Are We The Universe’s Way of Knowing Itself? With Brian Cox

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What is truly foundational to the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice welcome physicist and author Brian Cox for a discussion about emergence, particles, consciousness, and the very fabric of spacetime.

Learn about Brian’s new show and it’s focus on emergence. Starting with Kepler’s six-cornered snowflake, Brian unpacks why symmetry appears in nature and how simple molecular rules scale up to astonishing patterns. We explore how complexity arises, from birds flocking to consciousness itself, and why understanding the brain doesn’t require particle physics, even if physics underpins everything. Is life just computation? Are we just symbol-shuffling machines? Brian shares debates from neuroscientists and computer scientists, on whether AI might someday count as a lifeform.

We zoom down to quarks, protons, and the Standard Model’s mysterious triplicate particle families. Why do particles have the masses they do? Why does gravity resist unification? Could spacetime itself be emergent, built from entangled quantum bits or wormhole-like connections? Brian and Neil tackle black hole information, the Hawking chronology prevention conjecture, entropy flow, and whether casuality is what underpins the entire universe.

We explore quark catastrophes inside black holes, whether dark matter and dark energy might be relics of earlier cosmic phases, how tides emerge from curved spacetime, why particles decay when they do, and what limits the smallest possible wavelength of light.

Thanks to our Patrons Kyrie Diantonio, Brandon Zimmerman, Blane Sibille, Eva Dis, Micheal Bejarano, Z A N, Bart, Aaron Gannon, Chad McJannett, I'm here for the Knowledge Fight!, Daish, Jim, Zachary Casey, Nasry Al-Haddad, Mackrobin Bille, Rebecca, N, Tom Roughley, COrry Pogue, Matthew McNabb, Christian Kendall, Robert L Eberle, Alan Harris, Dayne Mauney, Christopher Moore, Shaq-q, David Maurice, Edmund Prieto, Dan Central Jersey Is Real Alles, Tony Isaacs, Erik Gregemar, Galaksee, Kellen, Amr Saleh, Mystery Jay, MisteryJay, Crosley Duckmann, Jim Hudson, Michael Mustillo, Tony Bacon, John Ordover, Jordan Senerth, MARK LOFTIS, CodyDon, Reader, elliott C, Andrs Larsen, San Anderson-Moxley, Nex Gen Pools LLC, Hayden Quinlan, Aaron Corn, ryan hurst, Tressa Eubank, David Heckert, Matteo ADD Ideas, JCampos Entertainment, Gavin K Chase-Dunn, Olexander Samoilenko, Alexandre Deme, Oyunokata, Natasha Johnson, Julianne Gray, Julia Whitted, Jani Jaikala, Justin Kupsick, peppertree73, chuck Kessler, Jay Goldberg, Cody Moore, Rose, Logan Kuehl, Charles Wayman, and Quantum Crusader for supporting us this week.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: Brian Cox
06:58 - Kepler & Complexity
10:10 - What is Emergence?
14:13 - The Advancements in Science
21:24 - Misinformation in the Information Age
25:31 - Examples of Emergence
35:53 - Is Life Computation?
41:34 - Emergence in the Standard Model
42:26 - What is a Particle?
44:29 - Why Particles Come in 3s
50:50 - Is Spacetime Fundamental?
01:03:28 - Infinite Quark Catastrophe
01:11:18 - Are Dark Matter & Dark Energy Emergent Phenomena?
01:19:25 - How Does Curvature of Spacetime Cause Tides?
01:21:41 - Will the Word “Particle” Maintain Meaning?
01:24:04 - How Do Particles Know to Decay?
01:31:28 - Light with a Wavelength of One Planck
01:35:22 - What is the Information in Hawking Radiation?
01:37:00 - The Limits of Newton’s Laws
01:40:18 - Galilean Transformation
01:43:40 - Closing Thoughts

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