On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of its first issue, the renowned journal Science has published a list of the 125 greatest scientific issues. The structure of the universe and the nature of consciousness are two of humanity’s foremost concerns.
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Astronomical observatories – the “eyes” and “ears” that continuously gather signals from the universe |
On this occasion, Dr. Leonid Lescov, a mathematician and physicist, professor at the M. Lomonosov Moscow State University, and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, gave an interview to the News Report.
Dear Academician, the structure of matter and the universe has been a mystery that has captivated humanity since ancient times. So, what do we know today about this mystery?
Theories have been proposed that the universe formed from nothingness 13-15 billion years ago. At the time of its formation, the universe was incredibly small, about 10^-33 cm. To date, no one has provided a precise answer regarding how the universe formed and what existed in nature before the universe came into being.
How does the Academician conceive of a time-travel machine?
There are many intriguing studies on time travel machines based entirely on scientific principles. Academician Anatoli Logunov of the Russian Academy of Sciences has demonstrated that the speed of light is not an absolute limit, as suggested by Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. For instance, it is theoretically possible to travel through time at speeds greater than the speed of light.
In your opinion, how are matter and consciousness related?
Ancient philosophers believed that the universe is unified and everything within it can be explained by common laws. Later, a division occurred, whereby the observable reality was split into two parts:
1- The inanimate material world governed by the laws of geometry and studied by physical science.
2- The realm of consciousness, which is not part of the material world and is studied within the framework of theology. Since then, scientists have continued to investigate the nature of consciousness but have yet to find a basis to assert that the material world and the world of consciousness share a common essence.
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The universe formed from the Big Bang |
We often assume that consciousness is a function of the brain, made up of atoms and molecules. However, there is another perspective. For example, a scientist specializing in neuroscience who has received a Nobel Prize asserts that consciousness cannot be regarded as one of the known structures.
From this point, numerous hypotheses have emerged, including some of the most fantastical ideas, but there is still no clear scientific theory regarding consciousness.
Is there another civilization beyond our Earth?
It is hard to believe that we are alone in the universe. Our galaxy contains about 10^11 stars, and there are approximately the same number of galaxies in the universe. Thus, the number of stars in the universe is virtually infinite. Humanity has only discovered over 150 planets.
All of these planets are quite large. But if there are many large planets, why can’t there be planets the size of Earth? It is very possible that such planets exist and may host civilizations. Therefore, it is quite likely that there are other civilizations in the universe. Are we ready to communicate with these civilizations?
There is a wealth of scientific and philosophical literature on this topic. The form of life we might encounter does not necessarily have to match our conception of an intelligent civilization. There is no guarantee that extraterrestrial civilizations will express friendly ideas, nor can we be certain of our ability to understand them.
