What We Still Don’t Know
Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees investigates …

Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees explores ideas that were once firmly believed to be in the realms of science fiction and philosophy in a new series examining some of the great unknowns.

What are we made of? Are we alone? Do we exist? Until recently, most scientists have avoided debating these vital, if metaphysical, questions about the very meaning of life. Instead, the debate was left open to self-appointed experts, writers and to Hollywood. Most of us know more about aliens from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and ET than from science, and our views on the nature of reality owe more to The Matrix than cutting-edge research.

But Sir Martin Rees has seen a seismic conceptual revolution that is challenging everything we thought we knew about our world. In What We Still Don’t Know he reveals mysteries from the past, present and far future of the cosmos, and takes viewers from the very first moments of universe in the Big Bang, to the mind-blowing possibilities for alien life and multiple universes…and to worlds even weirder than those imagined in any science fiction.

Across three films Rees - one of the most brilliant, charming and mischievous thinkers of our age - brings to life the latest and most astonishing ideas about the universe and our place in it, communicating the passion that has driven him to the top of his field over the last forty years. The films also feature contributions from leading scientists including astronomer Dr Seth Shostak (SETI Institute), palaeobiologist Prof Simon Conway Morris (Cambridge University), astrobiologist Dr Lynn J. Rothschild (NASA Ames Research Center), cosmologist Prof Max Tegmark (MIT), physicist Prof Steven Weinberg (University of Texas), mathematician Prof John H. Conway (Princeton University), physicist Prof Leonard Susskind (Stanford University) and philosopher Dr Nick Bostrom (Oxford University).

Part 1: Are We Alone?

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The first film asks Are We Alone? and looks at the debate about life beyond our planet that has taken on a fevered relevance in the last decade. The robotic probes that roll over Mars and the space telescopes now peering at planets circling other stars are churning out data that point at times one way then the other. But Sir Martin has seen a transformation, not just in technology but also in our understanding of how life on Earth has evolved. Could it be that the strongest argument for life on other planets lies in the patterns of evolution on our own?

Part 2: Why Are We Here?

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In the second film of the series, Why Are We Here?, Sir Martin shows that everything you thought you knew about the universe is wrong. For centuries scientists have held the unshakable belief that the universe is made of atoms: flesh, blood, plants, stars and Galaxies - everything we saw was constructed from these fundamental particles. Sir Martin reveals the alarming news that atoms actually account for less than 5% of the mass of the universe. So what is it made of? Whatever it is, it is so mysterious and elusive that it has been called “dark matter”.

Part 3: Are We Real?

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The last film, Are We Real?, examines a fundamental chasm in the laws of physics that still exists despite the best efforts of the cleverest people on the planet. Sir Martin reveals how the solution may lie in a reality on the other side of the Big Bang. It is an idea that takes us into the realms of multiple universes and the limits of intelligence and power. In this alternative reality everything is possible and every assumption is challenged. Could we be nothing more than a complex code running on a super computer in a parallel universe? (See also The Game of Life)

You can also download the 3 episodes here. (smaller file-size)

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