The Big & The Small -
searching: our quest for meaning in the age of science

Part 2, "The Big & The Small," dramatizes the fact that humans are almost exactly the same distance - in terms of "Powers of Ten" - between an atom and a star. But where do we fit in the moral universe? Alan speaks with the Dalai Lama, a rabbi and a bio-ethicist about the nature of consciousness, and the status of future Artificial Intelligences.

Duration: 56 minutes and 45 seconds

Episode Number: 102

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About Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science:

In SEARCHING: OUR QUEST FOR MEANING IN THE AGE OF SCIENCE, physicist and best-selling author Alan Lightman investigates how key findings of modern science help us find our bearings in the cosmos.

What do these new discoveries tell us about ourselves, and how do we find meaning in them? Throughout the highly cinematic three-part series, Alan takes viewers along on his journey of exploration - from prehistoric paintings in a French cave to a giant subatomic particle accelerator in Switzerland; from a Harvard laboratory where biologists are attempting to create living cells from scratch to the gravitational wave observatories that first detected the collisions of black holes; and to the quiet of a Buddhist temple.

We travel from the infinity of the small to the infinity of the large, meeting with the co-discoverer of one of the most distant galaxies yet known.

Across the series, Alan also interviews brain scientists, physicists, astronomers, philosophers, ethicists and faith leaders who offer contrasting perspectives on the interplay between contemporary scientific research and the humanities.

Adding to the diversity of perspectives is a dynamic conversation with Bina48, the world's most advanced humanoid robot.