>OUR UNIVERSE BEGAN WITH
A BANG, A BIG BANG.
I SEE A SWIRLING, SEETHING
PLASMA OF UNIMAGINABLY
HOT PARTICLES AND FIERCE
RADIATION.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE,
ALL APPARENTLY, ALL THE SAME.
I FAST FORWARD ALMOST
14 BILLION YEARS AND -- GASP,
NOW I SEE GALAXIES AND STARS
AND PLANETS AND ON AT LEAST ONE
PLANET, WHICH IT'S INHABITANTS
CALL EARTH, OCEANS AND
MOUNTAINS, PLANTS AND ANIMALS,
BRAINS AND MINDS.
WHAT BEGAN FUNDAMENTALLY
SIMPLE HAS BECOME
ASTONISHINGLY COMPLEX.
HOW DID SUCH STRUCTURE COME
ABOUT?
HOW DOES COMPLEXITY COME FROM
SIMPLICITY?
I'M ROBERT LAWRENCE KUHN
AND CLOSER TO TRUTH IS MY
JOURNEY TO FIND OUT.
A TEEMING WORLD OF
COMPLEXITIES SURROUND ME
AND IT LOOKS ALL SO ORDINARY,
UNTIL I JOLT MYSELF INTO
VISUALIZING HOW UTTERLY SIMPLE
IT ALL ONCE WAS.
HOW COULD SUCH AN
EXTRAORDINARY TRANSFORMATION
HAVE COME ABOUT.
I ACHE TO UNDERSTAND
EXISTENCE.
SO TO BE BEGIN, I PROBE
THE ESSENCE OF COMPLEXITY.
WHAT IS COMPLEXITY?
I GO TO BOSTON TO MEET
A PHYSICIST WHOSE DEEP INSIGHTS
INTO COMPLEXITY HAVE SPAWNED
NEW IDEAS -- STEPHEN WOLFRAM.
WHEN WE LOOK AT REALITY,
THE FIRST THING WE NOTICE IS
THAT THERE IS GREAT DIVERSITY,
GREAT COMPLEXITY, HOW COULD
SUCH COMPLEXITY COME ABOUT?
>>WELL, I THINK IT'S IN A
SENSE KIND OF HUMILIATING FOR
US AS HUMANS, THAT IF WE ARE
PRESENTED, LET'S SAY, WITH TWO
OBJECTS AND WE ARE TOLD ONE
OF THEM IS FROM NATURE AND ONE
OF THEM IS SOMETHING THAT WE
AS HUMANS HAVE CREATED, THAT
IT'S A PRETTY GOOD GUESS THAT
THE ONE THAT LOOKS SIMPLER WILL
BE THE ONE THAT WE AS HUMANS
HAVE CREATED.
AND YET, SOMEHOW WE HAVEN'T
MANAGED TO CAPTURE THE SECRET
THAT NATURE SEEMS TO HAVE THAT
LETS IT APPARENTLY QUITE
EFFORTLESSLY, CREATE ALL THE
KIND OF COMPLEXITY THAT
WE SEE.
SO I THOUGHT, 25 YEARS AGO
WHEN I STARTED REALLY THINKING
SERIOUSLY ABOUT THIS KIND OF
THING, THAT WITH ALL OF THE
FANCY PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS
AND SO ON THAT I KNEW, THAT
THIS KIND OF BASIC MYSTERY
OF SCIENCE WILL BE EASIER
TO CRACK.
WHAT I REALIZED WAS THIS:
THAT IF WE ARE TO HAVE ANY
THEORY OF THIS KIND OF THING,
IT HAS TO BE THE CASE
THAT NATURE FOLLOWS SOME KIND
OF DEFINITE RULES.
BUT THE ISSUE IS, HAVE THE
RULES THAT WE HAVE LEARNED
FROM SORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF MATHEMATICS AND SO ON,
ARE THOSE THE RULES THAT NATURE
IS REALLY USING?
OR IS NATURE USING SOME OTHER
KIND OF RULE?
WE HAVE TO SORT OF START
THINKING ABOUT WHAT ARE ALL
THE POSSIBLE RULES THAT NATURE
MIGHT CONCEIVABLY USE TO DO
WHAT IT DOES.
THEY MIGHT NOT HAPPEN TO BE
THE RULES THAT WE, AS HUMANS,
HAVE SET UP IN OUR MATHEMATICS
AND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
OUR SCIENCE.
IN MODERN TIMES, WE HAVE KIND
OF A GOOD FOUNDATION TO THINK
ABOUT ALL POSSIBLE RULES.
WE HAVE COMPUTERS AND COMPUTER
PROGRAMS AND WE CAN KIND OF
IMAGINE LOOKING AT SORT OF ALL
THE POSSIBLE PROGRAMS, EACH
ONE CORRESPONDING TO A
DIFFERENT RULE FOR HOW THINGS
GET MADE, AND WE CAN ASK THE
QUESTION, IN THE SPACE OF ALL
POSSIBLE COMPUTER PROGRAMS,
WHAT IS OUT THERE AND HOW DOES
IT COMPARE WITH WHAT WE SEE
IN NATURE?
MY FIRST ASSUMPTION WAS THAT,
WHEN THE PROGRAMS I WAS
LOOKING AT WERE SIMPLE, THEN
THEIR BEHAVIOR WOULD SOMEHOW
BE CORRESPONDING WITH SIMPLE.
IF I'M WANTING TO MAKE
SOMETHING COMPLICATED, THAT IT
WOULD NECESSARILY BE THE CASE
THAT ONE HAD TO SORT OF PUT
SOMETHING COMPLICATED IN.
ONE COULDN'T GET COMPLEXITY
OUT WITH NOTHING PUT IN.
SO I WAS FAIRLY AMAZED WHEN
I ACTUALLY DID THE EXPERIMENT
AND FOUND THAT SOME OF THE
PROGRAMS I LOOKED AT WERE VERY
SIMPLE, BUT YOU SUDDENLY SEE
A SITUATION WHERE YOU CAN START
OFF FROM VERY SIMPLE RULE THAT
YOU CAN SPECIFY AND JUST A FEW
BITS OF INFORMATION AND
SUDDENLY YOU SEE THAT OUT OF
THIS VERY SIMPLE RULE, VERY
SIMPLE STARTING CONDITION,
YOU GET THIS PATTERN OF GREAT
COMPLEXITY.
IT'S THE SINGLE MOST
REMARKABLE THING THAT I HAVE
EVER SEEN.
THE THING THAT I FOUND MOST
REMARKABLE IS THAT FROM SORT
OF SAMPLING OUT IN THE
COMPUTATIONAL UNIVERSE, ONE
SEES THIS GREAT DIVERSITY OF
BEHAVIOR, SOME SIMPLE, SOME
VERY COMPLEX AND WHAT I FOUND
REMARKABLE IS THAT THIS SEEMS
TO MIRROR VERY WELL WHAT WE
SEE IN NATURE.
WHEN WE, AS HUMANS,
DO KIND OF ENGINEERING.
WE TEND TO OPERATE UNDER
THE CONSTRAINT THAT WE HAVE
TO READILY FORESEE WHAT THE
CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT WE BUILD,
WILL BE.
>VERY GOOD POINT.
>>BUT, NATURE OPERATES UNDER
NO SUCH CONSTRAINTS,
SO IT GETS TO KIND OF SAMPLE,
MUCH MORE ARBITRARILY,
THE POSSIBLE RULES.
IT ACTUALLY ISN'T AS DIFFICULT
AS WE MIGHT IMAGINE,
FOR NATURE TO MAKE ALL THIS
COMPLEXITY.
IT IS ACTUALLY THE MOST
"QUOTE" NATURAL THING TO HAVE
HAPPEN, BECAUSE IN THE
UNIVERSE OF ALL POSSIBLE RULES
THAT NATURE MIGHT BE USING TO
MAKE THINGS, A LARGE NUMBER OF
THEM WILL SORT OF IMMEDIATELY
PRODUCE COMPLEXITY.
THE ONLY REASON THAT THIS
SEEMS PECULIAR TO US,
IS THAT WE AS HUMANS AND
THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE
TYPICALLY BEEN ENGAGED IN,
HAVE SORT OF RESTRICTED
OURSELVES TO DEALING ONLY WITH
THOSE KINDS OF RULES WHERE WE
CAN IMMEDIATELY FORESEE THE
CONSEQUENCES OF THE RULES AND
WHERE, ALMOST BY DEFINITION,
THE RULES HAVE TO BE SIMPLE.
THE RULES HAVE TO PRODUCE
THINGS THAT ARE SORT OF SIMPLE
ENOUGH FOR US TO BE ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY DO.
SO IN A SENSE, THE ANSWER
TO THE QUESTION OF WHERE DOES
THE COMPLEXITY OF NATURE COME
FROM, IS NATURE IS SAMPLING
THE POSSIBLE RULES
AND THE COMPUTATIONAL UNIVERSE
AND THE FAIR FRACTION HAVE
THIS FEATURE THAT THEY PRODUCE
COMPLEXITY, EVEN FROM VERY
SIMPLE UNDERLYING RULES.
>STEPHEN OFFERS A NEW KIND
OF SCIENCE, ONE BASED ON SIMPLE
COMPUTATIONAL RULES, WHICH
WHEN NATURE BLINDLY SAMPLES
AND USES THEM IN BUILDING OUR
UNIVERSE, RESULTS IN GREAT
COMPLEXITY.
BUT WHY SHOULD NATURE WORK
THIS WAY.
WHY SHOULD RANDOM RULES BE
THE HIDDEN KEY?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE DEEP
ESSENCE OF REALITY, SUCH THAT
SIMPLE RULES PRODUCE COMPLEX
THINGS?
SOME SCIENTISTS NOW SAY THAT
THERE IS A REASON AND
THE REASON IS FUNDAMENTAL.
THE UNIVERSE AT IT'S CORE,
IS INFORMATION.
PURE INFORMATION.
I HEAD ACROSS TOWN TO MIT,
TO MEET A LEADER IN QUANTUM
COMPUTING, SETH LLOYD.
SETH SEES THE FOUNDATIONS
OF REALITY AS INFORMATION.
HE TAKES THIS SERIOUSLY,
BUT HAPPILY, NOT HIMSELF.
SETH, YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT,
THAT A COMPUTATIONAL UNIVERSE,
NECESSARILY ENGENDERS
COMPLEXITY.
NECESSARILY?
>>SURE, IT'S A MATHEMATICAL
THEOREM.
NECESSARILY DOES.
BUT OF COURSE IT IS
MYSTERIOUS, RIGHT?
IT IS VERY MYSTERIOUS WHY
THE UNIVERSE COULD START OUT
TO BE SO SIMPLE.
SIMPLE LAWS, SIMPLE
CONDITIONS, THINGS
EVOLVE FOR A FEW
BILLION YEARS AND PHOOEY!
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE HECK
HAPPENED?
RIGHT?
IT'S AMAZING.
SO I CLAIM THAT YOU CAN
ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THIS
PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD
FASHION AND THE SECRET TO WHY
COMPLEXITY WISE, COMES FROM
THE FACT THAT AT BOTTOM,
THE UNIVERSE IS COMPUTING.
>YOU WERE REALLY SAYING THAT
LIFE ITSELF WAS ACTUALLY
NECESSARY?
THAT IT WAS BUILT INTO THE
LAWS THAT CREATED COMPLEXITY?
>>YOUR DNA AND MY DNA COULDN'T
HAVE BEEN BUILT INTO THAT
INITIAL MOMENT, ROBERT,
BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH
INFORMATION AROUND.
WHAT IS BUILT INTO THE
UNIVERSE IS -- IF YOU LIKE,
THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE COMPLEX
THINGS, SOMEWHERE DOWN THE
ROAD.
WHY IS IT THAT WE GET THINGS
LIKE LIFE FROM A VERY SIMPLE
COMPUTATION THAT IS TAKING
PLACE AT THE LEVEL OF
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES.
WELL, THERE IS A SIMPLE REASON
FOR THAT TOO, WHICH IS, THAT
COMPUTATIONS NECESSARILY GIVE
RISE TO MORE COMPLEX
COMPUTATIONS.
IF I TAKE SOMETHING LIKE --
JUST A BUNCH OF ELEMENTARY
PARTICLES BANGING OFF OF EACH
OTHER, AS LONG AS THEY ARE
CAPABLE OF WHAT IS CALLED
"UNIVERSAL COMPUTATION", WHICH
JUST MEANS PERFORMING VERY
SIMPLE, LOGICAL OPERATIONS,
BIT FLIPS, NOW PROGRAM THEM
AT RANDOM.
JUST GIVE THEM A RANDOM
PROGRAM.
>RANDOM?
>>RANDOM.
THIS IS THE KEY TO THIS.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE AN ACCOUNT
FOR WHERE THIS INFORMATION
COMES FROM.
THE ANSWER IS, IT COMES FROM
LITTLE QUANTUM FLUCTUATIONS.
FROM QUANTUM RANDOMNESS.
WHY IS OUR GALAXY HERE RATHER
THAN 100 MILLION LIGHT YEARS
OFF IN THAT DIRECTION.
WELL, IT'S HERE BECAUSE WAY
BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
UNIVERSE, THERE WAS A LITTLE
TINY, TINY, TINY QUANTUM
FLUCTUATION THAT SAID THE
ENERGY WAS JUST A LITTLE,
LITTLE BIT BIGGER HERE THAN
IT WAS OVER THERE.
WELL, AND BECAUSE GRAVITY
HAS THIS FUNNY FEATURE THAT,
IF THERE IS A LITTLE TINY BIT
EXTRA ENERGY, SOMETHING WILL
START TO CLUMP AROUND IT.
>GIVE IT ENOUGH TIME.
>>RIGHT, SO IT STARTED TO
CLUMP, THEN THE ENERGY DENSITY
GOT BIGGER, GOT EVEN CLUMPIER,
CLUMPIER, AND THE PROCESS
ACCELERATES AND PRETTY SOON
YOU HAVE A GALAXY, THE GALAXY
FORMED HERE AND NOT THERE
BECAUSE THERE IS THIS LITTLE
QUANTUM BIT THAT GOT INJECTED.
SO WE ARE INJECTING RANDOMNESS
INTO THE UNIVERSE AT ALL
POINTS -- THAT IS WHERE ALL
INFORMATION COMES FROM.
IT'S ORIGIN IS IN THESE LITTLE
QUANTUM FLUCTUATIONS.
SO WHY DO THAT NECESSARILY
PRODUCE COMPLEX BEHAVIOR?
WELL, THERE IS AN OLD,
AND WRONG, EXPLANATION OF
COMPLEXITY THAT SAYS IT'S
JUST RANDOMNESS.
SO I DID A LITTLE CALCULATION,
IMAGINING -- SUPPOSE EVERY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLE IN THE
WHOLE UNIVERSE IS A MONKEY
THAT HAS BEEN TYPING AS FAST
AS THE LAWS OF PHYSICS ALLOW
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME,
13.7 BILLION YEARS AGO, RIGHT?
HOW MUCH OF HAMLET'S
SOLILOQUY, COULD BE WRITTEN UP
THERE IN THE COSMIC BLACK BODY
RADIATION?
>AND THE ANSWER IS?
>>"TO BE OR NOT TO BE,
THAT IS THE --" THAT IS ABOUT --
>THAT'S IT.
>>YEAH, THEY WOULD ONLY GET
ABOUT 50 LETTERS THERE.
SO THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT
EXPLANATION.
IT CAN'T JUST BE THAT
RANDOMNESS IS JUST BEING
INJECTED AND WE JUST ARRIVED
AT RANDOM.
WE WOULD ONLY GET
GOBBLEDYGOOK.
BUT NOW, SUPPOSE, THAT THESE
MONKEYS, INSTEAD OF TYPING
INTO A TYPEWRITER, ARE TYPING
INTO A COMPUTER.
AND THE COMPUTER IS TAKING
THIS GOBBLEDYGOOK THE MONKEYS
TYPE, THESE RANDOM BITS OF
INFORMATION AND IT INTERPRETS
THEM.
IT INTERPRETS THESE BITS
AS INSTRUCTIONS - DO THIS,
DO THAT, DO SOMETHING ELSE.
WELL, AT FIRST THAT MIGHT SEEM
-- GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT --
THE SAME SITUATION.
BUT IN FACT, IT'S NOT SO.
THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL AND
ELEGANT BRANCH OF MATHEMATICS
CALLED ALGORITHMIC INFORMATION
THEORY, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY
THE THEORY OF WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN MONKEYS TYPE AT THE
COMPUTERS.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO GET
OUT OF IT?
AND THE ANSWER, PERHAPS
SURPRISINGLY IS, YOU EXPECT
TO GET OUT ALL SORTS OF
INTERESTING AND COMPLEX
THINGS.
NOW WHY IS THAT?
IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY
SIMPLE, SHORT, RANDOM LOOKING
COMPUTER PROGRAMS.
THERE IS A SHORT PROGRAM THAT
WILL CAUSE A COMPUTER, SAY,
TO PRINT OUT ALL THE DIGITS
OF PI.
OR A PROGRAM THAT WILL TELL
THE COMPUTER, CREATE CHEMISTRY
AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU
COMBINE DIFFERENT MOLECULES
TOGETHER.
AND THEN THERE IS ANOTHER
PROGRAM THAT SAYS, EXPLORE
ALL POSSIBLE, COMPUTABLE
MATHEMATICAL STRUCTURES
IN THE WORLD.
THOSE PROGRAMS ARE SHORT AND
IF YOU TAKE A COMPUTER AND
YOU PROGRAM IT AT RANDOM, YOU
EXPECT IT TO HIM UPON ONE OF
THESE PROGRAMS HERE AND THERE.
SO OUR UNIVERSE IS BEING
PROGRAMMED BY THESE LITTLE
QUANTUM FLUCTUATIONS.
BITS ARE BEING INJECTED,
DIFFERENT BITS ARE BEING
INJECTED IN DIFFERENT PLACES
AND SOMEWHERE, SOME PLACE,
SOME TIME, YOU EXPECT
INTERESTING STUFF TO START
TO HAPPEN.
LITTLE COMBINATIONS OF
CHEMICALS WILL START
REPRODUCING THEMSELVES.
PUT THEMSELVES INSIDE A
VESICLE AND BECOME A SIMPLE
CELL.
CELLS WILL BAN TOGETHER TO
FORM THINGS LIKE ANIMALS,
RIGHT?
ANIMALS WILL START TO HAVE SEX
AND REPRODUCE LIKE MAD AND
EVENTUALLY YOU HAVE BUNNY
RABBITS AND HUMAN BEINGS AND
THEN HUMAN BEINGS WILL CREATE
COMPUTERS AND SOCIETIES.
THOSE KINDS OF THINGS
NECESSARILY HAPPEN BECAUSE
THE UNIVERSE IS COMPUTING.
>SETH ENVISIONS THE ENTIRE
UNIVERSE AS A GIGANTIC
COMPUTER WITH QUANTUM
FLUCTUATIONS WHICH OCCUR
RANDOMLY, INJECTED AS RANDOM
COMPUTER PROGRAMS.
AND WHICHEVER RANDOM COMPUTER
PROGRAMS GENERATED GREATER
COMPLEXITY, HAD GREATER
INFLUENCE ON WHAT FORMED
OR HAPPENED NEXT.
TO MAKE IT WORK, THE CALDRON
OF COMPLEXITY HAD TO BE THE
VERY EARLY UNIVERSE BECAUSE
THAT IS WHERE QUANTUM
FLUCTUATIONS HAD MAJOR IMPACT.
AND THAT IS WHY I SPEAK WITH
PHYSICIST LEE SMOLIN,
WHO SPECIALIZES IN QUANTUM
GRAVITY, THE KEY TO THE VERY
EARLY UNIVERSE.
LEE, WE KNOW THAT THE EARLY
UNIVERSE WAS INCREDIBLY
HOMOGENEOUS.
TODAY, WE SEE ENORMOUS
COMPLEXITY.
HOW CAN THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
TAKE US FROM SUCH HOMOGENEOUS
HOT GAS TO TODAY, WHERE THERE
IS SUCH VARIETY?
>>PART OF THE ANSWER IS
GRAVITY, THAT GRAVITY BY BEING
ONLY ATTRACTIVE, LEADS TO
THE FORMATION OF STRUCTURE,
LEADS TO INHOMOGENEITIES.
ONE OF THE BASIC QUESTIONS IN
COSMOLOGY AND PHYSICS IS,
WHY DOES THE WORLD ALLOW
COMPLEXITY?
EVEN WITH THE ACTION OF
GRAVITY, IF THE INITIAL
CONDITIONS WERE SOMEWHAT
DIFFERENT, IF THE EXPANSION
WAS MUCH FASTER, IF THE
COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT WAS MUCH
LARGER, THEN THERE WOULD NEVER
BE TIME FOR THIS CLUMPING
TO OCCUR.
THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANY
COMPLEX SYSTEMS AND I DON'T
MEAN THIS IN ANY MYSTICAL
WAY OR MAGICAL WAY.
I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING
ANOMALOUS ABOUT THE VIEWPOINT
OF PHYSICS, ALWAYS LOOKING FOR
THE SIMPLER AND SIMPLER AND
SIMPLER AND MEANWHILE THE REST
OF SCIENCE IS DISCOVERING
WISDOM AND PATTERNS IN
THE COMPLEX.
AND MY SUSPICION COMES
IN WHEN YOU START TO ASK,
WHY THESE LAWS?
> SO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING,
THEN IS THAT MAYBE WE NEED
THE COMPLEXITY AT THE MOST
FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL IN ORDER TO
GENERATE THE COMPLEXITIES THAT
WE SEE IN THE MODERN WORLD?
>>YES.
AND HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN?
WELL, HOW DOES IT HAPPEN
IN BIOLOGY?
WELL IT HAPPENS IN BIOLOGY
BECAUSE THERE IS A BOTTLENECK.
ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND
THE COMPLEXITY OF BIOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS GOES THROUGH SINGLE
CELLS IN THE PROCESS OF SEXUAL
REPRODUCTION.
SO THERE IS A BOTTLENECK FROM
THE VERY LARGE INTO THE DNA,
INTO THE VERY SMALL.
>THE GENERAL CONCEPT THOUGH,
AT EACH LEVEL, THERE IS SOME
KIND OF EMERGENT PROPERTIES
AND THOSE WOULD BE,
IN PRINCIPLE, NOT DISCERNABLE
FROM FUNDAMENTALS, BUT AT
LEAST THE PREVAILING WISDOM IS
THAT, AT THE SIMPLEST LEVEL IN
PHYSICS, YOU NEED TO BE MORE
AND MORE SIMPLE.
AS OPPOSED TO COMPLEX.
>>SO MY SENSE IS THAT THE
MISTAKE IS, WHY THERE IS A
MYSTERY, IS THERE IS NO
COUPLING BETWEEN THE VERY
FUNDAMENTAL, WHICH WE THINK
OF AS THE VERY TINY
AND THE MICROSCOPIC.
NOW, IN BIOLOGY --
>NOW, HOW DO YOU GET THAT?
>>I THINK YOU GET IT FROM
INTRODUCING SOMETHING LIKE
BIOLOGY, INTO THE HISTORY
OF COSMOLOGY.
>WHICH SOUNDS BACKWARD IN
TIME, BECAUSE BIOLOGY DIDN'T
COME UNTIL BILLIONS OF YEARS
AFTER THE COSMOLOGY.
>>I DON'T MEAN SOMETHING THIS --
>YOU MEAN THE PRINCIPLES
OF BIOLOGY.
>>YEAH SURE, I DON'T MEAN
SOMETHING MYSTICAL ABOUT
THAT UNIVERSE IS ALIVE AND
LET'S ALL DANCE, I MEAN,
I MEAN THE WAY IN WHICH BIOLOGY
WORKS IS YOU GET A CAUSAL
COUPLING BETWEEN THE
PROPERTIES THAT ARE VERY
SMALL, THAT IS THE COMPLEXITY
OF PARTICULAR MOLECULES, DNA
MOLECULES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
FOR PHYLOGENY FOR THE
MACROSCOPIC.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IN THE
HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, THERE
MUST BE EVENTS WHICH COUPLED
THE LARGE SCALE CONSEQUENCES
OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS, TO
SOMEHOW THE SELECTION OF THE
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS.
>THAT'S FASCINATING, WHAT
WOULD THAT TELL YOU THAT THE
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY,
ARE SIMILAR TO THE BASIC
PRINCIPLES THAT PHYSICS
HAS USED IN COSMOLOGY?
THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE
A COINCIDENCE.
>>I DON'T THINK THAT IS A
COINCIDENCE AND I THINK WE ARE
IN THE MIDST OF TWO
SIMULTANEOUS SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTIONS.
THE ONE THAT CAME FROM
EINSTEIN AND THE ONE THAT CAME
FROM DARWIN.
AND I THINK THAT THERE IS
A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
EINSTEINIUM REVOLUTION AND
THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION,
WHICH IS YET TO BE REALIZED.
BUT IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN
SEE TO ANSWER THE CONUNDRUMS
OF WHY THESE LAWS ARE NOT
OTHER LAWS, THE FINE TUNING
PROBLEMS, AND SO ON.
>THAT IS REALLY RADICAL, LEE.
SOME DEEP STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLE
IN THE COSMOS THAT IMPELS BOTH
ASTRONOMY AND BIOLOGY.
LEE OFFERS THAT SELECTION
PRINCIPLES, WORKING IN PHYSICS
FAVORS CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL
LAWS, JUST LIKE DARWINIAN
SELECTION WORKING IN EVOLUTION
FAVORS CERTAIN KINDS OF
SPECIES.
BUT BIOLOGY ITSELF IS
A PUZZLE.
IN OUR WORLD, THINGS BECOME
MORE RANDOM.
GASES INTERMIX, SCRAMBLED EGGS
DO NOT REASSEMBLE THEMSELVES
INTO WHOLE EGGS.
HOW THEN DO ORGANISMS
BECOME MORE COMPLEX?
I GO TO THE NATIONAL
INSTITUTES OF HEALTH,
TO MEET ITS DIRECTOR,
BIOLOGIST FRANCIS COLLINS.
FRANCIS, IT SEEMS BAFFLING
TO START WITH THIS HOMOGENOUS
MURKY SOUP OF THE EARLY
UNIVERSE AFTER THE BIG BANG
AND FAST FORWARD 13.7 BILLION
YEARS TO TODAY.
WHERE DOES COMPLEXITY COME
FROM, FROM SUCH SIMPLICITY?
>>ENERGY, SEEMS TO ME IS THE
ANSWER, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE
SOMETHING THAT IS NOT COMPLEX
AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING
COMPLEX, WELL WHAT DOES
THAT USUALLY REQUIRE?
ENERGY OF SOME SORT.
MY FIELD OF BIOLOGY CERTAINLY
IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF GOING
FROM WHAT WE ASSUME WAS VERY
LIMITED COMPLEXITY, 3.85
BILLION YEARS AGO, WHICH IS
WHEN THE FIRST LIFE FORMS
APPARENTLY APPEARED OVER THE
COURSE OF THAT LONG PERIOD
OF TIME.
ENORMOUS DIVERSITY AND
COMPLEXITY COMING INTO BEING
IN TERMS OF LIFE FORMS THAT
WE SEE AROUND US TODAY.
WE THROW INTO THIS THE ENERGY
OF THE SUN AND YOU THROW INTO
THIS LONG PERIODS OF TIME FOR
RANDOM CHANGES TO BE SELECTED
FOR IF THEY ACTUAL PROVIDE A
BENEFIT TO THAT PARTICULAR
ORGANISM, THEN YOU CAN GET ALL
THE WAY TO US AT LEAST IN
MECHANICAL TERMS, ALTHOUGH
I WILL ARGUE THAT THERE IS
SOMETHING MISSING IF THAT IS
ALL THAT YOU LIMIT YOURSELF
TO.
SO I DON'T ACTUALLY SEE FROM
A BIOLOGIST'S PERSPECTIVE, THAT
THE COMPLEXITY PROBLEM IS
THAT BIG OF A PROBLEM.
ONCE YOU REALIZE A DARWIN'S
AMAZING FLASH OF GENIUS,
THEN COMPLEXITY WAS ALMOST
GUARANTEED BECAUSE COMPLEX
ORGANISMS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE
A GREATER ABILITY TO CONTROL
THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND
THEREFORE TO REPRODUCE
AND SURVIVE AND DISTRIBUTE
THEMSELVES.
>DO YOU SEE THIS IN ANY WAY
AS INDICATING SOME PRE-ARRANGED
PURPOSE?
>>FOR ME AS A BELIEVER, THIS
IS ALL VERY CONSISTENT WITH
A PREARRANGED PURPOSE --
THAT GOD USED THIS MECHANISM
TO ULTIMATELY BRING INTO BEING
COMPLEX CREATURES THAT WOULD
HAVE INTELLIGENCE AND A MIND
AND FREE WILL AND THE ABILITY
TO UNDERSTAND RIGHT AND WRONG
AND TO SEEK AFTER FELLOWSHIP
WITH HIM.
IT WOULD PRETTY HARD TO
IMAGINE THAT HAPPENING WITH
A MURKY SOUP OF PARTICLES, BUT
IT CERTAINLY COULD HAPPEN WITH
CREATURES LIKE OURSELVES.
SO YES, FOR ME I DEFINITELY
SEE A PURPOSE, BUT I DON'T SEE
THAT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS HAD
TO BE VIOLATED IN ORDER FOR
THAT PURPOSE TO BE ACHIEVED
ONCE THE UNIVERSE GOT GOING.
>TO FRANCIS, BIOLOGICAL
EVOLUTION, LEVERAGING RANDOM
MUTATIONS AND EMPOWERED BY
ENERGY FROM THE SUN, ENGENDERS
BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY.
BUT NEITHER CAN EXPLAIN
THE COMPLEXITY OF THE COSMOS
EMERGING FROM THE EARLY
UNIVERSE.
I AM ALL FOR DEEP STRUCTURAL
PRINCIPLES, TYING THE THREADS
OF WORLD INTO FINE COSMIC
FABRIC, BUT NOT IF THEY ARE
ARTIFICIALLY WOVEN TOGETHER.
THE QUESTION OF COMPLEXITY
FROM SIMPLICITY MUST BE
UNDERSTOOD ON ITS OWN TERMS.
SO I GO BACK TO BOSTON AND ASK
NOBEL LAUREATE FRANK WILCZEK
TO TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT THE
FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF
COMPLEXITY.
>>I THINK THERE ARE THREE
FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF ALL
THE COMPLEXITY WE OBSERVE IN
THE UNIVERSE.
ONE IS THAT EVEN SIMPLE
EQUATIONS AND SPECIFICALLY
THE EQUATIONS THAT WE BELIEVE
GOVERN FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS
AND COSMOLOGY, CAN HAVE VERY
COMPLEX SOLUTIONS AND THE
SOLUTIONS CAN BE VERY
SENSITIVELY DEPENDANT ON THE
PRECISE INITIAL CONDITION.
SECONDLY, IS THE FACT THAT THE
WORLD IS GOVERNED BY QUANTUM
MECHANICS, AND THAT GIVES
UNCERTAINTY THAT THE
SENSITIVITY TO INITIAL
CONDITIONS CAN WORK ON.
AND IT ALSO MAKES THE WORLD
ENORMOUSLY LARGE, BASED ON
WAVE FUNCTIONS RATHER THAN
PARTICULAR OBJECTS IN SPACE,
WHICH MEANS THAT EVEN IF THE
EQUATIONS OF THE WHOLE ARE
SIMPLE -- THE WHOLE WAVE
FUNCTION, YOU ONLY GET TO SEE
PART OF IT AND THAT CAN LEAD
TO A PARENT COMPLEXITY.
AND THEN FINALLY,
GENERALIZATION OF THAT
OBSERVATION IS THAT MANY OF
THE PREDICTIONS THAT YOU CAN
EASILY MAKE FROM THE
FUNDAMENTAL EQUATIONS REGARD
AVERAGE PROPERTIES OR
STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF
EVERYTHING.
LARGE REGIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
OR MANY, MANY SOLAR SYSTEMS OR
MANY, MANY GALAXIES.
BUT IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT ONLY
ONE PARTICULAR SOLAR SYSTEM,
IT HAS IT'S OWN QUIRKS.
ALL THESE THINGS WORK
TOGETHER, SO FOR INSTANCE,
QUANTUM MECHANICS GIVES YOU
FLUCTUATIONS, A LEVEL OF
UNCERTAINLY AND SO IF YOUR
EQUATIONS ARE VERY SENSITIVE
TO FLUCTUATIONS -- THEY WILL
AMPLIFY THE LITTLE QUANTUM
MECHANICAL FLUCTUATIONS INTO
MACROSCOPIC CONSEQUENCES.
AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, ALL THE
COMPLEXITY IN THE WORLD CAN BE
TRACED TO THESE THREE CAUSES.
QUANTUM MECHANICS, SENSITIVITY
TO INITIAL CONDITIONS AND
PARTIAL VIEW.
>SO IN GENERATING SOMETHING
LIKE THIS EARTH, HOW WOULD YOU
USE ALL THREE OF THESE TO
LINEARLY GO FROM SOMETING
SIMPLE TO SOMETHING COMPLEX?
>>OKAY, SO WE START WITH THE
EARLY UNIVERSE, WHICH IS
QUANTUM MECHANICAL, SO IT HAS
LITTLE FLUCTUATIONS TO BEGIN
WITH.
THOSE GET SPREAD OUT PERHAPS
BY INFLATION TO THEIR SCALES,
THEN THEY GET AMPLIFIED BY
GRAVITY AND THEN FORM
INSTABILITIES, SO THINGS
FRAGMENT INTO LITTLE PIECES.
THE PIECES HAVE SIMPLE,
STATISTICAL PROPERTIES SO THE
ENSEMBLE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN
PREDICT.
IT'S AVERAGE PROPERTIES.
BUT EACH PARTICULAR
REALIZATION CAN BE VERY
COMPLICATED SO THAT IS HOW
THE THREE WORK TOGETHER.
>TAKE TWO SNAPSHOTS OF
REALITY.
PHOTO ONE: THE SIMPLE HOT SOUP
OF THE BIG BANG.
PHOTO TWO: THE VAST DIVERSITY
OF OUR EARTH TODAY.
HOW RADICALLY ASTONISHINGLY
DIFFERENT.
HOW, FROM SUCH SIMPLICITY
COULD SUCH COMPLEXITY HAVE
COME ABOUT?
TWO KINDS OF MECHANISMS.
IN THE FIRST, IN THE VERY
EARLY UNIVERSE, WHEN THE
ENTIRE COSMOS WAS FAR SMALLER
THAN ONE PROTON, QUANTUM
MECHANICS GENERATED RANDOM
FLUCTUATIONS AND THOSE RANDOM
FLUCTUATIONS, ALTHOUGH
VANISHINGLY SMALL, BECAME THE
SEEDS OF DIVERSITY AS GRAVITY
WORKED IT'S METHODICAL MAGIC
OVER BILLIONS OF YEARS.
IN THE SECOND, REALITY IS
INFORMATION AND THE UNIVERSE
IS A COMPUTER, SUCH THAT
QUANTUM MECHANICS GENERATES
RANDOM RULES, SOME OF WHICH
SURPRISINGLY BUILD UP
ASTOUNDING COMPLEXITIES.
GRAVITY AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
ARE SURELY INVOLVED.
BUT WHETHER REALITY IS
INFORMATION AND RULES
PREDOMINATE IS MORE
SPECULATIVE.
THIS IS NO INTERNET GAME ,
I REMIND MYSELF.
THIS IS REALITY.
I SIT BY MYSELF AND I CHILL
WITH AWE AS I WONDER,
WHAT IS CLOSER TO TRUTH?
