Prof Brian Cox hopes to inspire people in unlocking the universe’s secrets
In an interview with Yahoo on Tuesday (18 October), Prof. Brian Cox said that one of his main objectives for his Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey world tour is to inspire people who may, or may not, be interested in pursuing a career in science to ignite their curiosity and entice them to learn more about the secrets of the universe.
“I think, what shows like this can do is inspire and what I hope is people will go away thinking they wanna learn more,” Cox said.
He also said that the research on cosmology and planetary science is fast becoming an interdisciplinary endeavour, so anyone whose background is not in science may be able to enjoy learning all about it, and may find it useful to their own respective disciplines.
I think, what shows like this can do is inspire and what I hope is people will go away thinking they wanna learn more.
“It is remarkable that we’re beginning to see the connection between the study of black holes and quantum computing and the nature of space and time. These are cutting-edge research not only in cosmology and physics but also in engineering and computer science,” Cox said.
However, Cox said that Horizons will not be just limited to finding out what goes on outside of our known universe; it also aims to celebrate how life came to be on our planet, and our civilisation, music, art, philosophy, and science.
Learning about the secrets of the universe, he said, would be able to equip us with knowledge about ourselves as well as our own values.
“Once you know that one single fact, then I think it should not only help us; it should make us aware of our own values. It’s easy to just dismiss it, just to take for granted the fact that we exist. But I think once you understand the history of how we came to be like this, it becomes astonishing that we exist at all,” he said.
Being able to answer what it means to be human, Cox added, is “an almost unimaginatively fortunate thing. Being a human is an almost unimaginatively fortunate thing to be.”
Once you understand the history of how we came to be like this, it becomes astonishing that we exist at all.
Using state-of-the-art light-emitting diode (LED) screen technology, Cox, together with The Infinity Monkey Cage cohost and award-winning comedian Robin Ince, hopes to take his audience on a journey on how the universe came to be, and what goes on in other parts of the universe.
On December 3, 2022, Cox will be in Singapore for the tour at the Star Theatre.
Marvin Joseph Ang is a news and creative writer who follows developments on politics, democracy, and popular culture. He advocates for a free press and national democracy. Follow him on Twitter at @marvs30ang for latest news and updates. The views expressed are his own.
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