OSHER 90 - Science and the Search for Reality

If you were the kind of kid that always asked "Why?", then this is your class. What is reality? Scientists have labeled their search for reality as the "Theory of Everything." Using physics and chemistry, the solution was straight forward until they encountered quantum theory, then things became uncertain. However, recent research (from the Nobel Prize in 2022, for example) has introduced a revolutionary idea for the ultimate blueprint of the universe from atoms to galaxies. We will study how this approach may also answer the question, "What is consciousness?" We will connect the very big and very small objects in the universe (including Big Bang, dark matter, and the Standard Model) with the latest theories of space and time (including quantum theory). These class sessions will establish an understanding of why science is so useful yet sometimes appears to cause insurmountable problems. After being confident about a perspective of reality, we will conclude by looking at how the future of science may affect our lives.