edge of science inspired by science
fiction daydreams an awareness of a
hypocrisy or connections between
seemingly random situations cut the
microorganisms in my guts communicate
with my sub-conscience could we gene
edit and bio evolve our species to
survive any apocalypse
what would a future historian from 2117
think about us today my heart stings
when dreaming inspires science fiction
which inspires research development and
technologies and eventually the
emergence of new science fact certainty
and ignorance seem like opposing sides
of a spectrum but they actually meet in
a circle on the end of certainty on any
topic lies a host of information to
which we remain ignorant the unknown
unknowns once we peek in and challenge
our fundamentals it kick-starts a
neverending spiraling pattern of new
ideas that grow exponentially
just like fractals fractal nature exists
in lightning bolts seashells snowflakes
even galaxies knowledge too is fractal
just like the universe our collective
understandings about its contents are
also expanding exponentially what I like
to call the fractal evolution of
intelligence Thomas Kuhn developed the
idea that we work within a scientific
paradigm a set of methods ideas and
facts that we take as a given when
evidence piles up that does not fit
within our story we dismiss it as
incorrect crazy spiritual or
historically as heresy it is only once
an alternative is proposed that we are
able to bounce into a new paradigm for
example Darwin’s proposal of evolution
was able to absorb evidence that was
being dismissed such as fossils dinosaur
bones and the general unlikelihood of a
6,000 year old earth we are living in
such a paradigm shift what I imagined a
future historian
call the information revolution with our
exponential stream of scientific
breakthroughs technologies and
mind-blowing new evidence neuroscience
figuring out that we may have no free
will
we’re learning that some trees
communicate through a fungus that
functions akin to a neural network we
have artificial limbs for control to our
brains we’re growing organs in the lab
on the cusp of artificial intelligence
consider what we knew a hundred years
ago from now and what we will know a
hundred years from now which is only a
tiny moment on the geological timescale
it makes me wonder about how many other
civilizations may have bursted into
comparable 100-year blasts my science
fiction visions of 2117 may spiral into
utopic dreams but grounded reality is
limited by our adjacent possible the set
of knowledge knowledge –is perceptions
and technologies available to us we
could theorize what life looked like at
the bottom of the Mariana Trench but it
was only once we developed autonomous
submarines and underwater cameras that
we were able to gather evidence and see
these magical creatures our adjacent
possible is now as wide as a star-filled
prairie sky we have more information in
our pockets than Einstein had access to
you in his entire lifetime we can go
online and learn nearly 50% of any skill
from world-class thinkers at the touch
of a button online for free regular
people like me can passively learn about
the cosmos from watching a handful of
documentaries on a Saturday afternoon
with today’s adjacent possible imagine
the sounds that Mozart could create with
a contemporary computer imagine what
salvador dali could produce with today’s
digital programs imagine what would come
out of a collaboration between Nikola
Tesla and Elon Musk and this is what we
are seeing today with our superhuman
geniuses DIY makers communication
systems artists virtual reality and
off-the-chart remixes certain questions
spark the fractal process for example
take the placebo effect once considered
the bane of medical science research and
development a problem to beat
what if we flip it what can we learn
about healing that utilizes our minds
our psychology our energy our breath our
stress hormones we have more connections
between the neural pathways in our
little wee brains than there are stars
in the known universe we are uncovering
how the billions of microscopic
creatures who live in and on our bodies
are integrated with our health our
emotions our thoughts our very existence
the foods we eat at least certain foods
are not just passive carriers of
calories and vitamins but it derived
from entangled webs of cells and micro
biomes of their own which get integrated
into ours which is a form of
reincarnation with our expanding
knowledge and our emerging technologies
it’s not out of the realm of possibility
that we could find evidence for other
dimensions of existence for intelligent
communication between animals for
consciousness emerging between bacterias
for energetic transference however the
outcome of this information revolution
is polarized on the one hand we see
ideological echo chambers emerging full
of absurd ideas false ideas circulate
virally around the internet spinning
with false reinforcement some of these
ideas become ingrained into academia
politics religion even some of our
leaders
ideally leading experts ideally our
checks and balances to guard against
false notions reject any criticisms of
their paradigm in the interim we are
seeing some proper growing pains
ideologies are like blinders that limit
the way we see the world for example it
was once thought that people could not
run faster than the four-minute mile
once we broke the seal the record was
broken continuously so every once in a
while I like to give my brain a little
truthiness shake and then laugh at my
mistakes on the other hand certain
obscure ideas turn into game changers
someone with a grandiose idea can pose
any question to the internet could fecal
transplants resolve autoimmune disorders
could we structure a massive breeding
program to restore bees to their ideal
population could we develop a bacteria
that could safely clean up bio waste we
can go online mobilize a team of experts
from around
the world a tech genius to develop a
program a tool a robot bio technician
that theoretical analyst add quantum
computer to computer aided information
to the mix and we can crowdsource the
funding we can mobilize a team of people
and crowdfunding becomes a new form of
democracy at a time when we are losing a
whole host of jobs to mechanization this
is also an excellent turn in our
shifting economy where we can develop
small networks of resource exchanges as
well as epic collective projects maybe
some affordable desalination plants
maybe internet-based voting systems
maybe an ethical way to have finger
monkeys as pets
collectively we have the brains skills
tools time and abundant resources so
with this incredible opportunity comes
responsibility knowledge is power and we
have reached a crux in our evolution of
intelligence we have enough military
power to destroy this planet several
times over and we have social systems
that give way too much power to very few
people chances are very high but no
matter what you believe your
grandchildren will think you are archaic
and this will most certainly not be our
last paradigm shift collectively we have
what it takes for this turn to be
exquisite with this mounting knowledge
it’s no longer hard to figure out how to
be a good person how to have integrity
how to treat our community with kindness
we are better off knowing the truth even
if it is inconvenient and we can find
social responses that involve kindness
respect and care social movements need
more science and science needs to be
open to questions on the edge of
ideology I love David Eagleman notion of
the possible
where any question can be asked and any
answer requires evidence-based
replicated results to the best of our
scientific ability with the recognition
that our science and technology is at
this stage far from perfect we are by
definition the epitome of evolution and
that our lives are the consequence of
3.8 billions of years of our ancestors
birthing our ancestors who eventually
through luck and evolutionary Fitness
birth to your great-grandmother
and eventually you emerged a woman who
is pregnant holes in our baby the egg
that could become her granddaughter
there are atoms in your body that were
once inside a dinosaur and the molecules
of water in your body have been recycled
for millions of years and will be
recycled for another few million a
future historian ten thousand years from
now will think of us the way we think of
Neanderthals as a beautiful ancient
species of human possibly defined by our
geological sediment layer of plastic so
what is that the edge of science its
imagination
so this talk goes out to all my fellow
dreamers in this exquisite moment in our
fractal evolution of intelligence
dream hard humble up humble down learn
to laugh hard at your mistakes and ask
questions at the edge of science or at
very least enjoy the ride thank you
[Applause]
[Music] [Applause]