Show Summary
On this episode, astrophysicist Sandra Faber joins Nate for a wideview cosmological conversation on the development of the known-universe and the moral implications for humanity’s role within it. We are the first generation with the ability to truly understand the history of the universe and the extreme bottlenecks that Earth and life as we know it had to endure over the last billions of years. This understanding of where we come from gives us insight into who we are – and could perhaps give purpose to those searching for meaning in the vast universe. From the Big Bang on, how did the necessary conditions come together to create the environment so many of us take for granted today? How do the laws of physics restrict everything that has ever happened in the universe – and everything that ever will? Could a deeper understanding of the cosmos shift our culture towards one that values human’s survival into deep time – and incentivize biophysically and ecologically aligned systems?
About Sandra Faber
Sandra Faber is an American astrophysicist known for her research on the evolution of galaxies. She is the University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works at the Lick Observatory. She has made discoveries linking the brightness of galaxies to the speed of stars within them and was the co-discoverer of the Faber–Jackson relation. Faber was also instrumental in designing the Keck telescopes in Hawaii. At UCSC she focuses her research on the evolution of structure in the universe and the evolution and formation of galaxies. In addition to this, she led the development of the DEIMOS instrument on the Keck telescopes to obtain spectra of cosmologically distant galaxies. On August 1, 2012 she became the Interim Director of the University of California Observatories.
Show Notes & Links to Learn More
Download transcript00:00 – Sandra Faber works + info
03:42 – Reliable history of the Universe
04:10 – The Big Bang
04:23 – Kelvins
06:54 – Power Law, Hierarchical Gathering
10:15 – Where elements came from
15:54 – The Laws of Physics
16:45 – Evolutionary Psychology
18:35 – Current knowledge of Earth like planets
19:06 – Current understanding of the extent of the universe
22:01 – Critical components for an Earth-like planet
24:24 – Supernovae
25:24 – Fermi Paradox, Enrico Fermi
26:55 – Cambrian Explosion of Life
28:45 – Unique oxygen atmosphere of Earth and ability to burn things
30:53 – Sombrero Galaxy
31:41 – John Cusack, Cassiopeia
33:21 – Don’t Look Up
34:15 – Finite lifetime of the sun and ability of life to survive on Earth
36:53 – Steven Weinberg
38:18 – Highest existential risks for life on Earth
41:05 – Optimal Foraging
45:15 – Animism
45:32 – Entropy
55:35 – Increasing heat death
56:44 – 10% of all human that ever lived are alive right now
57:50 – Homo Floresiensis
58:07 – Human domestication
59:35 – Advance Policy
1:00:21 – Exponential Growth
1:02:15 – Planetary limits
1:05:05 – 240 million humans in college globally
1:06:27 – Earth Futures Institute (UC Santa Cruz)
1:11:55 – Regenerative Agriculture
1:15:02 – State of mental health in the U.S.
1:19:26 – The Wall Street Journal
1:20:04 – Cognitive Dissonance
