“As you embark on the next stage of life’s great challenge, remember that, unique on this planet, human beings carry the spark of rationality,” theoretical physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies told the undergraduates at Chapman University during his commencement address. “Somehow the universe has engineereed, not just its own awareness, but its own comprehension. Not only is your body literally made of stardust cooked in the nuclear furnaces of a bygone stellar generation; your brains are wired to make sense of it. … Your great asset, then, is your mind, and its extraordinary ability to comprehend the world and to be creative. Please don’t take it for granted!”
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Paul Davies Tells Graduates to Value the Mind
Posted by Heather Wax at 7:21 AM
Labels: On the Record
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The Chapman University Commencement program included in his bio a partial list of his books along with this quote: "He is currently championing the theory that Earth may host a shadow biosphere of alternative life forms. This theory holds that these "shadow" life forms have a biochemistry so different from our own that we are not able to perceive them using conventional methods which are designed to detect life as we know it." This is a man who truly thinks outside the box. I look forward to reading his books.
This is what I, personally, wonder: I know of no other animal that can remember the past and anticipate/envision the future like we can. But maybe they do. Maybe they just do it in ways we cannot measure. Do we, in our limited perceptions, with all of our equipment (designed based on our perceptions and to benefit US) really perceive the big picture? I don't think we do, but people like Dr. Davies are challenging us to think outside the box.
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