most of the
4706
03:04:39,600 --> 03:04:42,440
technology of our modern world.
4707
03:04:42,439 --> 03:04:44,359
The Industrial Revolution, for
4708
03:04:44,359 --> 03:04:46,080
all its shortcomings,
4709
03:04:46,080 --> 03:04:47,920
is still the global model of
4710
03:04:47,920 --> 03:04:49,440
how an agricultural nation can
4711
03:04:49,439 --> 03:04:51,439
emerge from poverty.
4712
03:04:51,439 --> 03:04:53,000
These debates have
4713
03:04:53,000 --> 03:04:57,279
bread-and-butter consequences.
4714
03:04:57,279 --> 03:04:59,840
It might have been otherwise.
4715
03:04:59,840 --> 03:05:01,360
It might have been that the
4716
03:05:01,359 --> 03:05:03,799
balance lay elsewhere,
4717
03:05:03,800 --> 03:05:05,360
that humans by and large did
4718
03:05:05,359 --> 03:05:06,799
not want to know about a
4719
03:05:06,800 --> 03:05:08,060
disquieting universe,
4720
03:05:08,060 --> 03:05:09,000
universe, that we were
4721
03:05:09,000 --> 03:05:10,560
unwilling to permit challenges
4722
03:05:10,560 --> 03:05:13,121
to the prevailing wisdom.
4723
03:05:13,120 --> 03:05:14,960
Despite determined resistance
4724
03:05:14,960 --> 03:05:16,960
in every age, it is very
4725
03:05:16,960 --> 03:05:18,720
much to our credit that we have
4726
03:05:18,720 --> 03:05:20,120
allowed ourselves to follow
4727
03:05:20,120 --> 03:05:21,800
the evidence, to draw
4728
03:05:21,800 --> 03:05:22,920
conclusions that at first
4729
03:05:22,920 --> 03:05:24,680
seemed daunting.
4730
03:05:24,680 --> 03:05:26,120
A universe so much larger and
4731
03:05:26,120 --> 03:05:28,040
older, that our personal and
4732
03:05:28,040 --> 03:05:29,279
historical experience is
4733
03:05:29,279 --> 03:05:31,439
dwarfed and humbled.
4734
03:05:31,439 --> 03:05:33,160
A universe in which every day
4735
03:05:33,160 --> 03:05:35,040
suns are born and worlds
4736
03:05:35,040 --> 03:05:37,040
obliterated, a universe in which
4737
03:05:37,040 --> 03:05:40,880
humanity, newly arrived, clings
4738
03:05:40,880 --> 03:05:44,720
to an obscure clod of matter.
4739
03:05:44,720 --> 03:05:46,400
In everyday life we often
4740
03:05:46,399 --> 03:05:49,160
sense, in the bedrooms of
4741
03:05:49,160 --> 03:05:52,639
teenagers or in national politics, that
4742
03:05:52,640 --> 03:05:55,440
chaos is natural and order
4743
03:05:55,439 --> 03:05:58,160
imposed from above.
4744
03:05:58,160 --> 03:05:59,120
While there are deeper
4745
03:05:59,120 --> 03:06:00,519
irregularities in the universe
4746
03:06:00,520 --> 03:06:02,201
than the simple circumstances we
4747
03:06:02,200 --> 03:06:04,319
generally described as orderly,
4748
03:06:04,319 --> 03:06:05,799
all that order, simple and
4749
03:06:05,800 --> 03:06:08,279
complex, seems to derive from laws
4750
03:06:08,279 --> 03:06:10,080
of nature established at the
4751
03:06:10,080 --> 03:06:12,960
Big Bang, or maybe earlier,
4752
03:06:12,960 --> 03:06:14,080
rather than as a consequence
4753
03:06:14,080 --> 03:06:16,760
of belated intervention by an
4754
03:06:16,760 --> 03:06:17,560
imperfect deity.
4755
03:06:19,319 --> 03:06:20,679
God is to be found in the
4756
03:06:20,680 --> 03:06:23,160
details, is the famous dictum
4757
03:06:23,160 --> 03:06:26,319
of the German scholar Aby Warburg.
4758
03:06:26,319 --> 03:06:28,399
But, amid much elegance and
4759
03:06:28,399 --> 03:06:30,879
precision, the details of life
4760
03:06:30,880 --> 03:06:32,560
in the universe also exhibit
4761
03:06:32,560 --> 03:06:34,640
haphazard, jury-rigged
4762
03:06:34,640 --> 03:06:38,000
arrangements and much poor planning.
4763
03:06:38,000 --> 03:06:39,840
What shall we make of this?
4764
03:06:39,840 --> 03:06:42,239
An edifice abandoned early in
4765
03:06:42,239 --> 03:06:44,639
construction by the architect?
4766
03:06:44,640 --> 03:06:45,680
The evidence, so far at
4767
03:06:45,680 --> 03:06:47,040
least, and laws of nature
4768
03:06:47,040 --> 03:06:50,560
aside, does not require a designer.
4769
03:06:50,560 --> 03:06:52,040
Maybe there's one hiding,
4770
03:06:52,040 --> 03:06:55,200
maddeningly unwilling to be revealed.
4771
03:06:55,200 --> 03:07:17,519
Sometimes it seems a very slender hope.
4772
03:07:22,359 --> 03:07:24,719
The cosmic calendar compresses
4773
03:07:24,720 --> 03:07:25,680
the local history of the
4774
03:07:25,680 --> 03:07:28,520
universe into a single year.
4775
03:07:28,520 --> 03:07:29,800
If the universe began on
4776
03:07:29,800 --> 03:07:32,160
January 1st, it was not until
4777
03:07:32,160 --> 03:07:35,519
May that the Milky Way formed.
4778
03:07:35,520 --> 03:07:37,121
Other planetary systems may
4779
03:07:37,120 --> 03:07:41,559
have appeared in June, July and August,
4780
03:07:41,560 --> 03:07:42,800
but our Sun and Earth not
4781
03:07:42,800 --> 03:07:44,560
until mid-September.
4782
03:07:44,560 --> 03:07:47,800
Life arose soon after.
4783
03:07:47,800 --> 03:07:49,000
Everything humans have ever
4784
03:07:49,000 --> 03:07:51,080
done occurred in that bright
4785
03:07:51,080 --> 03:07:52,319
speck at the
4786
03:07:52,319 --> 03:07:57,759
lower right of the cosmic calendar.
4787
03:07:57,760 --> 03:07:59,320
The Big Bang is at upper
4788
03:07:59,319 --> 03:08:00,519
left in the first
4789
03:08:00,520 --> 03:08:02,920
second of January 1st.
4790
03:08:02,920 --> 03:08:05,359
Fifteen billion years later is
4791
03:08:05,359 --> 03:08:07,319
our present time, the last
4792
03:08:07,319 --> 03:08:15,279
second of December 31st.
4793
03:08:15,279 --> 03:08:16,800
Every month is one and a
4794
03:08:16,800 --> 03:08:18,640
quarter billion years long.
4795
03:08:18,640 --> 03:08:21,760
Each day represents 40 million years.
4796
03:08:21,760 --> 03:08:23,600
Each second stands for some
4797
03:08:23,600 --> 03:08:25,920
500 years of our history, the
4798
03:08:25,920 --> 03:08:28,600
blinking of an eye in the drama
4799
03:08:28,600 --> 03:08:35,320
of cosmic time.
4800
03:08:35,319 --> 03:08:37,200
At this scale, the cosmic
4801
03:08:37,200 --> 03:08:38,639
calendar is the size of a
4802
03:08:38,640 --> 03:08:40,800
football field, but all of human
4803
03:08:40,800 --> 03:08:43,320
history would occupy an area
4804
03:08:43,319 --> 03:08:45,080
the size of my hand.
4805
03:08:45,080 --> 03:08:46,840
We're just beginning to trace the
4806
03:08:46,840 --> 03:08:49,080
long and tortuous path which
4807
03:08:49,080 --> 03:08:50,640
began with the primeval
4808
03:08:50,640 --> 03:08:52,560
fireball and led to the
4809
03:08:52,560 --> 03:08:55,121
condensation of matter, gas,
4810
03:08:55,120 --> 03:08:57,720
dust, stars, galaxies, and at
4811
03:08:57,720 --> 03:08:58,720
least in our little
4812
03:08:58,720 --> 03:09:00,600
nook of the universe, planets
4813
03:09:00,600 --> 03:09:02,840
and life, intelligence and
4814
03:09:02,840 --> 03:09:04,520
inquisitive men and women.
4815
03:09:04,520 --> 03:09:05,520
We've emerged so
4816
03:09:05,520 --> 03:09:07,041
recently that the familiar
4817
03:09:07,040 --> 03:09:08,519
events of our recorded history
4818
03:09:08,520 --> 03:09:10,640
occupy only the last seconds
4819
03:09:10,640 --> 03:09:14,000
of the last minute of December 31st.
4820
03:09:14,000 --> 03:09:15,279
Some critical events for the
4821
03:09:15,279 --> 03:09:16,599
human species, however, began
4822
03:09:16,600 --> 03:09:20,000
much earlier, minutes earlier.
4823
03:09:20,000 --> 03:09:22,160
The secrets of evolution are
4824
03:09:22,160 --> 03:09:25,439
time and death, time for the
4825
03:09:25,439 --> 03:09:27,239
slow accumulation of favorable
4826
03:09:27,239 --> 03:09:30,200
mutations and death to make
4827
03:09:30,200 --> 03:09:32,960
room for new species.
4828
03:09:32,960 --> 03:09:34,160
Life on Earth arose in
4829
03:09:34,160 --> 03:09:36,359
September of the cosmic calendar...
4830
03:09:36,359 --> 03:09:37,759
...when our world, still
4831
03:09:37,760 --> 03:09:39,480
heavily battered and cratered
4832
03:09:39,479 --> 03:09:41,359
from its violent origin...
4833
03:09:41,359 --> 03:09:42,080
...may have looked a little
4834
03:09:42,080 --> 03:09:45,640
like the Moon.
4835
03:09:45,640 --> 03:09:47,320
The Earth is about four and
4836
03:09:47,319 --> 03:09:49,359
a half billion years old.
4837
03:09:49,359 --> 03:09:51,239
In the cosmic calendar, it
4838
03:09:51,239 --> 03:09:53,679
condensed out of interstellar
4839
03:09:53,680 --> 03:09:55,120
gas and dust...
4840
03:09:55,120 --> 03:09:57,920
...around September 14th.
4841
03:09:57,920 --> 03:09:58,880
We know from the fossil
4842
03:09:58,880 --> 03:09:59,920
record that the origin of
4843
03:09:59,920 --> 03:10:01,880
life happened soon afterwards...
4844
03:10:01,880 --> 03:10:04,319
...maybe around September 25th,
4845
03:10:04,319 --> 03:10:05,359
something like that...
4846
03:10:05,359 --> 03:10:06,880
...probably in the ponds and
4847
03:10:06,880 --> 03:10:09,319
oceans of the primitive Earth.
4848
03:10:09,319 --> 03:10:10,319
Now, the first living things
4849
03:10:10,319 --> 03:10:12,679
were not anything so complex
4850
03:10:12,680 --> 03:10:14,320
as a one-celled organism...
4851
03:10:14,319 --> 03:10:15,920
...which already is a highly
4852
03:10:15,920 --> 03:10:17,319
sophisticated form of life.
4853
03:10:18,080 --> 03:10:20,160
No, the first stirrings of
4854
03:10:20,160 --> 03:10:22,239
life were much more humble...
4855
03:10:22,239 --> 03:10:25,359
...and happened on the molecular level.
4856
03:10:25,359 --> 03:10:27,239
In those early days, lightning
4857
03:10:27,239 --> 03:10:29,559
and ultraviolet light from the Sun...
4858
03:10:29,560 --> 03:10:31,240
...were breaking apart simple
4859
03:10:31,239 --> 03:10:32,719
hydrogen-rich molecules in the
4860
03:10:32,720 --> 03:10:34,120
primitive atmosphere...
4861
03:10:34,120 --> 03:10:35,599
...and the fragments of the
4862
03:10:35,600 --> 03:10:36,480
molecules were
4863
03:10:36,479 --> 03:10:38,799
spontaneously recombining...
4864
03:10:38,800 --> 03:10:40,279
...into more and more
4865
03:10:40,279 --> 03:10:44,880
complex molecules.
4866
03:10:44,880 --> 03:10:46,279
The products of this early
4867
03:10:46,279 --> 03:10:48,880
chemistry dissolved in the oceans...
4868
03:10:48,880 --> 03:10:51,640
...forming a kind of organic
4869
03:10:51,640 --> 03:10:53,120
soup of gradually
4870
03:10:53,120 --> 03:10:54,880
increasing complexity...
4871
03:10:54,880 --> 03:10:58,720
...until one day, quite by accident...
4872
03:10:58,720 --> 03:11:00,320
...a molecule arose which was
4873
03:11:00,319 --> 03:11:02,200
able to make crude copies of
4874
03:11:02,200 --> 03:11:03,800
itself, using as building
4875
03:11:03,800 --> 03:11:06,800
blocks the other molecules in the soup.
4876
03:11:06,800 --> 03:11:10,400
This was the ancestor of DNA,
4877
03:11:10,399 --> 03:11:13,920
the master molecule of life on Earth.
4878
03:11:13,920 --> 03:11:14,880
It's made of four different
4879
03:11:14,880 --> 03:11:16,359
molecular parts called
4880
03:11:16,359 --> 03:11:19,120
nucleotides, which constitute the four
4881
03:11:19,120 --> 03:11:21,479
letters of the genetic code,
4882
03:11:21,479 --> 03:11:23,519
the language of heredity.
4883
03:11:23,520 --> 03:11:26,000
Each of the four nucleotides,
4884
03:11:26,000 --> 03:11:28,520
the rungs on the DNA ladder,
4885
03:11:28,520 --> 03:11:31,081
are a different color in this model.
4886
03:11:31,080 --> 03:11:32,120
The instructions that are
4887
03:11:32,120 --> 03:11:33,640
spelled out are different for
4888
03:11:33,640 --> 03:11:34,480
different organisms.
4889
03:11:34,479 --> 03:11:37,160
That's why organisms are different.
4890
03:11:37,160 --> 03:11:40,239
Now, a mutation is a change
4891
03:11:40,239 --> 03:11:41,200
of a nucleotide,
4892
03:11:41,200 --> 03:11:42,840
a misspelling of the
4893
03:11:42,840 --> 03:11:44,400
genetic instructions.
4894
03:11:44,399 --> 03:11:46,160
Most mutations spell genetic
4895
03:11:46,160 --> 03:11:47,720
nonsense, as you'd expect,
4896
03:11:47,720 --> 03:11:49,400
because they're random.
4897
03:11:49,399 --> 03:11:50,479
They're harmful for the
4898
03:11:50,479 --> 03:11:51,799
next generation.
4899
03:11:51,800 --> 03:11:53,560
...but a very few, by
4900
03:11:53,560 --> 03:11:55,240
accident, make better sense
4901
03:11:55,239 --> 03:11:56,639
than the original instructions...
4902
03:11:56,640 --> 03:11:59,600
...and aid the evolution of life.
4903
03:11:59,600 --> 03:12:02,680
DNA is about a billion times
4904
03:12:02,680 --> 03:12:04,920
smaller than we see it here.
4905
03:12:04,920 --> 03:12:06,480
In fact, each of these things
4906
03:12:06,479 --> 03:12:07,279
that looks like a piece of
4907
03:12:07,279 --> 03:12:10,239
fruit is an atom.
4908
03:12:10,239 --> 03:12:11,920
Without the tools of science,
4909
03:12:11,920 --> 03:12:13,760
the machinery of life would
4910
03:12:13,760 --> 03:12:17,160
be invisible.
4911
03:12:19,439 --> 03:12:21,759
Four billion years ago, the
4912
03:12:21,760 --> 03:12:23,320
ancestors of DNA were
4913
03:12:23,319 --> 03:12:25,559
competing for molecular building blocks
4914
03:12:25,560 --> 03:12:28,640
and leaving crude copies of themselves.
4915
03:12:28,640 --> 03:12:30,240
There were no predators, the
4916
03:12:30,239 --> 03:12:32,160
stuff of life was everywhere,
4917
03:12:32,160 --> 03:12:33,599
so the oceans and the murky
4918
03:12:33,600 --> 03:12:35,680
pools that filled the craters
4919
03:12:35,680 --> 03:12:37,600
were for these molecules a
4920
03:12:37,600 --> 03:12:39,400
Garden of Eden.
4921
03:12:39,399 --> 03:12:41,040
With reproduction, mutation and
4922
03:12:41,040 --> 03:12:42,680
natural selection, the
4923
03:12:42,680 --> 03:12:44,880
evolution of living molecules
4924
03:12:44,880 --> 03:12:47,279
was well underway.
4925
03:12:47,279 --> 03:12:49,800
Varieties with specialized functions
4926
03:12:49,800 --> 03:12:51,760
then joined together, making a
4927
03:12:51,760 --> 03:12:52,880
collective,
4928
03:12:52,880 --> 03:12:54,600
the first cell.
4929
03:12:54,600 --> 03:12:56,240
The organic soup eventually
4930
03:12:56,239 --> 03:12:57,760
ate itself up.
4931
03:12:57,760 --> 03:13:00,320
But by this time, plants had evolved,
4932
03:13:00,319 --> 03:13:01,639
able to use sunlight to make
4933
03:13:01,640 --> 03:13:03,440
their own building blocks.
4934
03:13:03,439 --> 03:13:06,160
They turned the waters green.
4935
03:13:06,160 --> 03:13:07,519
A number of one-celled plants
4936
03:13:07,520 --> 03:13:08,640
joined together,
4937
03:13:08,640 --> 03:13:13,240
the first multicellular organisms.
4938
03:13:13,239 --> 03:13:14,880
Equally important was the
4939
03:13:14,880 --> 03:13:16,600
invention, not made until
4940
03:13:16,600 --> 03:13:19,080
early November, of sex.
4941
03:13:19,080 --> 03:13:25,120
It was stumbled upon by the microbes.
4942
03:13:25,120 --> 03:13:27,040
By December 1st, green plants
4943
03:13:27,040 --> 03:13:28,920
had released copious amounts
4944
03:13:28,920 --> 03:13:30,960
of oxygen and nitrogen into
4945
03:13:30,960 --> 03:13:32,399
the atmosphere.
4946
03:13:32,399 --> 03:13:37,080
The sky is made by life.
4947
03:13:37,080 --> 03:13:39,800
Then, suddenly, on December 15th,
4948
03:13:39,800 --> 03:13:40,680
there was an enormous
4949
03:13:40,680 --> 03:13:43,080
proliferation of new life forms,
4950
03:13:43,080 --> 03:13:47,040
an event called the Cambrian Explosion.
4951
03:13:51,160 --> 03:13:53,279
By December 18th, there were
4952
03:13:53,279 --> 03:13:55,279
vast herds of trilobites
4953
03:13:55,279 --> 03:13:57,759
foraging on the ocean bottom,
4954
03:13:57,760 --> 03:13:59,440
and squid-like creatures with
4955
03:13:59,439 --> 03:14:01,319
their multicolored shells
4956
03:14:01,319 --> 03:14:05,759
were everywhere.
4957
03:14:05,760 --> 03:14:06,960
We know enough to sketch in
4958
03:14:06,960 --> 03:14:09,439
a few of the subsequent details,
4959
03:14:09,439 --> 03:14:10,799
The first fish and the first
4960
03:14:10,800 --> 03:14:13,520
vertebrates appeared on December 19th.
4961
03:14:13,520 --> 03:14:15,041
Plants began to colonize the
4962
03:14:15,040 --> 03:14:17,279
land on December 20th.
4963
03:14:17,279 --> 03:14:18,639
The first winged insects
4964
03:14:18,640 --> 03:14:21,520
fluttered by on December 22nd.
4965
03:14:21,520 --> 03:14:23,041
And on this date also, there
4966
03:14:23,040 --> 03:14:24,880
were the first amphibians,
4967
03:14:24,880 --> 03:14:27,560
creatures something like the lungfish,
4968
03:14:27,560 --> 03:14:29,640
able to survive both on land
4969
03:14:29,640 --> 03:14:30,960
and in water.
4970
03:14:30,960 --> 03:14:33,080
Our direct ancestors were now
4971
03:14:33,080 --> 03:14:38,120
leaving the oceans behind.
4972
03:14:38,120 --> 03:14:40,160
The first trees and the first
4973
03:14:40,160 --> 03:14:42,399
reptiles evolved on December
4974
03:14:42,399 --> 03:14:44,439
23rd, two amazing
4975
03:14:44,439 --> 03:14:47,040
evolutionary developments.
4976
03:14:48,840 --> 03:14:50,680
We're descended from some of
4977
03:14:50,680 --> 03:14:56,760
those reptiles.
4978
03:14:56,760 --> 03:14:58,720
The dinosaurs appeared on
4979
03:14:58,720 --> 03:15:00,200
Christmas Eve.
4980
03:15:00,200 --> 03:15:00,960
There were many different
4981
03:15:00,960 --> 03:15:02,560
kinds of dinosaurs.
4982
03:15:02,560 --> 03:15:08,680
The Earth was once their planet.
4983
03:15:08,680 --> 03:15:10,280
Many stood upright and had
4984
03:15:10,279 --> 03:15:12,319
some fair intelligence.
4985
03:15:12,319 --> 03:15:14,239
Great lizards crashed and
4986
03:15:14,239 --> 03:15:16,960
thundered through the steaming jungles.
4987
03:15:22,239 --> 03:15:24,000
Unnoticed by the dinosaurs, a
4988
03:15:24,000 --> 03:15:25,000
new creature,
4989
03:15:25,000 --> 03:15:26,399
whose young were born live
4990
03:15:26,399 --> 03:15:27,399
and helpless,
4991
03:15:27,399 --> 03:15:29,960
was making its timid debut.
4992
03:15:29,960 --> 03:15:31,760
The first mammals emerged on
4993
03:15:31,760 --> 03:15:33,239
December 26th,
4994
03:15:33,239 --> 03:15:39,840
the first birds on the following day.
4995
03:15:39,840 --> 03:15:41,680
But the dinosaurs still
4996
03:15:41,680 --> 03:15:43,560
dominated the planet.
4997
03:15:43,560 --> 03:15:45,320
Then, suddenly, without
4998
03:15:45,319 --> 03:15:46,920
warning, all over the planet at once,
4999
03:15:47,600 --> 03:15:49,600
the dinosaurs died.
5000
03:15:49,600 --> 03:15:51,520
The cause is unknown, but the
5001
03:15:51,520 --> 03:15:53,000
lesson is clear.
5002
03:15:53,000 --> 03:15:55,080
Even 160 million years on a
5003
03:15:55,080 --> 03:15:58,040
planet is no guarantee of survival.
5004
03:15:58,040 --> 03:16:00,120
The dinosaurs perished around
5005
03:16:00,120 --> 03:16:04,359
the time of the first flower.
5006
03:16:04,359 --> 03:16:06,120
On December 30th, the first
5007
03:16:06,120 --> 03:16:07,760
creatures who looked even a
5008
03:16:07,760 --> 03:16:09,880
little bit human evolved,
5009
03:16:09,880 --> 03:16:11,640
accompanied by a spectacular
5010
03:16:11,640 --> 03:16:14,161
increase in the size of their brains.
5011
03:16:14,160 --> 03:16:15,920
...and then, on the evening
5012
03:16:15,920 --> 03:16:17,480
of the last day of the last
5013
03:16:17,479 --> 03:16:19,279
month, only a few million years
5014
03:16:19,279 --> 03:16:22,000
ago, the first true humans
5015
03:16:22,000 --> 03:16:23,520
took their place on the
5016
03:16:23,520 --> 03:16:31,400
cosmic calendar.
5017
03:16:31,399 --> 03:16:33,199
We humans appear on the
5018
03:16:33,199 --> 03:16:35,720
cosmic calendar so recently
5019
03:16:35,720 --> 03:16:37,720
that our recorded history occupies
5020
03:16:37,720 --> 03:16:40,360
only the last few seconds of
5021
03:16:40,359 --> 03:16:44,000
the last minute of December 31st.
5022
03:16:44,000 --> 03:16:46,279
in the vast ocean of time
5023
03:16:46,279 --> 03:16:49,000
which this calendar represents.
5024
03:16:49,000 --> 03:16:54,520
All our memories are confined
5025
03:16:54,520 --> 03:16:57,280
to this small square.
5026
03:16:57,279 --> 03:16:59,000
Every person we've ever heard
5027
03:16:59,000 --> 03:17:02,439
of lived somewhere in there.
5028
03:17:02,439 --> 03:17:04,759
All those kings and battles,
5029
03:17:04,760 --> 03:17:06,440
migrations and inventions,
5030
03:17:06,439 --> 03:17:08,439
wars and loves, everything in
5031
03:17:08,439 --> 03:17:09,879
the history books
5032
03:17:09,880 --> 03:17:12,920
This happens here, in the
5033
03:17:12,920 --> 03:17:16,840
last 10 seconds of the cosmic calendar.
5034
03:17:21,359 --> 03:17:22,960
We on Earth have just
5035
03:17:22,960 --> 03:17:25,359
awakened to the great oceans
5036
03:17:25,359 --> 03:17:27,439
of space and time from which
5037
03:17:27,439 --> 03:17:30,399
we have emerged.
5038
03:17:30,399 --> 03:17:33,120
We are the legacy of 15
5039
03:17:33,120 --> 03:17:36,199
billion years of cosmic evolution.
5040
03:17:36,199 --> 03:17:38,160
We have a choice.
5041
03:17:38,160 --> 03:17:39,760
We can enhance life and come
5042
03:17:39,760 --> 03:17:40,720
to know the universe that
5043
03:17:40,720 --> 03:17:42,960
made us, or we can squander
5044
03:17:42,960 --> 03:17:43,600
our 15 billion
5045
03:17:43,600 --> 03:17:45,560
billion year heritage in
5046
03:17:45,560 --> 03:17:49,480
meaningless self-destruction.
5047
03:17:49,479 --> 03:17:50,599
What happens in the first
5048
03:17:50,600 --> 03:17:52,040
second of the next cosmic
5049
03:17:52,040 --> 03:17:55,519
year depends on what we do here and
5050
03:17:55,520 --> 03:17:58,440
now with our intelligence and
5051
03:17:58,439 --> 03:18:16,759
our knowledge of the cosmos.
5052
03:18:41,239 --> 03:18:46,319
There are an enormous number of stars.
5053
03:18:46,319 --> 03:18:47,679
Only some of them will have
5054
03:18:47,680 --> 03:18:51,560
planets suitable for life.
5055
03:18:51,560 --> 03:18:53,121
On only some of those worlds
5056
03:18:53,120 --> 03:18:56,760
will intelligence arise, and
5057
03:18:56,760 --> 03:18:58,760
perhaps a few of those civilizations
5058
03:18:58,760 --> 03:19:01,040
will avoid the trap jointly
5059
03:19:01,040 --> 03:19:03,239
set by their technology and
5060
03:19:03,239 --> 03:19:06,399
their passions.
5061
03:19:06,399 --> 03:19:07,199
If there are many
5062
03:19:07,199 --> 03:19:08,720
civilizations, one of them
5063
03:19:08,720 --> 03:19:12,199
should be rather close by.
5064
03:19:12,199 --> 03:19:13,040
If there are few
5065
03:19:13,040 --> 03:19:15,600
civilizations, then even the
5066
03:19:15,600 --> 03:19:18,920
nearest may be very far away.
5067
03:19:18,920 --> 03:19:21,279
So, if civilizations do not
5068
03:19:21,279 --> 03:19:22,960
always destroy themselves
5069
03:19:22,960 --> 03:19:24,560
shortly after discovering radio
5070
03:19:24,560 --> 03:19:27,560
astronomy, then the sky may
5071
03:19:27,560 --> 03:19:29,640
be softly humming with
5072
03:19:29,640 --> 03:19:32,680
messages from the stars, with signals
5073
03:19:32,680 --> 03:19:34,360
from civilizations enormously
5074
03:19:34,359 --> 03:19:39,920
older and wiser than we.
5075
03:19:39,920 --> 03:19:41,199
If there are millions of
5076
03:19:41,199 --> 03:19:42,599
technical civilizations in the
5077
03:19:42,600 --> 03:19:44,320
Milky Way, each capable of
5078
03:19:44,319 --> 03:19:45,759
radio astronomy,
5079
03:19:45,760 --> 03:19:51,520
how far away is the nearest one?
5080
03:19:51,520 --> 03:19:52,960
If they're distributed more or
5081
03:19:52,960 --> 03:19:55,080
less randomly through space,
5082
03:19:55,080 --> 03:19:56,559
then the nearest one will be
5083
03:19:56,560 --> 03:19:59,200
some 200 light years away.
5084
03:19:59,199 --> 03:20:01,160
But within 200 light years,
5085
03:20:01,160 --> 03:20:02,680
there are hundreds of
5086
03:20:02,680 --> 03:20:04,560
thousands of stars.
5087
03:20:04,560 --> 03:20:06,081
To find the needle in this
5088
03:20:06,080 --> 03:20:08,680
haystack requires a dedicated
5089
03:20:08,680 --> 03:20:14,520
and systematic search.
5090
03:20:14,520 --> 03:20:15,760
There are many cosmic radio
5091
03:20:15,760 --> 03:20:17,520
sources having nothing to do
5092
03:20:17,520 --> 03:20:18,960
with intelligent life.
5093
03:20:18,960 --> 03:20:20,640
So, how would we know that
5094
03:20:20,640 --> 03:20:27,480
we were receiving a message?
5095
03:20:27,479 --> 03:20:28,959
The transmitting civilization
5096
03:20:28,960 --> 03:20:30,080
could make it very easy for
5097
03:20:30,080 --> 03:20:32,319
us, if they wished.
5098
03:20:32,319 --> 03:20:33,920
Imagine we're in the course
5099
03:20:33,920 --> 03:20:36,399
of a systematic search, or in
5100
03:20:36,399 --> 03:20:38,080
the midst of some more conventional
5101
03:20:38,080 --> 03:20:41,120
radio observations, and suppose
5102
03:20:41,120 --> 03:20:43,439
one day we find a strong
5103
03:20:43,439 --> 03:20:45,479
signal slowly emerging, not
5104
03:20:45,479 --> 03:20:48,000
just some background hiss, but
5105
03:20:48,000 --> 03:20:56,319
a methodical series of pulses.
5106
03:20:56,319 --> 03:21:00,639
The numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7,
5107
03:21:00,640 --> 03:21:04,240
11, 13, a signal made of
5108
03:21:04,239 --> 03:21:06,800
prime numbers, numbers divisible only
5109
03:21:06,800 --> 03:21:12,840
by one and themselves.
5110
03:21:12,840 --> 03:21:14,000
There is no natural
5111
03:21:14,000 --> 03:21:15,399
astrophysical process that
5112
03:21:15,399 --> 03:21:16,559
generates prime numbers.
5113
03:21:17,279 --> 03:21:19,160
we would have to conclude
5114
03:21:19,160 --> 03:21:20,720
that someone fond of
5115
03:21:20,720 --> 03:21:22,800
elementary mathematics was
5116
03:21:22,800 --> 03:21:31,080
saying hello.
5117
03:21:31,080 --> 03:21:32,559
This would be no more than a
5118
03:21:32,560 --> 03:21:34,960
beacon to attract our attention.
5119
03:21:34,960 --> 03:21:37,480
The main message will be subtler,
5120
03:21:37,479 --> 03:21:40,160
more hidden, far richer.
5121
03:21:40,160 --> 03:21:42,559
We may have to work hard to find it.
5122
03:21:42,560 --> 03:21:44,560
Think of the glories of an
5123
03:21:44,560 --> 03:21:46,600
An exotic civilization far
5124
03:21:46,600 --> 03:21:48,320
more advanced than we,
5125
03:21:48,319 --> 03:21:50,319
collected by the great radio
5126
03:21:50,319 --> 03:21:52,679
telescopes of Earth.
5127
03:21:52,680 --> 03:21:54,200
The receipt of an interstellar
5128
03:21:54,199 --> 03:21:55,559
message would be one of the
5129
03:21:55,560 --> 03:21:57,720
major events in human history,
5130
03:21:57,720 --> 03:21:59,440
and the beginning of the
5131
03:21:59,439 --> 03:22:03,359
deprovincialization of our planet.
5132
03:22:03,359 --> 03:22:05,719
A serious and systematic radio
5133
03:22:05,720 --> 03:22:07,360
search for extraterrestrial
5134
03:22:07,359 --> 03:22:11,000
civilizations may come soon.
5135
03:22:11,000 --> 03:22:13,199
It's comparatively inexpensive.
5136
03:22:13,199 --> 03:22:15,160
A search taking decades would
5137
03:22:15,160 --> 03:22:18,359
cost less than the budget overruns
5138
03:22:18,359 --> 03:22:20,239
on a single modest weapons
5139
03:22:20,239 --> 03:22:24,120
system in a single year.
5140
03:22:24,120 --> 03:22:25,680
But whether there are only a
5141
03:22:25,680 --> 03:22:27,080
few advanced galactic
5142
03:22:27,080 --> 03:22:30,840
civilizations or millions, shouldn't
5143
03:22:30,840 --> 03:22:38,440
some of them have voyaged to Earth?
5144
03:22:38,439 --> 03:22:39,559
There are many possible
5145
03:22:39,560 --> 03:22:40,920
answers, including the
5146
03:22:40,920 --> 03:22:43,239
contention that they have come here.
5147
03:22:43,239 --> 03:22:45,479
Although
Well the evidence for that is
5148
03:22:45,479 --> 03:22:46,439
pitifully slim.
5149
03:22:48,120 --> 03:22:50,080
Or there may be no one else
5150
03:22:50,080 --> 03:22:51,720
out there, because they
5151
03:22:51,720 --> 03:22:53,560
destroy themselves with almost
5152
03:22:53,560 --> 03:22:55,000
no exceptions
5153
03:22:55,000 --> 03:22:55,760
before they achieve
5154
03:22:55,760 --> 03:22:58,080
interstellar flight.
5155
03:22:58,080 --> 03:23:01,080
Or maybe, because in a galaxy
5156
03:23:01,080 --> 03:23:04,399
of
400 billion suns, ours is
5157
03:23:04,399 --> 03:23:08,080
the first technical civilization.
5158
03:23:08,080 --> 03:23:10,000
A more likely explanation, I
5159
03:23:10,000 --> 03:23:12,000
think, arises from the simple
5160
03:23:12,000 --> 03:23:16,319
fact that space is vast and
5161
03:23:16,319 --> 03:23:20,319
the stars are far apart.
5162
03:23:20,319 --> 03:23:21,120
Even if there were
5163
03:23:21,120 --> 03:23:23,880
civilizations much older and
5164
03:23:23,880 --> 03:23:26,960
much more advanced than we, expanding
5165
03:23:26,960 --> 03:23:28,880
out from their home worlds,
5166
03:23:28,880 --> 03:23:31,359
reworking new worlds, and then
5167
03:23:31,359 --> 03:23:32,599
continuing onward to other
5168
03:23:32,600 --> 03:23:35,080
stars, they would be unlikely
5169
03:23:35,080 --> 03:23:38,960
to be here yet.
5170
03:23:38,960 --> 03:23:40,480
And because the speed of light is
5171
03:23:40,479 --> 03:23:44,519
finite, the TV and radar news
5172
03:23:44,520 --> 03:23:45,880
that a technical civilization
5173
03:23:45,880 --> 03:23:46,600
has arisen on
5174
03:23:46,600 --> 03:23:48,520
some planet of the Sun has
5175
03:23:48,520 --> 03:23:51,360
not reached them yet.
5176
03:23:51,359 --> 03:23:53,399
Should optimistic estimates
5177
03:23:53,399 --> 03:23:56,040
prevail, and one in every
5178
03:23:56,040 --> 03:23:58,199
million stars shelters a
5179
03:23:58,199 --> 03:24:01,319
nearby technological civilization.
5180
03:24:01,319 --> 03:24:03,279
And if, as well, they're
5181
03:24:03,279 --> 03:24:06,279
randomly strewn through the Milky Way,
5182
03:24:06,279 --> 03:24:08,120
then the nearest one, we
5183
03:24:08,120 --> 03:24:10,080
recall, would be a few
5184
03:24:10,080 --> 03:24:13,279
hundred light-years distant. At the
5185
03:24:13,279 --> 03:24:16,559
closest, maybe a hundred light-years.
5186
03:24:16,560 --> 03:24:19,360
More likely, a thousand light-years.
5187
03:24:19,359 --> 03:24:19,719
And, of
5188
03:24:19,720 --> 03:24:22,240
course, perhaps nowhere, no
5189
03:24:22,239 --> 03:24:25,439
matter how far. Suppose, just just for
5190
03:24:25,439 --> 03:24:26,960
discussion, suppose
5191
03:24:26,960 --> 03:24:28,800
the nearest civilization on a
5192
03:24:28,800 --> 03:24:31,239
planet of another star is,
5193
03:24:31,239 --> 03:24:33,599
say, 200 light years away.
5194
03:24:33,600 --> 03:24:36,240
Then, some 150 years from
5195
03:24:36,239 --> 03:24:38,239
now, they'll begin to receive
5196
03:24:38,239 --> 03:24:41,719
our feeble post-World War II television
5197
03:24:41,720 --> 03:24:44,800
and radar emission.
5198
03:24:44,800 --> 03:24:46,320
What will they make of it?
5199
03:24:47,479 --> 03:24:48,839
With each passing year, the
5200
03:24:48,840 --> 03:24:51,520
signal will get louder, more
5201
03:24:51,520 --> 03:24:56,121
interesting, perhaps more alarming.
5202
03:24:56,120 --> 03:24:59,720
Eventually, they may respond
5203
03:24:59,720 --> 03:25:02,760
by returning a radio message
5204
03:25:02,760 --> 03:25:05,680
or by visiting.
5205
03:25:05,680 --> 03:25:06,920
In either case, the response
5206
03:25:06,920 --> 03:25:08,840
will likely be limited by the
5207
03:25:08,840 --> 03:25:12,880
finite value of the speed of light.
5208
03:25:12,880 --> 03:25:15,640
With these admittedly wildly
5209
03:25:15,640 --> 03:25:18,240
uncertain numbers, the answer
5210
03:25:18,239 --> 03:25:20,319
to our unintentional mid-century
5211
03:25:20,319 --> 03:25:21,439
recall into the depths of
5212
03:25:21,439 --> 03:25:23,559
space, will not arrive until
5213
03:25:23,560 --> 03:25:27,880
around the year 2350. If
5214
03:25:27,880 --> 03:25:28,920
they're farther away, of
5215
03:25:28,920 --> 03:25:31,279
course, it'll take longer.
5216
03:25:31,279 --> 03:25:36,279
And if much farther away, much longer.
5217
03:25:36,279 --> 03:25:37,960
But the beacon signal alone
5218
03:25:37,960 --> 03:25:40,640
would be profoundly significant.
5219
03:25:40,640 --> 03:25:41,800
It would mean
5220
03:25:41,800 --> 03:25:43,239
that someone has learned to
5221
03:25:43,239 --> 03:25:45,679
survive technological adolescence.
5222
03:25:45,680 --> 03:25:47,640
That
self-destruction is not
5223
03:25:47,640 --> 03:25:50,680
inevitable, that we also may
5224
03:25:50,680 --> 03:25:57,240
have a future.
5225
03:25:57,239 --> 03:25:58,880
Such knowledge, it seems to
5226
03:25:58,880 --> 03:26:16,239
me, might be worth a great price.
5227
03:26:42,279 --> 03:26:43,479
There are places in and
5228
03:26:43,479 --> 03:26:45,399
around our great cities where
5229
03:26:45,399 --> 03:26:47,439
the natural world has all
5230
03:26:47,439 --> 03:26:49,239
but disappeared.
5231
03:26:49,239 --> 03:26:50,639
You can make out streets and
5232
03:26:50,640 --> 03:26:53,480
sidewalks, autos, parking
5233
03:26:53,479 --> 03:26:57,080
garages, advertising billboards,
5234
03:26:57,080 --> 03:26:57,600
monuments
5235
03:26:57,600 --> 03:26:59,840
of glass and steel, but not
5236
03:26:59,840 --> 03:27:02,199
a tree or a blade of grass
5237
03:27:02,199 --> 03:27:04,080
or any animal, besides, of
5238
03:27:04,080 --> 03:27:06,160
course, the humans.
5239
03:27:06,160 --> 03:27:08,680
There are lots of humans.
5240
03:27:08,680 --> 03:27:09,640
Only when you look straight
5241
03:27:09,640 --> 03:27:10,880
up through the skyscraper
5242
03:27:10,880 --> 03:27:13,560
canyons can you make out a star
5243
03:27:13,560 --> 03:27:16,640
or a patch of blue—reminders
5244
03:27:16,640 --> 03:27:18,161
of what was there long before
5245
03:27:18,160 --> 03:27:20,439
humans came to be.
5246
03:27:20,439 --> 03:27:21,439
But the bright lights of the
5247
03:27:21,439 --> 03:27:22,599
big cities bleach out the
5248
03:27:22,600 --> 03:27:24,960
stars, and even that patch of blue
5249
03:27:24,960 --> 03:27:26,960
is sometimes gone, tinted
5250
03:27:26,960 --> 03:27:30,680
brown by industrial technology.
5251
03:27:30,680 --> 03:27:31,880
It's not hard, going to work
5252
03:27:31,880 --> 03:27:33,560
every day in such a place,
5253
03:27:33,560 --> 03:27:36,161
to be impressed with ourselves,
5254
03:27:36,160 --> 03:27:37,599
how we've transformed the
5255
03:27:37,600 --> 03:27:41,121
Earth for our benefit and convenience.
5256
03:27:41,120 --> 03:27:42,680
But a few hundred miles up
5257
03:27:42,680 --> 03:27:45,800
or down, there are no humans.
5258
03:27:45,800 --> 03:27:47,760
Apart from a thin film of
5259
03:27:47,760 --> 03:27:49,040
life at the very surface of
5260
03:27:49,040 --> 03:27:51,519
the Earth, an occasional intrepid
5261
03:27:51,520 --> 03:27:53,600
spacecraft and some radio
5262
03:27:53,600 --> 03:27:56,000
static, our impact on the
5263
03:27:56,000 --> 03:27:58,600
universe is nil.
5264
03:27:58,600 --> 03:28:05,600
It knows nothing of us.
5265
03:28:05,600 --> 03:28:06,600
What?
5266
03:28:06,600 --> 03:28:09,760
I sometimes ask myself in amazement.
5267
03:28:09,760 --> 03:28:11,800
Our ancestors walked from East
5268
03:28:11,800 --> 03:28:14,520
Africa to Novaya Zemlya and
5269
03:28:14,520 --> 03:28:16,121
Ayers Rock and Patagonia.
5270
03:28:17,359 --> 03:28:18,599
They hunted elephants with
5271
03:28:18,600 --> 03:28:20,440
stone spear points.
5272
03:28:20,439 --> 03:28:22,399
They traversed the polar seas
5273
03:28:22,399 --> 03:28:26,239
in open boats seven thousand years ago.
5274
03:28:26,239 --> 03:28:27,800
They circumnavigated the Earth
5275
03:28:27,800 --> 03:28:30,640
propelled by nothing but wind.
5276
03:28:30,640 --> 03:28:32,400
They walked the Moon a decade
5277
03:28:32,399 --> 03:28:35,599
after entering space, and were
5278
03:28:35,600 --> 03:28:39,800
daunted by a voyage to Mars.
5279
03:28:39,800 --> 03:28:41,720
But then I remind myself of
5280
03:28:41,720 --> 03:28:44,640
the avoidable human suffering on Earth.
5281
03:28:44,640 --> 03:28:46,560
How a few dollars can save
5282
03:28:46,560 --> 03:28:47,880
the life of a child dying
5283
03:28:47,880 --> 03:28:49,920
of dehydration.
5284
03:28:49,920 --> 03:28:51,239
How many children we could
5285
03:28:51,239 --> 03:28:53,279
save for the cost of a trip
5286
03:28:53,279 --> 03:28:56,399
to Mars, and for the moment
5287
03:28:56,399 --> 03:28:58,599
I changed my mind.
5288
03:28:58,600 --> 03:29:01,720
Is it unworthy to stay home,
5289
03:29:01,720 --> 03:29:04,800
or unworthy to go?
5290
03:29:04,800 --> 03:29:08,080
Or have I posed a false dichotomy?
5291
03:29:08,080 --> 03:29:09,199
Isn't it possible to make a
5292
03:29:09,199 --> 03:29:10,359
better life for everyone on
5293
03:29:10,359 --> 03:29:13,239
Earth, and to reach for the planets
5294
03:29:13,239 --> 03:29:16,279
and the stars?
5295
03:29:16,279 --> 03:29:18,319
We had an expansive run in
5296
03:29:18,319 --> 03:29:21,519
the 60s and 70s.
5297
03:29:21,520 --> 03:29:23,440
You might have thought, as I
5298
03:29:23,439 --> 03:29:25,040
did then, that
5299
03:29:25,040 --> 03:29:26,519
our species would be on Mars
5300
03:29:26,520 --> 03:29:28,840
before the century was over.
5301
03:29:28,840 --> 03:29:32,319
But instead, we've pulled inward.
5302
03:29:32,319 --> 03:29:34,960
Robots aside, we've backed off
5303
03:29:34,960 --> 03:29:38,359
from the planets and the stars.
5304
03:29:38,359 --> 03:29:40,719
I keep asking myself, is it
5305
03:29:40,720 --> 03:29:45,120
failure of nerve or a sign of maturity.
5306
03:29:45,120 --> 03:29:46,399
Maybe it's the most we could
5307
03:29:46,399 --> 03:29:48,759
reasonably have expected.
5308
03:29:48,760 --> 03:29:50,440
In a way, it's amazing that
5309
03:29:50,439 --> 03:29:52,479
it was possible at all.
5310
03:29:52,479 --> 03:29:54,160
We sent a dozen humans on
5311
03:29:54,160 --> 03:29:55,720
week-long excursions to the
5312
03:29:55,720 --> 03:29:58,920
moon, and we were given the resources
5313
03:29:58,920 --> 03:30:00,040
to make a preliminary
5314
03:30:00,040 --> 03:30:01,720
reconnaissance of the whole
5315
03:30:01,720 --> 03:30:04,820
solar system—out to Neptune, anyway.
5316
03:30:04,820 --> 03:30:06,880
life, missions that returned a
5317
03:30:06,880 --> 03:30:09,640
wealth of data, but nothing
5318
03:30:09,640 --> 03:30:12,360
of short-term, every-day,
5319
03:30:12,359 --> 03:30:13,880
bread-on-the-table
5320
03:30:13,880 --> 03:30:18,920
practical value, or at least not much.
5321
03:30:18,920 --> 03:30:21,840
They lifted the human spirit, though.
5322
03:30:21,840 --> 03:30:23,040
They enlightened us about our
5323
03:30:23,040 --> 03:30:26,680
place in the universe.
5324
03:30:26,680 --> 03:30:29,760
It is easy to imagine schemes
5325
03:30:29,760 --> 03:30:32,480
of historical causality, in
5326
03:30:32,479 --> 03:30:34,279
which there were no race to
5327
03:30:34,279 --> 03:30:38,559
the Moon, and no planetary program.
5328
03:30:38,560 --> 03:30:39,600
But it is also possible to
5329
03:30:39,600 --> 03:30:40,840
imagine a much more serious
5330
03:30:40,840 --> 03:30:43,319
devotion to exploration, because
5331
03:30:43,319 --> 03:30:46,120
of which we would today have
5332
03:30:46,120 --> 03:30:47,960
robot vehicles probing the
5333
03:30:47,960 --> 03:30:49,760
atmospheres of all the Jovian
5334
03:30:49,760 --> 03:30:52,440
planets and dozens of moons,
5335
03:30:52,439 --> 03:30:54,839
comets and asteroids.
5336
03:30:54,840 --> 03:30:55,960
There were many possible
5337
03:30:55,960 --> 03:30:57,240
historical paths.
5338
03:30:57,240 --> 03:30:59,680
us, our particular causality
5339
03:30:59,680 --> 03:31:02,640
scheme has brought us to a
5340
03:31:02,640 --> 03:31:06,200
modest and rudimentary, although in
5341
03:31:06,199 --> 03:31:08,160
many respects heroic, series
5342
03:31:08,160 --> 03:31:10,680
of explorations.
5343
03:31:10,680 --> 03:31:12,880
But it is far inferior to
5344
03:31:12,880 --> 03:31:15,400
what might have been, and
5345
03:31:15,399 --> 03:31:18,120
what may one day be.
5346
03:31:18,120 --> 03:31:20,040
In more than one respect,
5347
03:31:20,040 --> 03:31:22,120
exploring the solar system and
5348
03:31:22,120 --> 03:31:24,160
homesteading other worlds constitutes
5349
03:31:24,160 --> 03:31:25,880
constitutes the beginning, much
5350
03:31:25,880 --> 03:31:45,840
more than the end, of history.
5351
03:31:55,359 --> 03:31:57,359
And so, after a voyage of
5352
03:31:57,359 --> 03:31:59,639
100 million kilometers, on
5353
03:31:59,640 --> 03:32:04,000
July 20th, 1976, Viking 1 landed right
5354
03:32:04,000 --> 03:32:09,479
on target in the Cricey Plain.
5355
03:32:09,479 --> 03:32:11,199
It was less than 80 years
5356
03:32:11,199 --> 03:32:12,960
since Robert Goddard had his
5357
03:32:12,960 --> 03:32:15,000
epiphanal vision in a cherry
5358
03:32:15,000 --> 03:32:35,960
tree in Massachusetts.
5359
03:32:35,960 --> 03:32:37,359
The Viking Lander is a
5360
03:32:37,359 --> 03:32:39,519
superbly instrumented and
5361
03:32:39,520 --> 03:32:41,600
designed machine.
5362
03:32:41,600 --> 03:32:43,600
It extends human capabilities
5363
03:32:43,600 --> 03:32:45,840
to other and alien landscapes.
5364
03:32:46,359 --> 03:32:47,880
By some standards, it's about
5365
03:32:47,880 --> 03:32:50,800
as smart as a grasshopper.
5366
03:32:50,800 --> 03:32:52,480
By others, only as intelligent
5367
03:32:52,479 --> 03:32:54,080
as a bacterium.
5368
03:32:54,080 --> 03:32:55,559
There's nothing demeaning in
5369
03:32:55,560 --> 03:32:56,440
these comparisons.
5370
03:32:56,439 --> 03:32:58,000
It took nature hundreds of
5371
03:32:58,000 --> 03:33:00,399
millions of years to evolve a
5372
03:33:00,399 --> 03:33:01,239
bacterium,
5373
03:33:01,239 --> 03:33:02,399
and billions of years to make
5374
03:33:02,399 --> 03:33:03,799
a grasshopper.
5375
03:33:03,800 --> 03:33:05,160
With only a little experience
5376
03:33:05,160 --> 03:33:06,439
in this sort of business,
5377
03:33:06,439 --> 03:33:09,120
we're getting pretty good at it.
5378
03:33:09,120 --> 03:33:10,319
One of the things that a
5379
03:33:10,319 --> 03:33:12,319
grasshopper can do, but Viking
5380
03:33:12,319 --> 03:33:14,519
can't, is move.
5381
03:33:14,520 --> 03:33:17,121
We landed in the dull places on Mars.
5382
03:33:17,120 --> 03:33:18,880
For all the solid scientific
5383
03:33:18,880 --> 03:33:20,760
findings and tantalizing hints
5384
03:33:20,760 --> 03:33:22,320
which Viking provided,
5385
03:33:22,319 --> 03:33:23,359
we know that there are an
5386
03:33:23,359 --> 03:33:24,719
enormous number of places on
5387
03:33:24,720 --> 03:33:27,360
the planet far more interesting.
5388
03:33:27,359 --> 03:33:29,719
What we need is a roving
5389
03:33:29,720 --> 03:33:30,880
vehicle with advanced
5390
03:33:30,880 --> 03:33:32,199
experiments in biology and
5391
03:33:32,199 --> 03:33:33,559
organic chemistry,
5392
03:33:33,560 --> 03:33:35,440
able to land in the safe but
5393
03:33:35,439 --> 03:33:37,439
dull places and wander to the
5394
03:33:37,439 --> 03:33:38,960
interesting places.
5395
03:33:38,960 --> 03:33:40,640
A Mars rover hasn't got time
5396
03:33:40,640 --> 03:33:41,880
to ask whether it should
5397
03:33:41,880 --> 03:33:43,840
attempt the steep slope.
5398
03:33:43,840 --> 03:33:45,199
Radio waves traveling at the
5399
03:33:45,199 --> 03:33:46,840
speed of light take about 20
5400
03:33:46,840 --> 03:33:48,720
minutes for the round trip to Earth.
5401
03:33:48,720 --> 03:33:49,560
By the time it got an
5402
03:33:49,560 --> 03:33:51,640
answer, it might be a heap
5403
03:33:51,640 --> 03:33:53,240
of twisted metal at the
5404
03:33:53,239 --> 03:33:54,800
bottom of a canyon.
5405
03:33:54,800 --> 03:33:59,120
A rover has to think for itself.
5406
03:33:59,120 --> 03:34:01,160
Imagine a rover with laser
5407
03:34:01,160 --> 03:34:02,760
eyes like this one,
5408
03:34:02,760 --> 03:34:04,440
but packed with sophisticated
5409
03:34:04,439 --> 03:34:06,559
biological and chemical instruments,
5410
03:34:06,560 --> 03:34:08,440
sampler arms, microscopes and
5411
03:34:08,439 --> 03:34:10,040
television cameras,
5412
03:34:10,040 --> 03:34:14,080
wandering over the Martian landscape.
5413
03:34:14,080 --> 03:34:15,319
It could drive to its own
5414
03:34:15,319 --> 03:34:17,279
horizon every day,
5415
03:34:17,279 --> 03:34:18,920
a distant feature that barely
5416
03:34:18,920 --> 03:34:20,760
resolves at sunrise.
5417
03:34:20,760 --> 03:34:22,800
It can be sniffing and
5418
03:34:22,800 --> 03:34:29,239
tasting by nightfall.
5419
03:34:29,239 --> 03:34:31,120
Billions of people could watch
5420
03:34:31,120 --> 03:34:33,080
the unfolding adventure on
5421
03:34:33,080 --> 03:34:34,439
their television sets
5422
03:34:34,439 --> 03:34:36,000
as the rover explores the
5423
03:34:36,000 --> 03:34:37,560
ancient river bottoms
5424
03:34:37,560 --> 03:34:39,520
or cautiously approaches the
5425
03:34:39,520 --> 03:34:43,840
enigmatic pyramids of Elysium.
5426
03:34:43,840 --> 03:34:45,199
Most of the human species
5427
03:34:45,199 --> 03:34:47,920
would witness the exploration
5428
03:34:47,920 --> 03:34:50,720
of another world.
5429
03:34:50,720 --> 03:34:52,800
A new age of discovery would
5430
03:34:52,800 --> 03:35:00,199
have begun.
5431
03:35:00,199 --> 03:35:01,880
Science is a collaborative
5432
03:35:01,880 --> 03:35:04,520
enterprise spanning the generations.
5433
03:35:04,520 --> 03:35:06,161
When it permits us to see
5434
03:35:06,160 --> 03:35:08,319
the far side of some new
5435
03:35:08,319 --> 03:35:10,840
horizon, we remember those who prepared
5436
03:35:10,840 --> 03:35:15,640
the way, seeing for them also.
364454
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