Challenging questions

John Brockman

In my last post I wrote about some of the lame questions I found in the book edited by John Brockman, The Last Unknowns. Now I want to give equal time to some of the questions I consider more challenging.

"Why is the world so beautiful?" If there is no God and no purpose to the universe, how does one explain sunsets and rainbows and spring mornings?

"Where were the laws of physics written before the universe was born?" asks a physicist. Because the laws of physics are themselves beautiful, this sounds very much like the last question.

"Why do we experience feelings of meaning in a universe without purpose?" Here we go again. Aren't "feelings of meaning" also beautiful? So maybe there is a purpose after all.

"Are people who cheat vital to driving progress in human societies?" That may seem like an odd question, but it is an interesting one. Consider that the Jewish people trace their origins back to Jacob, who cheated his brother out of his rightful inheritance. We have a system of justice, a good thing, in part to protect people from those who cheat. How many advanced human societies are built on land won by cheating native peoples? I'm sure we could find many other examples.

"What will be the use of 99 percent of humanity for the 1 percent?" This frightening question is rapidly coming close to a frightening answer. As artificial intelligence makes human workers obsolete, what good are they? Increasingly the masses just become a burden and a danger for the few who are in charge.

Talking about scary questions, how about this one: "Will we pass our audition as planetary managers?" And if we don't pass the audition, who is going to say so? Those who rush us toward global government surely must realize that dictatorship is the only possible result. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that.

"Is the brain a computer or an antenna?" I don't know what that means, but it sounds profound.

"Is scientific knowledge the most valuable possession of humanity?" I like the fact that this question was posed by a philosopher, not a scientist. That suggests what the questioner believes.