Evolutionary cosmologist Brian Swimme sat down with us this week to discuss the phenomenon of Déjà vu, the meaning of life, and the connection between the head and the heart.
Don’t miss our interview with Professor Swimme on consciousness, cultural evolution, and the noosphere.
1. What are you optimistic about?
The ability of Homo sapiens to reinvent ourselves. We’ve done it half a dozen times. Surely we can do it again.
2. What scientific topic are you interested in right now?
I have studied the mathematics of cosmic evolution forever, and now I’m wondering: Is there a way in which knowledge of the heart can enhance, or even add to, our knowledge of the head?
3. What’s a big question about the Universe that keeps you at night?
Is Déjà vu real?
4. What is your favorite beautiful explanation?
Ralph Waldo Emerson on life’s meaning: “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful.”
5. What are you reading right now?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s The Heart of Matter.