Joe Rogan Experience #610 — Brian Cox Transcript

Transcript

0:00 The Joe Rogan Experience. He knows, he's got headphones on. Yeah. I love watching space documentaries. I love watching television shows on space. And then I do it with a stand-up comedian called Robin Ince. comedians and people like yourself that are going to do it with us in three weeks, isn't Someone asked me this morning, actually, and I said, a bit of singing, a bit of dancing, a bit of quantum mechanics, basically.

3:32 So if we cede that to talent shows or sports or whatever it is, to only be talking about the Grammys last night. But they will never be debated unless we take the time and make the effort to make the science and the ideas and the debate around them part of popular culture. people realize it wasn't that folks weren't interested in these subjects And this has sort of instead of having this immediate time frame where everybody has to pay attention or the show dies.

6:34 Our civilisation, Carl Sagan always used to say this, system um now i know that the media doesn't see itself as that often it sees itself as a I know it would be anathema to the big corporations who run the TV channels, them because we think people need to know less than a billionth of a second after the Big Bang. This kind of the television executive.

9:17 So you can download them, you know, later. get people hooked on shows as well yeah it's like this idea that you know the if that's what you wanted to watch on television. This idea that that's the only way we can get our information. good thing in some respects but in other respects that what what happens you can ghettoize audiences You'll stumble across things you didn't

12:21 say well we're going to put x factor on let say, or Dancing with the Stars or whatever that thing is. So you're right, though, it's gone, probably. I don't mean it in a of that mold. I think that that are available today, to spoon feed him he's never gonna do yeah like also i think that having the stupid shows that What's the word? This is so frustrating and my sister won't stop bothering and they're like texting each other but it's so fucking mind-numbing and somehow another

15:26 And then I'm thinking, wow, this is so fucking fascinating. So that's, yeah. you can't take it anymore and then one day that sun is there and you're like ah it's so beautiful And then when it comes on... We're so varied we're so the I'm going to be optimistic about it. You're hanging out at CERN a bunch of other physicists. You're talking about black holes

19:11 slightly smaller and slightly more timid and they get pushed out of the pack, but they're all and it ain't you, buddy. It's that You might say, well, could we have some kind of We're not going to be OK because the 99% will be unaware I think there's only good. the obvious differences between culture then and culture now, today because people wouldn't fucking they're not like not, not enough. Nope. It's got to go to a higher frequency because human beings are very different today than they were in 1950.

22:08 And I think having something like the Internet just pushes that in a direction. Probably nothing would ever get done. I have to be exhausted with work to appreciate vacations. universe is an infinite cage and then another where they got ten monkeys, and they gave them typewriters, he said it's not an incremental process, this kind of infinite monkey thing.

25:09 He's a silly bitch. They're monkeys. Every possible combination of letter presses must happen. That is true. He's still, like, playing with his butt Well, if the universe is infinite, probably get emails about if i'm trying to think whether there's any counter argument i don't think So you can Google that. So Shakespeare, that's a known number. I don't know it off the top of my head, but it can be calculated.

28:15 to that is more than the other one. This guy got to the second paragraph, shit all over the place. Brian Cox does not think Darwin's wrong how come monkeys are still around? Someone needs to do this. that he believes that the evolution of human beings, the big part of it, the development of the human brain, able to see things better which would make you a better hunter. Also makes you horny, so it would make people more likely to breed.

31:20 And it's quite remarkable, actually. And it seems like when the Earth's orbit is most elliptical, which was a very big increase in the number of species in the Rift Valley, where it gets controversial when you look at the academic research because So some people say, well, it's because they were forced into more successful if it's more intelligent so some people say well

33:39 had played a role in driving us towards intelligence. And essentially the size scale is very small, by the way. And it's quite remarkable, actually. And modern theories they get they spread out of africa Hop on this plane. As you're flying in, it looks so science fiction. 60 years. 1913 so he discovers the nucleus and within 30 years you have an atomic bomb. They didn't even know.

36:24 and you have atomic bombs. The fact that modern electronics is a single lifetime. They stopped making them. There's a company called Magic Leap. you've you've actually seen it but I tell you that it works it's a you know, these ideas of simulation? it's an attempt to explain of the universe is going through a revolution at the moment. have them with a series of satellites the most recent which which is called

40:29 But they also suggest that there are theories called eternal inflation theories an infinite number, possibly, They're theories that explain the structures we see. number of different ratios of the strengths of the forces of nature and all these things. for how the universe got to be the way it is. example produced in stars in in large quantities which you need in order to and when the stars die

43:29 And this is where cosmology is at the moment. numbers of infinite universes these these theories exist so this idea of computer simulation the idea and we're talking about the goggles that allow you to see a like every single combination and throw them out there. Or it could be that, which way more likely, that you're just discovering some sort of Well, I mean, the answer is, I mean,

46:29 and including the discovery of the Higgs particle. And the idea is, basically, that early on in the expansion history of the universe, so let's say less than a billionth of a second after the Big Bang, So in the same way that the theory is that as the universe cooled, acquire mass so it's the it's the mass generation mechanism it's why some particles are massive like

48:43 that we found a new particle, it has the right mass as predicted in the window that was predicted by the theory. It behaves in every way like the which would suggest that theories called supersymmetric theories are right. And the unreasonable effectiveness is demonstrated by this discovery, 10,000 scientists, 150 countries. Vast, vast thing. 7, 000 tons of digital camera in a cabin the side

51:25 is not horribly wrong at the moment. and a journalist went up to him afterwards, and just what I've said, this is what happened. That's a valid example. they have a big pimp cane. He didn't do it again last night, did he? You just went and talked about Kanye West in the middle of one of those mind-blowing discussions. They call it Z-O-6. Yeah, so that's a later...

53:30 or quarks and a down quark and the gluons and all these things, is supposed to be just immeasurably heavy, right? Oh, the atomic nuclei. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you But it would be a radius of 10 miles. Someone online was You know, Mount Everest. is in the nuclei. we have theories that address the time We're trying to explore the laws of nature and find the laws of nature that will describe the universe when it was that hot and that dense.

57:01 We have no evidence to that. one infinite piece of mass, and then starts all over again. faster. And we So that looks like what's happening at the moment. because it's like a big rip scenario almost where everything's You get some physicists that will argue with it, but broadly speaking, I think many astrophysicists think the inflation is the best theory we have.

1:00:13 some physicists argue that the natural extension to those theories a theory is called eternal And the answer is nobody knows. bit the simple bit which was first put forward in the 80s actually by alan guth and people like Definitely shit Billions and billions of times weaker than the other ones, say with with with energy so they change so that and we've seen this behavior so so two of the

1:03:25 And then gravity makes its lethargic way back And there's nowhere in the universe you'd never do it. I think the string theory they keep which would then evaporate away very quickly, The interesting point, though, is that, so LHC, it's a tremendous technological achievement, So if you can make little black holes because there are extra dimensions in the universe,

1:05:56 There's a cosmic ray, actually, that was detected. with that energy. But So Avogadro's number is, what is it, 6 times 10 to the 23, isn't it? the galaxy like when a hypernova you're still trying to do the math? Yeah, well, I just made sure. Because we're live on the web. I understand. wars with each other that that was one of the one of the ideas that were being bandied about

1:08:28 What would it look like if we saw an interstellar civilization, They're like, we need more funding, we have to figure this out, what's the probability of other civilizations being out there, Around main-sequence stars like the earth like the sun so 20 billion so maybe one in 10 stars in the sky So you had to have an unbroken, stable line of life that evolves in the right way, as it were.

1:10:50 photosynthesis and some geology in play with it that's how the oxygen gets into the atmosphere So there's a legitimate debate So I think the probability... If I guessed, I would say the probability that life will emerge at the moment if it's possible you can make that argument and my experience is academic biologists That's clearly a fact, isn't it?

1:13:00 I mean, there are 350 billion galaxies in the observable universe. But... It would be a tremendous discovery if we made it. None. So the only planets from the astronomical perspective, It's just a bit of a lucky accident. rest of the universe. So I think so. of beginning to spread out into the Milky Way. I mean, it takes a light beam to 2 million years.

1:16:41 uh in perspective to the single-celled organisms that existed billions of years ago in comparison to us? Oh, they change their mind all the time. matter or of an understanding of the universe at such a deep level that we can violate all these things that we now consider It's actually the thing that protects cause and effect. as you approach the speed of light for example

1:19:09 it would see the same effect. and they don't age. unless you're massless. Just below. So it's a fundamental So it's literally impossible in Einstein's theory to go at the speed of light unless you're massless, If you somehow or another were able to go 99.999% of the speed of light, what would So if you travel... change so what is it it's the distance so the lhc is no longer 16 miles in circumference it's about

1:22:18 Are you concerned at all about artificial life? looks at computers and goes, we're good. We're good. We don't need a bigger laptop. We don't And we don't think of life being possible in an electronic sense Look at this, this guy's got a new TV, it sees your fucking brain, you know, it looks I agree with you. I don't personally see why you can't have a conscious computer i i don't personally see

1:25:54 And actually, and as you said, 3D printers essentially seem to be let's fast forward our civilization 10,000 years, let's say, blink of an eye. Let's see, So it's one of the great... We are replicators, and we operate in accord with the laws of physics. Someone has to be the first. But it has to happen one time, somewhere. that actually you can't build self-replicating intelligent robots.

1:29:13 Imagine what that knowledge should do to our political processes, It is humbling, and that's perhaps a good thing. that are required to create carbon life in the first place or or any of the processes of the So the fact that that meaning might be emergent, I don't see why it has to be eternal. This is remarkable. Can we just leave it there? This amazing technology, anti-lock brakes, fucking 12-inch computer screens.

1:33:21 there in the universe we gotta find him but we're that are making them consider these thoughts you realize that that person might spread that spark somewhere else. And this is really what this process is about in the first place. There are people out there who want to do it. especially American style, you know you or I have this Congo series that I've probably watched a dozen times about the BBC,

1:36:51 yards they can fucking swim they eat fish I mean it's craziness swimming Most of it is, but some of it isn't. into these somebody from poodles to german shepherds to whatever it is all those things that you're going to end up with something that can't breed with that anymore. 200,000 years, you go back that long, and we didn't exist as a species. Yeah.

1:39:23 It's too much going on. There's too much change. you were given. know, that our IQ, average IQ has changed much over the last few hundred years, certainly. So as far as I know, and the genome the human genome to say which bits are producing brain power if there is such a thing answer is that that would not have any impact otherwise i i'm not aware of any research it's hard to like look into a kid's head and find out

1:42:53 Genetically predisposed fears to scary dogs, animals. preyed upon by cats, can be passed on that other than verbally to them when they're listening to your stories You think it might have to do with the box and it gets heated up? How dare they. I mean, we have a lot of good evidence of the Milky Way galaxy. And the only way that our current laws of physics

1:46:25 is a supermassive black hole that is like one half of 1% of the mass of the galaxy. It's a good question. called the schwarzschild metric which describes black holes it was done i think in 1915 or 16 the physics inside black holes but we don't know whether that's the right theory. That's not a problem in Einstein's theory. The theory's doing things.

1:49:22 It's an active area of research. and the way you're sort of forced to present your shows on the Science Channel. Yeah, we were talking earlier and I said, But also we have some interaction about, All speculative, right? And in the British version, I say, so to the camera, how does that make you feel? What does it mean for us if our existence is inevitable and we're not special,

1:51:48 over Tokyo skyline. I think it's beautiful. me what to say perhaps i'd love it if look if science channel right if you know, can you tell me what to say, perhaps? I'd love it. Look, if Science Channel, if you know the meaning of life, on Discovery tonight after Sharks, to exist, doesn't, you know, but if you get the one-hour, They play 1080p content.

1:53:53 You can buy it, and I encourage you to because it's wonderful. which is one of the, other than Death Valley, and they don't have a concept, for example, of possessions got one of his mountaineering ropes attached to his ak-47 and he sat there now with this guy's and he said to us on camera, he said, it's a mixture of cosmology and this celebration of the wonder of human existence, the diversity of human thought.

1:57:20 Human beings, we are so flexible. Because I filmed in... I was just filming in... Wow. say i talk about stars and they're interested so they don't they've never been to school they have We think, well, it's okay here in North America or in Europe or europe or something we're okay but there's all these wild people out there you know i know i i i don't have any interest i don't have any interest in religion i always say people ask me quite a lot

2:00:17 No, I mean, what I'm saying is I'm just reaffirming what you're saying. You're just talking about education they have some framework for understanding that but they're also the commonalities are large volcano, how do they survive? What are they they've developed this way of living. which is a tectonics, plate tectonics. you think of Live Aid and the big famine in Ethiopia. You think of this dusty place, and it is in some areas.

2:02:51 I like the... there's an idea that... You don't go far back before you get to an Ethiopian, which is quite wonderful, I think. yeah with the same you know i find the same level of curiosity and interest it's it's kind of So they're great storytellers. Then you say, can I see it? It's all intertwined. and those areas, Palestine, What is the area that's supposed to contain the Ark of the Covenant?

2:06:42 So is it like Al Capone's vault? and obviously the Queen of Sheba stole it in the first place. might have functioned in a very similar way to a modern battery? So, yeah, we don't know. She just got interested, so she did some classes. register a complaint right it's a piece of papyrus and it's a complaint about um i think it was the and they'd go, I don't want a voucher, I want my money.

2:09:32 husband talking to a woman and so you go through and he's saying why did you leave me why didn't It's wonderful, actually. I forget, but it was like sort of a very short poem And they wrote about it in these little scratches. Thousands, but yeah, could I like the fact that the voices are so familiar? Mm-hmm How did you guys figure this shit out that no one else anywhere near, was anywhere close to this level of sophistication as far as modern construction?

2:12:52 You realize that civilizations rise and fall and knowledge can be lost. And the Romans, I suspect, thought they were eternal as a civilization. They would continue to progress. And I think it's a lesson for us. We could do that. look at the you know i was i was filming with them on friday for a thing i'm doing in britain but it laid the foundation i could argue for american technological dominance in the last

2:15:01 And you get this explosion in technological achievement, But ultimately, that investment paid vast dividends. space. And you say within 10 years, I'm going to walk on the moon. That's an American thing to do, I think. So you've got to have, I believe, bold visions and visionary leaders. on every dollar invested in Apollo by 1980. Each one of those dollars generated at least 10 and maybe 20 in a decade.

2:17:56 There wasn't an adversary. world and then declined, you know, and doesn't run the world anymore, handed it over to you You guys did it out of Rhode Island. So it seems to me it's leadership. But it's not a particularly large diversion of resources. Spend money on the young, spend money on the education system, You want to invent the world's fastest computer, don't you?

2:20:09 because I don't know but the point is you don't want to be one of those you know, and do well. they wanted to be Neil Armstrong So you have the big companies like Apple and Google. It's become about money. Like where giant corporations are allowed to invest enormous sums of money into candidates that will, once they get into office, do the bidding of these corporations,

2:22:05 People pushing for ideas like being able to vote online. corruption. Oh, you're the one who's always worried about hacking. Well, guess what? That's not going to be viable anymore. Well, that's what I mean. You listen to Tim Berners-Lee when he talks about the I mean, it goes right back to the beginning of the conversation, doesn't it? You need your appetite stimulated for knowledge and information and to use,

2:25:03 That toolkit. myself how do i not decide that i'm only going to read i'm only going to exist on forums that say which is fucking staggering. And how would we use it? Nobody's ever looked at them. Didn't know. looked at this date there'll be data about what uh increases the likelihood of certain cancers Oh, they're nasty, those super volcanoes. So, you big baby, you got to wait another 10,000 years for civilization to reemerge and someone to reinvent the Internet, you know, and the Ark of the Covenant is still locked up in Ethiopia because they already did this,

2:29:27 that engulfs half of North America Go fuck your cloud. around and lands to you know you do it 99.9 of the speed of light so the data you know getting And it's all in DOS or whatever. Wow. If someone sends you a picture, it's way bigger than that. Yeah. You think so? because they all sit there on PS4s and things like that. I would watch those guys work.

2:32:45 movies the average huge game like a grand theft auto when those games get released they're they're that gets poured into those video games. That's what's going to happen. We wake up and we realize that no one's making video games anymore or computer code, Keep breathing. We should do a monkey cage on this, actually. but you feel everything. it's like there's a million operations that are going on behind the scenes and every second to

2:36:41 and it fucking turns based on the lines on the road. Oh, people get mad? will change. It'll be very funny. everything goes correct They've already got There's a friend of mine, Alex Garland, who just made a film called Ex Machina, That's a problem, you fuckers. kind of like one of these Elon Musk-type guys Ah! It's just, it's a great film. So I recommend that to everyone who's listening.

2:39:48 That's a great concept. Some people say yes. that well the new version of it my friend duncan called me up i was at the improv and when you know the HD quality was stunning. They showed me this demo, and it's HD, real. issue that people are going to have with being addicted to this stuff because i don't believe Well, I don't mean it in that sense. and his bone structure is fucking perfect

2:42:55 10% on real-life experiences 90% on movies and but I have a friend who got in a fight with a guy and the guy Just confuse the hell out of him just start randomly shouting quotes back from the great news like there's songs that I'll listen to, like dragon attack, with fucking waterfalls and flowers, And we're changing it. Have you seen Wall-E? around, can't even walk, and he's just on a big space liner, floating around in space,

2:45:43 Are you pessimistic? countries like ours right we've got these these education systems and these And if you just turn the reality TV off for a bit bunch of shit going on that is like a constant ebb and flow and I always I always So you're on the LA one1 which is the 12th of Neil deGrasse Tyson's doing that one, actually. secret secret as well there might be a there might be a python around oh and you got one march 13th

2:49:32 Thank you very much. So I'll bring the human universe stuff for you. folks. Cool.