Joined by David Orrell, Fotini Markopoulou, David Hughes

Robert: A lot of what you’ve heard about science isn’t true.  3 examples: the human genome project leading to genetic disorder cures (it hasn’t), the Sun being a rather ordinary star (it isn’t), the “big bang” theory (there are holes).  What attracted

David: Started working on particle accelerators, the superconducting supercollider, after I finished my degree in applied mathematics.  Funding got cut, went back to school for a PhD.  Started looking into chaos theory, and eventually found systems biology, which looks at the connections between components rather than trying to reduce everything down to constituents.

Fotini: There were many decisions, I didn’t wake up one day thinking “I want to be a physicist and work on quantum gravity.”  I wasn’t interested in physics until I was 17.  When I did get there, I realized that I wasn’t really interested in textbook physics.  Following the trail of what we don’t understand led me to quantum theory which is essentially a collection of what we don’t understand.  So I’m an expert in what we don’t understand.  I like sculpture and I like that there are elements of what I do that resemble sculpture.  It has to look good on all sides.

My premise is that the concept of space is not really justified, space doesn’t exist.  After a certain level, elements are not observable, hence they do not exist.  When we refer to a thing or concept, we’re just referring to a relationshop of elements.

David: Two words: inability and wonder.  Inability applies to my acting and ability to translate French.  The wonder has to do with discovering physics.  What worries me greatly is that I have gotten to know less and less about the Solar System.  The disruptive thought I have is whether or not the planets in our Solar System are normal or stanard.  There’s no reason why life as we know it, should be rare.  I feel terribly alone on the planet Earth.  I didn’t expect to be living on Earth all this time and not have someone else get in touch.

Robert: I’d like dicuss the problems raised by disruptive thinking in science.

David: The humility to admit that a answer doesn’t work and we should move on should be addressed.  When you’re working on complex systems, there isn’t an answer to the whole thing.

Fontini: You never choose to work on a disruptive idea. You always work on the other ideas first, but they don’t work out, and you end up on the disruptive ideas.

David: What fascinates me about science is the ignorance of scientists.  As I learn more and more, I realize more and more what I don’t know.

Q: Is the universe symmetrical or assymmetrical?
A: From what we can tell, it looks very much the same in all directions, which is exceedingly boring.  What we don’t know is whether or not we are the only universe in existence.  We also don’t know is what happened before the Big Bang.

Q: Given the development time frame of life on Earth, what are your thoughts on the theory of panspermia?
A: The fascinating thing about life is that as soon as conditions on Earth were possible, life began. But then, we had this huge timescale it took to develop to its current state.  What we don’t know is why it took so long here and whether it would be faster on another planet.

Q: Given the radical uncertainties of science, can we use science for policy?
A: Yes, while its practitioners are flawed and vulnerable to bias and the need to make a living, the requirement for evidence-based validation reigns supreme.  And evidence-based policy is the only way to go.