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How a spaceship the size of a postage-stamp could find humanity’s new home planet
Sending a tiny spaceship to the nearest habitable planet at 20% of the speed of light? No problem, says theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.
Michio Kaku
Dr. Michio Kaku is the co-founder of string field theory, and is one of the most widely recognized scientists in the world today. He has written 4 New York Times Best Sellers, is the science correspondent for CBS This Morning and has hosted numerous science specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery/Science Channel. His radio show broadcasts to 100 radio stations every week. Dr. Kaku holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York (CUNY), where he has taught for over 25 years. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study as well as New York University (NYU).
Michio Kaku: We’ve been brainwashed into thinking—by Hollywood—that a starship has to be huge and gigantic, the size of the Enterprise.
However, the laws of physics make possible sending postage stamp-sized chips to the nearby stars.
So think of a chip perhaps this big on a parachute, and have thousands of them sent into outer space energized by perhaps 800 megawatts of laser power. By shooting this gigantic bank of laser energy into outer space, by energizing all these mini parachutes you could then begin to accelerate of them to about 20 percent the speed of light.
This is with doable technology today; it’s just a question of engineering. It’s a question of political will and economics, but there’s no physics, there’s no law of physics preventing you from shooting these chips to 20 percent the speed of light.
That means Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri triple star system, could be within the range of such a device. Now think about that, that means that within 20 years, after 20 years of launch we might be able to have the first starship go to a nearby planet. And it turns out that Proxima Centauri B is an Earth-like planet that circles around the closest star to the planet Earth. What a coincidence.
It means that we’ve already staked out our first destination for visitation by an interstellar starship and that is Proxima Centauri B, a planet that goes around one of the stars in the triple star system. And so this could be the first of many different kinds of starship designs.
In my book The Future of Humanity, I go through many of the possible design including fusion rockets, ramjet fusion rockets, including antimatter rockets.
Some of these rockets, of course, or technologies won’t be available till the next 100 years, but remember we’re talking about the future of humanity, and the future of humanity I think could be in outer space.
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku doesn't just hope that humanity finds its way onto other planets... he's even picked out the ones we should be moving to — Proxima Centauri B, in the Alpha Centauri triple star system. He's even suggested that the next great space exploration could happen on a spaceship the size of a postage stamp, traveling 20% the speed of light, sent by using high-powered lasers. It sounds like a wild theory, but if anyone's wild theories could come true in the next 100 years, it's probably Michio Kaku. His latest book is The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth.
LIVE ON MONDAY | "Lights, camera, activism!" with Judith Light
Join multiple Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Judith Light live on Big Think at 2 pm ET on Monday.
11 July, 2020
Big Think LIVE
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<p>
In this Big Think Live session, multiple Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Judith Light (
<em>Transparent, Ugly Betty)</em> and host, writer, and actor Winsome Brown will discuss the art of acting, the challenge of choosing the right roles, and why any career is made better by asking "How can I be of service?" instead of "How do I get more...?" From her work fighting for equality and dignity at the height of the AIDS epidemic (and long after) to advancing acceptance of the LGBTQ community through screen and stage, Light will share insight from her incredible career that can help you fine-tune your own goals toward a greater good.
</p><p>
Ask your questions for Judith Light during the live Q&A!
</p><p>
<strong>Join the stream 2 pm ET on Monday, July 13.</strong></p><p><strong>STREAMING LINKS:</strong></p><p>
<strong><a href="https://edge.bigthink.com/live_streams/100">Big Think Edge</a> | <a href="https://youtu.be/KY69l1pik9Y">YouTube</a> | </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom/posts/10157497938128527"><strong>Facebook</strong></a>
</p>
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Study details the negative environmental impact of online shopping
Frequent shopping for single items adds to our carbon footprint.
10 July, 2020
Photo by George Frey/Getty Images
Politics & Current Affairs
- A new study shows e-commerce sites like Amazon leave larger greenhouse gas footprints than retail stores.
- Ordering online from retail stores has an even smaller footprint than going to the store yourself.
- Greening efforts by major e-commerce sites won't curb wasteful consumer habits. Consolidating online orders can make a difference.
<p>Walmart <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/7/21314767/walmart-plus-grocery-delivery-amazon-prime-membership-loyalty-program-walmart" target="_blank">recently announced</a> plans to battle Amazon in the massive online shopping market. At $98/year, Walmart+ offers many of the same perks, including same-day grocery delivery, as well as discounts at Walmart gas stations, one of the few things Amazon cannot offer (yet). Of course, it lacks the entertainment perks of Amazon Prime, such as the automatic subscription to numerous TV shows and movies.</p><p>Another important distinction: Walmart is offering discounts on fossil fuels while Amazon has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-creating-fleet-of-electric-delivery-vehicles-rivian-2020-2" target="_blank">promised</a> to create a fleet of 100,000 electric delivery vans in order to become completely carbon neutral by 2040. That said, Walmart does <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/esgreport/environmental#climate-change" target="_blank">have plans</a> for reducing its carbon footprint as well. Unfortunately, these ambitious plans likely won't impact harmful consumer habits, which are rooted in the conveniences that online retailers offer. </p><p>Earlier this year, a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b06252" target="_blank">study</a> from researchers in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, confirmed what many expected: online shopping is worse for the environment than going to the store yourself. This contradicts previous research championing online shopping. </p><p>While Amazon boasts of its greening efforts, the corporation's current protocols are horrendous. Many packages are glorified Matryoshka dolls. I recently ordered a three-inch cable that arrived wrapped in two boxes, padded by three layers of brown wrapping paper and plastic. </p><p>There seems to be no uniform shipping policies. Some books arrive in white padded envelopes, others in thin brown envelopes, some in boxes. While supply chain management is tricky, a company cannot both claim to be environmentally friendly <em>and</em> notoriously unreliable. Online retailers bank on convenience, not being stewards of nature. </p><p>The researchers investigated production distribution disparities in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), such as personal care and home care products, between physical stores, "bricks and clicks" (fulfillment via physical store deliveries), and non-store-based e-commerce sites, known as "pure players." They conclude that the latter considerably increases greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0ODQ0Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzM2NjkzNn0.aFgxj8Ahqqulac7YUz8BI-erwlguufaS8USZE8wjjkU/img.jpg?width=980" id="9ea0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="522b395495c97cd24b9f731850b2f911" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="piles of cardboard inside recycling warehouse" />
A pile of recycled cardboard sits on the ground at Recology's Recycle Central on January 4, 2018 in San Francisco, California.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
<p>A large part of the reason is speed. In a competitive market, pure players use the equation, <em>speed + convenience</em>, to drive adoption. This is especially relevant to the "last mile" GHG footprint: the distance between the distribution center and the consumer.</p><p>Interestingly, the smallest GHG footprint occurs when you order directly from a physical store—even smaller than going there yourself. Pure players, such as Amazon, are the greatest offenders. Variables like geographic location matter; the team looked at shopping in the UK, the US, China, and the Netherlands. </p><p>Sadegh Shahmohammadi, a PhD student at the Netherlands' Radboud University and corresponding author of the paper, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/tech/greenhouse-gas-emissions-retail/index.html" target="_blank">says</a> the above "pattern holds true in countries where people mostly drive. It really depends on the country and consumer behavior there."</p><p>The researchers write that this year-and-a-half long study pushes back on previous research that claims online shopping to be better in terms of GHG footprints.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"They have, however, compared the GHG emissions per shopping event and did not consider the link between the retail channels and the basket size, which leads to a different conclusion than that of the current study."</p><p>Online retail is where convenience trumps environment: people tend to order one item at a time when shopping on pure player sites, whereas they stock up on multiple items when visiting a store. Consumers will sometimes order a number of separate items over the course of a week rather than making one trip to purchase everything they need. </p><p>While greening efforts by online retailers are important, until a shift in consumer attitude changes, the current carbon footprint will be a hard obstacle to overcome. Amazon is trying to have it both ways—carbon-free and convenience addicted—and the math isn't adding up. If you need to order things, do it online, but try to consolidate your purchases as much as possible.</p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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Childhood sleeping problems may signal mental disorders later in life
Chronic irregular sleep in children was associated with psychotic experiences in adolescence, according to a recent study out of the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology.
10 July, 2020
Personal Growth
We spend 40 percent of our childhoods asleep, a time for cognitive growth and development. A recent study found an association between irregular sleep patterns in childhood and either psychotic experiences or borderline personality disorder during teenage years. The researchers hope their findings can help identify at-risk youth to improve early intervention.
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<p>Sleep is a critical activity in our mental and physical health. <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325353#lower-risk-of-heart-disease" target="_blank">Sufficient sleep</a> is necessary for learning, productivity, and emotional regulation. It boosts our energy, improves our performance, and helps us prevent injury, making it an athletic necessity on par with hydration and nutrient intake. <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency#:~:text=Sleep%20plays%20an%20important%20role,pressure%2C%20diabetes%2C%20and%20stroke." target="_blank">Sleep deprivation</a>, meanwhile, has been linked to an increased risk of stroke, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17853-lack-of-sleep-linked-to-alzheimers/" target="_blank">onset dementia</a>. And without it, your <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-sleep-clears-brain" target="_blank">glymphatic system</a> doesn't have the time to properly scrub your brain of the toxic protein beta-amyloid—meaning your head fills up, literally, with unfiltered daytime gunk.</p><p>For children, sleep is even more cruci</p><p>al. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440010/" target="_blank">A meta-analysis of ten studies</a> on infant sleep and cognition found a "positive association between sleep, memory, language, executive function, and overall cognitive development." In other words, all the ingredients for a healthy mind and social aptitude. It's so necessary for cognitive development that by age two <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/children-and-sleep#:~:text=The%20rhythms%20begin%20to%20develop,his%20or%20her%20childhood%20asleep." target="_blank">a child will spend more time asleep</a> than awake. In total, 40 percent of our childhoods are spent mapping our personal dreamlands.</p><p>But <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2767298" target="_blank">a recent study</a> in JAMA Psychiatry suggests the obverse is also true. Poor sleep routines, chronically disrupted sleep, and other <a href="http://sleepeducation.org/essentials-in-sleep/parasomnias/overview-and-facts" target="_blank">parasomnias</a> may have an adverse effect on children's mental health later in life.</p>
A time for sleep
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="Mt29uUqI" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="931343dee3c02121445e51e94ba22446"> <div id="botr_Mt29uUqI_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/Mt29uUqI-FvQKszTI.js"> <img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/Mt29uUqI-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview" /> </div> <script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/Mt29uUqI-FvQKszTI.js"></script> </div> <p>Previous studies had already suggested a link between persistent nightmares in childhood and psychosis and borderline personality disorder (BPD) by adolescence, but researchers at the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology wanted to see if a similar connection existed between these mental disorders and other childhood behavioral sleep problems.</p><p>To do this, they scoured data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a longitudinal cohort study that followed approximately 14,000 children born in Avon, England, in the early 1990s. The study followed the children for more than 13 years. During that time, mothers filled out questionnaires asking about the children's lives. Factors looked at included housing, parenting, nutrition, physical health, mental wellbeing, environmental exposures, and so on. </p><p>The cohort study inquired about sleep routines, sleep duration, and awakening frequency when the children were 6, 18, and 30 months old, and then again at 3.5, 4.8, and 5.8 years. It also assessed mental health in adolescence using semi-structured interviews, such as the Psychosis-Like Symptom Interview.</p><p>"We know that adolescence is a key developmental period to study the onset of many mental disorders, including psychosis or BPD. This is because of particular brain and hormonal changes which occur at this stage," <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/marwaha-steven.aspx" target="_blank">Steven Marwaha</a>, professor of psychiatry at Birmingham and senior author on the study, <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200701125431.htm" target="_blank">said in a release</a>. "Sleep may be one of the most important underlying factors—and it's one that we can influence with effective, early interventions, so it's important that we understand these links."</p><p>After compiling the data, the researchers discovered an association between children with irregular sleeping patterns and teenagers with <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/psychosis/about-psychosis/" target="_blank">psychotic experiences</a>—that is, episodes when the person perceives reality differently than those around them. Even when depression at 10 years old was considered as a mediating factor, their findings still suggested "a specific pathway between these childhood sleep problems and adolescent psychotic experiences." </p><p>Toddlers with shorter nighttime sleep duration and late bedtimes were likewise associated with a <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder/index.shtml" target="_blank">borderline personality disorder</a>—a disorder marked by a pattern of varying moods, self-images, and behaviors—in their teenage years. Depression at age 10 did not mediate this particular association, suggesting a separate and more specific pathway. </p>A more restful tomorrow
<p>While the sample size was large and mental health was assessed with a validated interview, there nevertheless remain limitations to this data. For starters, sleep habits were based on mothers' reports. Because they came from memory, versus a more direct observation method such as actigraphy, these data may be prone to imperfect recollection and reporting error. There are also many confounders that could be secretly nudging the results, such as family conditions, prenatal medicines, and a host of environmental factors. Finally, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024884/#:~:text=Sleep%20difficulties%20in%20youth%20with,fear%20of%20dark%20%5B13%5D." target="_blank">the relationship between sleep problems and mental disorders</a> is both complex and two-way.</p><p>As such, the study shows an association between poor childhood sleep later mental disorders but does not prove a causal link. Parents need not worry that a string of nightmares or the eternal struggle settle into bed will be the first ingredients in a witches' brew of debilitating mental disorders. The goal of the study, the researchers point out, is not to create undue worry but improve our ability to recognize the signs of at-risk children and deliver necessary interventions earlier.</p><p>"The results of this study could have important implications for helping practitioners identify children who might be at higher risk for psychotic experiences or BPD symptoms in adolescence, and potentially lead to the design of more effectively targeted sleep or psychological interventions to prevent the onset or attenuate these mental disorders," Isabel Morales-Muñoz, the study's lead researcher, <a href="https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20200702/childhood-sleep-problems-linked-to-adolescent-psychosis-borderline-personality-disorder#:~:text=Sleep%20problems%20during%20early%20childhood,study%20published%20in%20JAMA%20Psychiatry." target="_blank">told Healio Psychiatry</a><u>.</u></p><p>If a parent reading this is worried that their child's sleep patterns are deleterious, the take away should not be despair over an unyielding fate. It should be to seek professional help as soon as possible to begin improving sleep duration and quality. Even if you aren't worried, it's worth remembering that childhood experiences lay the foundation for a lifetime of salubrious sleeping habits. It's so much more than beauty rest.</p>
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Neom, Saudi Arabia's $500 billion megacity, reaches its next phase
Construction of the $500 billion dollar tech city-state of the future is moving ahead.
28 July, 2019
Credit: Neom
Technology & Innovation
- The futuristic megacity Neom is being built in Saudi Arabia.
- The city will be fully automated, leading in health, education and quality of life.
- It will feature an artificial moon, cloud seeding, robotic gladiators and flying taxis.
<p><br></p></div>
<p>Humanity has been developing new technologies at a breakneck speed but have they delivered enough clear benefits to how long and well we live? Much of the tech seems to be adding even more stress, designed to both help us cope and entrap us further in the hectic demands of modern life. But what if you could start from scratch and create the kind of society where the best of technology would utilize the best ideas in robotics, healthcare, energy generation and government? Such is the utopian promise of the $500 billion futuristic city-state <strong>Neom</strong>, being built in Saudi Arabia.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"This is the blank page you need to write humanity's next chapter," promises the commercial for the city on the <a href="https://www.neom.com/" target="_blank">Neom homepage. </a></p><p>The American consultants, hired by the city's developers came up with a 2,300 page proposal that wants to make Neom largely run by robots, with eye-catchy features based in part on tech that doesn't yet exist. Some of the fun things the city would have are flying taxis, glow-in-the-dark sand, cloud seeding to make it rain in the desert, robotic maids, MMA-style robot cage fights, and, of course, a Jurassic-Park-like island, replete with robot dinosaurs.</p>
<p>Perhaps, most curious of all, Neom would have a gigantic artificial moon, made from a fleet of drones, which would not only light up every night, but could live-stream images straight from outer space. </p><p>Run on wind and solar energy, the city would also be a state-of-the-art center for technological and medical innovation, spearheading genetic engineering efforts to improve the human body.</p><p>Being a beacon of progress, where many citizens would work in startups while being educated in innovative ways like <em>holographic faculties</em>, would make the economy of Neom robust. In fact, it would have "the highest GDP per capita," according to the proposal.</p>
The Red Sea area where Neom will be built:
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDM0Nzg2MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NjEzMzk0Nn0.iIobzkR0VgaVg0_KyQAds34fFUgOA5OfpsB3aoj4H6Y/img.jpg?width=980" id="d6b0d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c45f591e98c9d5696f0e4933b1dea863" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Neom is the shortened version of the Latin-Arabic term <strong>"Neo-Mustaqbal", </strong>which means "new future." How far in the future? The project's first phase is already complete and the second phase will be announced by the year's end, recently promised Neom's CEO <strong>Nadhmi Al-Nasr </strong>at the site of the city's first commercial airport Gayal.</p><p>The first phase involved the conceptualizing of the economic, funding and development plans for Neom. Actual construction also began on the airport and a resort. Phase two should result in fleshing out further details of "what Neom is going to be," Al-Nasr <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/construction/424565-first-phase-of-saudi-arabias-8bn-giga-project-neom-complete" target="_blank">stated to Arab News.</a></p><blockquote>"Neom is all about things that are necessarily future-oriented and visionary," Al-Nasr <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-princes-500-billion-desert-dream-flying-cars-robot-dinosaurs-and-a-giant-artificial-moon-11564097568" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "So we are talking about technology that is cutting edge and beyond—and in some cases still in development and maybe theoretical."</blockquote>
Saudi Arabia Plans Futuristic City, "Neom" (Full Promotional Video)
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c646d528d230c1bf66c75422bc4ccf6f"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N53DzL3_BHA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The project was introduced in 2017 by <strong>Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.</strong> It is planned to include <strong>450km </strong>of Red Sea coastline, which would make it a major vacation destination – 8 hours away flying from anywhere in the world, as calculated the consultants. Neom will span a total area of <strong>26,500 square km</strong> across three countries, including territory from North-Western Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. </p><p>The city itself will be "the world's first independent international zone," presents its <a href="https://www.neom.com/content/pdfs/NEOM-Faqs-en.pdf" target="_blank">marketing literature.</a> How independent it will actually be remains to be seen. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia set up a "special authority," chaired by the Crown Prince himself, to supervise the development of the project. Once its built, the zone will be managed via a "regulatory framework that will adopt world-class investment laws to support residents and targeted economic sectors," declares its <a href="https://www.neom.com/content/pdfs/NEOM-Faqs-en.pdf" target="_blank">presentation</a>, which also purports the city-state will have an "autonomous judicial system." Its laws, enforced by city-wide automation and tracking of its citizens, would be independent of Saudi Arabia's, created by a slate of both local and foreign investors "in accordance with international best practice."</p>
<p>If you're still wondering if the megacity would be subject to the Muslim Kingdom's societal practices, Neom <a href="https://www.neom.com/content/pdfs/NEOM-Faqs-en.pdf" target="_blank">claims</a> it will utilize the best practices from around the world that can improve the lives of its residents. </p><p>The reality may be quite different, however, as the Wall Street Journal's <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-princes-500-billion-desert-dream-flying-cars-robot-dinosaurs-and-a-giant-artificial-moon-11564097568" target="_blank">review</a> of the documents from the consultants found that the judges of Neom would be reporting directly to the king, while Sharia law would still be the law of the land. The one big exception might be alcohol, which supposedly would be allowed.</p><p>How long will the project take? The overall timeline estimates 7-10 years from now. The plan certainly has its detractors and possible human-rights issues, like the plan for the forced relocation of more than 20,000 people indigenous to the area.</p>
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Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
Are we genetically inclined for superstition or just fearful of the truth?
10 July, 2020
Videos
- From secret societies to faked moon landings, one thing that humanity seems to have an endless supply of is conspiracy theories. In this compilation, physicist Michio Kaku, science communicator Bill Nye, psychologist Sarah Rose Cavanagh, skeptic Michael Shermer, and actor and playwright John Cameron Mitchell consider the nature of truth and why some groups believe the things they do.
- "I think there's a gene for superstition, a gene for hearsay, a gene for magic, a gene for magical thinking," argues Kaku. The theoretical physicist says that science goes against "natural thinking," and that the superstition gene persists because, one out of ten times, it actually worked and saved us.
- Other theories shared include the idea of cognitive dissonance, the dangerous power of fear to inhibit critical thinking, and Hollywood's romanticization of conspiracies. Because conspiracy theories are so diverse and multifaceted, combating them has not been an easy task for science.
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