The Grand Scheme of Things

In the first episode I introduce you this series of podcasts by explaining what Science is and how to distinguish it from other ways of understanding the world. I talk about whether the universe obeys natural laws, and discuss whether anything happens in nature that is not caused including chance, complexity, chaos, the butterfly effect and the weirdness of quantum physics

In this episode I will tell you about how and why Science is organized into different Disciplines and how the knowledge of all the different Scientific disciplines is related  by the phenomenon of emergence. We will see why the whole is more than the sum of its parts and why the properties of an object can be different from the properties of the elements it is made from. After all, our minds are created by the interaction of nerve cells in your brain, and your brain and body and all lining matter emerged from the interaction of certain organic molecules on this earth about three and a half billion years ago. These molecules emerged from he interaction of atoms, which emerged from sub atomic particles, that emerged from something more mysterious, loops or strings that were created by the big bang 13.7 Billion years ago.

Is time real and universal, or is it just an illusion? Newton Vs. Einstein and other hot topics Including the Great Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Do we really have Freedom to choose? Here I look at the origins of the belief in Free Will and why It Just may be an illusion. 

What Science can say about Free Will

In this episode I describe the events that happened from the big bang to the advent of cells. Hear about how subatomic particles formed hydrogen atoms and how these atoms were transformed into the elements inside of stars. Find out how these elements became the molecules that learned how to replicate themselves, and how they eventually became living cells.

In this episode we examine not only how DNA can replicate itself, but how genes build bodies and run them. DNA is simply a long chain of molecules called nucleotides.These chains are a code for the construction of proteins that are ling chains of amino acids. A protein is a long chain of amino acids strung together in a specific order. These chains fold up into large molecules that can have many properties. They build our bodies and control our biochemistry. Genes control the proteins by determining which proteins are created, how many, when they are created, and where in the body they are created.Find out how lifeless molecules can make a living thing, like you.

In this episode I touch on the highlights of your development from a single celled organism to becoming a mammal including the invention of sex, becoming a multicelled organism, moving out of the ocean to wetlands then dry land, the invention of legs, and the displacement of the dinosaurs, with a brief stop to talk about extinction events. All with time for a little banjo break or two.

Here we trace the evolution of humans from mammals to modern humans. The discussion covers the extinction of the dinosaurs  and how mammals took over their environmental niches; the emergence of primates from the pro simians to monkeys, apes, chimpanzees,  and finally the hominids and hominins The discussion includes the discovery of Lucy and the fossilized footprints of A. afarensis,  Other archaic species of Homo are mentioned including habilis, ergaster, erectus, heidelbergensis, neanderthalis, the denisovans and floresnsis  and the recent discoveries of hominin remains  in a cave on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The evidence of interbreeding between many of these hominin species is discussed as well as speculation as to why we humans, Homo sapiens, are the only species of Homo remaining..

In this episode I begin to explore what makes us different from all other animals; how we developed language and abstract thought, art and creativity. We look at the sudden appearance of complex tools and sophisticated art 40 to 50 thousand years ago.

In this episode I discuss the history of tool making and artistic expression in hominin species over the last 2.5 million years which culminated in the Paleolithic Renaissance 50.000 years ago. I suggest that this advancement was a result of the development of modern language. I also talk about the Neanderthals, Agriculture and writing.

In this episode I talk about the age old battle between animals that want to eat plants and plants that don't want to be eaten. One of the defenses that plants use is to create toxins that poison the animals. This is why so many plants are a source of medicines and drugs that affect just about every physiological process in the body of animals. One of the defenses of animals is to rapidly detect a poisonous plant by the taste. They do this by a rapid and specialized form of conditioning called Conditioned Taste Aversion. This means that our animal ancestors will have been exposed to plant-based neurotoxins and alcohol for many millions of years. The consequences of this exposure are discussed and can explain why humans are vulnerable to drugs of abuse, and why this has only been a problem for the last 10,000 years. The availability of so many hallucinogenic and empathogenic drugs can explain why religions exist.