Lawrence Krauss on Caveman Common Sense
The physicist argues that our common sense is based on evolutionary imperatives that have less to do with the universe as it is than with what our ancestors needed to do to survive in a hostile wilderness. Transcript– We evolved as human beings a few million years ago on the Savanna in Africa and we evolved to escape tigers, or lions, or predators. And so what makes common sense to us is the world on our scale. You know, how to throw a rock or a spear or how to find a cave and we didn’t evolve to understand quantum mechanics. And, therefore, it’s not too surprising that on scales vastly different than the kind of experience we had as we were evolving as a species, that nature seems strange and sometimes almost unfathomable, certainly violates our common sense. Our sense of what is common sense and what’s intuition. But as I like to say, the universe doesn’t care about our common sense. We have to force our ideas to conform to the evidence of reality rather than the other way around And if reality seems strange, that’s okay. In fact that’s what makes science so wonderful; it expands our minds because it forces us to accept possibilities, which, in advance, we may never of thought was possible. I’ve said that scientists love mysteries, and we do. That’s the reason I’m a scientist. Because it’s the puzzles of the universe that make it so exciting. Now it is true that we want to solve, resolve those and solve those puzzles. That’s part of the fun of doing science is solving …
samboyaus on January 5, 2013
That’s not how you use a comma.
samboyaus on January 5, 2013
You’re a tool. This video isn’t even about atheism or religion but you still have to bring it up because it features a person that uses his brain to learn about the world, and I know how offensive that is to religious people.
And it’s more like “It’s a mystery to us, and we may find out one day, but don’t suggest anything with out evidence.”
liven letlive on January 5, 2013
fun of doing science is solving puzzles
bersa888 on January 5, 2013
@William Taylor We urge you to wake up from your delusions
Gorekiller6 on January 6, 2013
Laziness and efficiency are different, it’s just that we can only measure efficiency. Like you said though, if someone can work less and be more efficient, then way to go, he is clever, he deserves it.
What I said before probably made more sense when I typed it.
Lolsrsly Thesepeople on January 6, 2013
Life cannot come from non-life, where did god come from again? Theism is an overwhelming incoherent worldview with the motto, “god did it, the bible says so.”
You were lied to, there is no god, there is no heaven, you get to make your own heaven in this life, but instead you waste the 1 life you do have, in the hopes that you’ll get another.
Illogical… like worshipping a god who advocates slavery/murder/rape. A snake outwitted your god, not all that powerful is he.
Lolsrsly Thesepeople on January 6, 2013
and your mind is so focused on god that you can’t see outside the bubble you’ve created for yourself. A “rational law maker” does not make laws saying it is ok to own / beat a slave. That if you rape a woman you can then buy her. That genital mutilation is ok. but “god” does. The only reason you believe is because you want to believe, you’ve never seen the truth because apparently knowing things is bad in your cult. You’re throwing your life away.
2joshua123 on January 6, 2013
First sorry for the delay,
I agree with you, but young people are easy influence by the older generation. Your parent or grandparent want you to learn “technology thingies” so you’re free in that aspect. While if they want to force an ideologically on you than they can. If you were young and your parent said all the time “Don’t trust the government”. You might have a just dis-comfort with the government. I did not saying that will stop the new gen from growning to there own it just a road bump.
BattousaiHBr on January 7, 2013
oh yea, but im not saying young people are safe, im saying they at least CAN be “converted” to the “good” side, while the elders are way past the age of thinking revolutions.
its also why i said its a very slow process that happens through the generations.
AngilasGuy on January 7, 2013
But you can’t get the product WITHOUT that initial phase of probing and tinkering with ideas… You’re putting the carriage ahead of the horse. You might not have any interest with the process of invention, but you need to understand it’s importance. You literally cannot have your gadgets and products without the initial insights that prompt the product.
Abdias Reyna on January 8, 2013
idiot.
Scarr420 on January 8, 2013
don’t be so hard on yourself.
emotekon on January 8, 2013
You, a person who watches WAY too many videos associated with psychosis and the killing of vermin to be allowed to step foot in public, just called one of the greatest physicians of our time an idiot. Not only are you clearly an extreme sociopath but also an IDIOT.
neo theskepticarena on January 9, 2013
PART 3 OF 3
“It’s so illogical”
Did you read what I just wrote? About the sun freezing in the sky?
Okay, I’m going to give you that one. I agree with you that that one is pretty logical.
But the sun going backwards?
Even you have to … never mind.
“I’m so ashamed for humanity”
Think how bad you are going to feel when you find out that Santy Claus isn’t real?
“This is so terrible. I’d urge you all to YouTube John Lennox”
Why, does he have proof of the sun going backwards?
neo theskepticarena on January 9, 2013
PART 2 OF 3
“It’s an overwhelming incoherent worldview”
Actually Atheism is not a worldview, but a rejection of yours.
“Atheism is… it’s just… I cannot believe there are actual human beings who subscribe to this nonsense”
But you can believe in invisible ghosts, talking snakes and donkeys, and the sun freezing in the sky for one day. Even Hans Christian Anderson couldn’t top your fairy tales.
neo theskepticarena on January 9, 2013
PART 1 OF 3
“Atheism posits life from non-life”
Great start. I can see we are all dealing with a powerful intellect here (that would be you).
But first it is necessary to direct you to a dictionary where you will discover that Atheism has nothing to do with Abiogenesis. And second, life from nonlife isn’t something that is posited, it is something that has been observed in laboratories all over the world.
getwallyfied on January 9, 2013
Physicist.
emotekon on January 9, 2013
Thanks. Think i should take a dyslexic test, this keeps happening!
Lili Marlene on January 11, 2013
Love the audience age demographics for this video!
ExtremeBogom on January 11, 2013
Well said my friend, well said.
erasmusso on January 11, 2013
“Man will never go on the moon, not in a 1000 years!” is what people were saying in the early 60s. How do you know we’ll never find everything?
THECOMMENTER10000 on January 11, 2013
Think of yourself. . . your head to be exact.
The human mind for one thing, the most complex organ in our body, and despite our great advances in neuroscience, we know little more beyond how it “generally” functions. And so to fully understand it, we must be far more intellectually superior than what we are now, but then our mind will be far more complex than what it is now, and we are back to point zero.
There will always be something new for us to discover.
erasmusso on January 12, 2013
Thanks for your answer, I understand what you’re saying, I see now that the actual question I had in mind is: will we be interested in knowing all that? I don’t expect you to answer, it’s more of a rhetorical question, thanks for clearing things up.
THECOMMENTER10000 on January 12, 2013
Ahhh, while there will always be something newer to learn, the question whether or not, at some point in the future, we will become apathetic to learn more, is not clear as of yet.
Hopefully, we will never become apathetic to educating ourselves.
azforthlol on January 14, 2013
Meh anti-intuition propaganda, the beauty of science is when it makes sense of, rather than contracticts our intuitons.