77 Quotes by Sean Carroll

The punch line is that our notion of free will, the ability to change the future by making choices in a way that is not available to us as far as the past is concerned, is only possible because the past has a low entropy and the future has a high entropy. The.

The physical notion of determinism is different from destiny or fate in a subtle but crucial way: because Laplace’s Demon doesn’t actually exist, the future may be determined by the present, but literally nobody knows what it will be.

We talk about “awe and wonder,” but those are two different words. I am in awe of the universe: its scope, its complexity, its depth, its meticulous precision. But my primary feeling is wonder. Awe has connotations of reverence: “this fills me with awe and I am not worthy.” Wonder has connotations of curiosity: “this fills me with wonder and I am going to figure it out.” I will take wonder over awe every day.

The construction of meaning is a fundamentally individual, subjective, creative enterprise, and an intimidating responsibility.

In 1965, physicist Richard Feynman opined, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics,” and the sentiment is equally applicable today.

Way back in 1831, Michael Faraday, one of the founders of our modern understanding of electromagnetism, was asked by an inquiring politician about the usefulness of this newfangled “electricity” stuff. His apocryphal reply: “I know not, but I wager that one day your government will tax it”.

The idea of “Ten Commandments” is a deeply compelling one. It combines two impulses that are ingrained in our nature as human beings: making lists of ten things, and telling other people how to behave.

If you believe that the atoms that are inside your brain and your body act differently because they are in a living person than if they were in a rock or a crystal, then what you’re saying is that the laws of physics are wrong.

What is the fundamental nature of reality? Philosophers call this the question of ontology – the study of the basic structure of the world, the ingredients and relationships of which the universe is ultimately composed. It can be contrasted with epistemology, which is how we obtain knowledge about the world. Ontology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality; we also talk about “an” ontology, referring to a specific idea about what that nature actually is.