Big Ideas

Proposed a century ago to better explain the mind-bending behavior of the smallest constituents of the universe, quantum theory has implications far beyond the atom. This rich set of laws has applications both practical and extraordinary — from the technology that has revolutionized modern life to the possibility of parallel worlds. Our audience joined Alan Alda as he accompanied Brian Greene, Nobel Laureate William Phillips and other leading thinkers at the vanguard of quantum research on an accessible multimedia exploration of the astounding weirdness of the quantum world. This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.Learn More

View Additional Video Information

TOPICS: Art & Science, Biology & Origins of Life, Earth & Environment, Mind & Brain, Physics & Math, Science in Society, Science Unplugged, Space & The Cosmos, Technology & Engineering, Your Daily Equation, Youth & Education

TAGS: 2008, Alan Alda, beyond the atom, Big Idea Series, David Albert, John Templeton Foundation, laws of physics, Max Tegmark, Nobel Laureate, parallel worlds, physics, Quantum, Quantum Mechanics (Field Of Study), quantum theory, The Invisible Reality, The Universe, William Phillips, Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World, 2008, Alan Alda, beyond the atom, Big Idea Series, David Albert, John Templeton Foundation, laws of physics, Max Tegmark, Nobel Laureate, parallel worlds, physics, Quantum, Quantum Mechanics (Field Of Study), quantum theory, The Invisible Reality, The Universe, William Phillips, Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World

PLAYLISTS: Big Ideas, Physics & Mathematics, Popular Videos, The Best of Brian Greene

Video Duration: 01:30:56

Original Program Date: Friday, May 30, 2008

Moderator: Alan Alda

Participants: David Z. Albert, Brian Greene, Max Tegmark, William Phillips

Up Next

When Thoughts Aren’t Private: Will AI Soon Read our Minds?

01:08:11

Your Brain On 34,000 Hours of Meditation: When Science and Tech Meet Spirituality

01:16:21

Tracing the Abyss:The Spacetime of a Supermassive Black Hole

76,990 views | 00:57:27

Mind the Gap: Will Tiny Discrepancies Derail Cosmology?

107,747 views | 02:03:23

Black Holes and Quantum Gravity

134,162 views | 01:59:11

What They Rarely Reveal about Quantum Computing: Without an Algorithm, It’s Hype

69,345 views | 00:40:01

What Creates Time? A Challenge to Scientific Orthodoxy

152,923 views | 01:30:50

How Science Revealed a Simple Universe: The Winding Road to Cosmic Breakthroughs

90,960 views | 01:05:40

Straight Talk on Cosmic Origins

99,523 views | 01:34:54

Quantum Quandaries: When Philosophy Drives Physics

147,999 views | 01:45:48

Challenging Conventional Cosmology

142,632 views | 02:00:05

The World’s Smartest Mind: Exploring the Extremes of Thought with Benjamin Labatut

110,873 views | 00:43:26

Can Theories of Consciousness Supercharge AI?

00:35:50

Supermassive Black Holes: Rethinking Their Origin

111,752 views |

Is the Cosmos a Vast Computation?

108,526 views | 00:43:05

Crafting Qubits: Harnessing quantum mechanics for computation

68,783 views | 00:41:15

Infinite Beginnings? Time in Cutting Edge Cosmology

116,275 views | 00:38:29

Consciousness, Free Will, and Psychedelics: Exploring Mysteries of the Mind

81,253 views | 01:23:40

Straight Talk on Quantum Computing

130,128 views | 01:38:13

Beyond Planets: The Quest for Exomoons

52,959 views | 00:35:11

Code to Cure: AI and the Future of Health

00:40:19

AI Creativity: Genius or Gimmick?

00:40:00

Roger Penrose: Time, Black Holes, and the Cosmos

509,588 views | 01:09:22

Coding Consciousness: An Algorithm for Awareness?

77,872 views | 00:41:48

Dark Matters: Have We Really Failed to Identify Most of the Cosmos?

225,269 views | 00:34:15

Quantum Computing: Hype vs. Reality

534,174 views | 00:44:44

Visual Arts in the Age of AI

00:41:14

Do We Owe it All to Asteroids?

00:33:59

Will AI Spark the Next Scientific Revolution?

105,698 views | 00:40:00

Did Einstein Crack the Biggest Problem in Physics…and Not Know It?

424,930 views | 00:43:14

Can AI Read Your Mind?

51,458 views | 00:44:05

What Creates Consciousness?

745,907 views | 00:45:44

Cosmology in Crisis? Confronting the Hubble Tension

255,474 views | 00:36:25

Did Repulsive Gravity Jumpstart the Cosmos?

128,944 views | 01:28:41

Is Dark Energy Decaying?

167,411 views | 01:10:30

Is Quantum Reality in the Eye of the Beholder?

135,388 views | 00:31:20

Does Quantum Mechanics imply Multiple Universes?

362,108 views | 00:34:08

Can Particles be Quantum Entangled Across Time?

338,132 views | 00:35:18

Why a Forefather of AI Fears the Future

142,005 views | 01:10:40

AI and Quantum Computing: Glimpsing the Near Future

535,159 views | 01:25:32

Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Rainbows

123,686 views | 00:30:19

Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Echoes

88,373 views | 00:35:32

Carlo Rovelli and Brian Greene on Black Holes and White Holes

129,965 views | 00:31:57

Intelligent Thinking about Artificial Intelligence

145,482 views | 01:04:47

Unifying Nature’s Laws: The State of String Theory

582,397 views | 01:29:56

Was the Big Bang the Beginning? Reimagining Time in a Cyclic Universe

469,163 views | 01:26:01

Searching for Cosmic Origins

302,402 views | 01:31:42

Coding the Cosmos: Does Reality Emerge from Simple Computations?

939,625 views | 02:32:54

AI: Grappling with a New Kind of Intelligence

813,212 views | 01:55:50

String Theory, Quantum Gravity and Black Holes (Or, Are we Holograms?)

264,978 views | 01:27:55

Mind Over Molecules: the Biology of Memory

87,931 views | 00:53:51

The Past and Future of Life and the Cosmos (Or, How We Got Here & Where We’re Going)

246,984 views | 01:30:53

Seeing Further: Searching for the Echoes of Creation

172,834 views | 01:03:59

Quantum to the Cosmos: A Brief Tour of Everything

428,497 views | 01:17:15

Shedding Light on the Dark Universe

147,344 views | 00:57:17

James Webb Space Telescope: Comets, Planets, and the Origin of Life

125,291 views | 00:50:59

Gravitational Waves and the Dark Universe

112,905 views | 01:17:37

Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Meaning

199,060 views | 00:56:13

Revealing the Cosmos: A Startling New View From the James Webb Space Telescope

408,921 views | 01:25:34

The New Golden Age of Space Exploration

109,457 views | 01:29:34

MEMORY: The Hidden Pathways That Make Us Human

369,558 views | 01:28:32

Rewriting the Story of Humankind

283,972 views | 01:40:51

Brave New Prehistoric World

118,583 views | 01:07:30

Rewiring the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Neuroplasticity

727,273 views | 01:26:29

Visual Illusions: Catching the Brain Creating Reality

262,385 views | 01:17:59

The Deep: Exploring Earth’s Last Frontier

209,475 views | 01:32:20

To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond: The Next Step in Space Exploration

55,526 views | 00:57:15

The Dreaming Mind: Waking the Mysteries of Sleep

1,393,237 views | 01:21:57

Karen Armstrong: Sacred Nature – A Conversation with Brian Greene

77,823 views | 00:57:45

Psychedelics: Chemicals, Consciousness & Creativity

1,756,448 views | 01:39:47

First Images: James Webb Space Telescope’s New View of the Cosmos

266,890 views | 00:56:47

Live Discussion with Brian Greene

104,418 views | 01:12:54

Black Holes: Seeing the Unseeable

639,132 views | 01:00:03

Riddles of Reality: From Quarks to The Cosmos

530,723 views | 00:59:54

Lifespan Expanded: The Scientific Quest for a Fountain of Youth

155,449 views | 01:30:00

Einstein and the Quantum: Entanglement and Emergence

2,564,290 views | 01:05:36

Science, Life, and Purpose: A Conversation with Francis Collins and Brian Greene

58,765 views | 00:59:28

The Future of Cosmology: A Live Conversation

167,841 views | 01:30:39

Things We’ve Never Seen: The James Webb Space Telescope Explores the Cosmos

2,829,254 views | 01:21:02

2021 Nobel Laureates in Conversation with Brian Greene

76,221 views | 01:06:09

Mind Your Language: Metaphor, Thought and Imagination

852,974 views | 01:51:57

Does Math Reveal Reality?

1,701,715 views | 01:36:02

On the Shoulders of Giants: Steven Weinberg and the Quest to Explain the World

137,169 views | 00:57:27

Beyond Higgs: The Wild Frontier of Particle Physics

1,361,589 views | 01:30:08

Making Room for Machines: Getting Ready for AGI

51,689 views | 01:27:46

We Will Be Martians

56,700 views | 01:25:38

Outsourcing Humanity: Do Algorithms Make Better Decisions Than People?

Rethinking Thinking: How Intelligent Are Other Animals?

1,508,122 views |

The Richness of Time

2,606,397 views | 01:29:37

Eyes In the Skies: Bringing the Universe Down to Earth

66,378 views | 01:24:01

The Technology That Transforms Us: From the Stone Age to the Computer Age

01:12:02

Intelligence Without Brains

1,273,804 views | 01:29:11

Physics in the Dark: Searching for the Universe’s Missing Matter

1,250,894 views | 0122:24

On the Shoulders of Giants: Shep Doeleman

73,218 views | 00:32:32

The Reality of Reality: A Tale of Five Senses

1,457,013 views | 1:11:33

On the Shoulders of Giants: Andrew Strominger

00:35:03

The Science of Extreme Behavior: The Line Between Courageous and Crazy

01:11:03

Can We ‘Cure’ Deafness and Blindness? Should We?

01:11:53

Revealing the Mind: The Promise of Psychedelics

5,156,677 views | 01:24:38

Loose Ends: String Theory and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

2,502,817 views | 01:27:24

The Right Stuff: What It Takes to Boldly Go

01:20:43

The Believing Brain: Evolution, Neuroscience, and the Spiritual Instinct

3,882,509 views | 1:17:46

Alien Contact: What Happens Next?

1,473,122 views | 1:00:10

Rethinking the Internet: How We Lost Control and How to Take it Back

00:58:06

How Music Affects Your Brain: Notes on the Folds

00:52:42

Rewriting Life: The Promise and Peril of Editing Your DNA

00:48:20

Neutrinos, Matter, and Antimatter: The Yin Yang of the Big Bang

110,131 views | 00:57:28

Sylvia Earle: On the Shoulders of Giants

00:57:18

Harnessing the Power of Neuroplasticity: The Nuts and Bolts of Better Brains

1,593,693 views | 01:00:35

RESISTANCE IS (NOT) FUTILE: THE END OF ANTIBIOTICS AND THE FUTURE OF FIGHTING INFECTIONS

00:51:17

Teach Your Robots Well: Will Self-taught Robots Be the End of Us?

1,054,611 views | 01:02:39

Black Holes and Neutron Stars: A Merger in Space

85,949 views | 00:41:54

Is Alien ‘life’ Weirder Than We Imagine: Who Is Out There?

1,392,727 views | 00:59:56

Growing Up Digital: Coming of Age in a Virtual World

01:02:05

The Roots of Extremism in Your Brain

01:17:53

The Microbiome: Vital Cells of Existence

70,010 views | 01:06:47

The Matter Of Antimatter: Answering The Cosmic Riddle Of Existence

4,721,820 views | 01:39:21

Pondering the Imponderables: The Biggest Questions of Cosmology

744,165 views | 01:06:44

The Social Synapse: Neuroscience and the Roots of Human Connections

108,512 views | 01:07:13

Cartographers of the Brain: Mapping the Connectome

116,922 views | 01:33:49

Quantum Reality: Space, Time, and Entanglement

7,994,304 views | 1:32:48

Computational Creativity: AI and the Art of Ingenuity

00:58:53

Forever Young: The Promise of Human Regeneration

958,810 views | 01:02:40

The Future of Augmented Intelligence: If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘em

01:02:01

Engineering Immortality: the End of Aging?

56,399 views | 00:59:50

Quantum Computing – The Qubit Technology Revolution

110,102 views | 01:03:48

Science In A Polarized World: A Global Town Hall Meeting

01:00:35

Evolution Beyond Earth

59,304 views | 00:59:31

Shaking Up the Dark Universe: The Dark Horses of Dark Matter

557,356 views | 01:17:01

Testing the Limits of Cosmology

142,874 views | 00:57:13

Moral Math of Robots: Can Life and Death Decisions Be Coded?

59,849 views | 01:34:35

Beyond Beauty: The Predictive Power of Symmetry

477,801 views | 01:33:30

Splicing and Dicing DNA: Genome Engineering and the CRISPR Revolution

533,708 views | 01:24:26

To Unweave a Rainbow: Science and the Essence of Being Human

213,237 views | 01:38:53

It’s Alive, But Is It Life: Synthetic Biology and the Future of Creation

1,232,680 views | 01:27:13

Mind Melds and Brain Beams: The Dawn of Brain-to-Brain Communication

1,407,132 views | 01:25:32

My Neurons, My Self

483,529 views | 01:39:51

Wizards of Odds: The Power of Probability

530,124 views | 01:23:44

The Next Quantum Leap: Here, There, and Everywhere

162,724 views | 01:02:32

Planet of the Humans: The Leap to the Top

192,486 views | 01:19:33

Spark of Genius? Awakening a Better Brain

141,428 views | 01:21:33

To Infinity and Beyond: The Accelerating Universe

820,597 views | 01:22:23

Time Is of the Essence… or Is It?

1,210,475 views | 01:22:11

Mind Over Masters: The Question of Free Will

464,061 views | 01:23:39

Designer Genes: Fashioning our Biological Future

01:13:31

Alien Life: Will We Know It When We See It?

7,401,333 views | 01:33:30

The Deceptive Watchman: How Our Brains Twist Time

303,134 views | 01:23:57

Measure for Measure: Quantum Physics and Reality

3,821,769 views | 01:38:44

Infinity: The Science of Endless

1,654,467 views | 01:23:57

A Matter of Time

985,779 views | 01:27:52

Architects of the Mind: A Blueprint for the Human Brain

770,181 views | 01:28:48

Destiny and DNA: Our Pliable Genome

53,216 views | 01:24:33

The Whispering Mind: The Enduring Conundrum of Consciousness

785,034 views | 01:26:02

Engineering the Brain: Deploying a New Neural Toolkit

01:03:39

Multiverse: One Universe or Many?

3,467,498 views | 01:22:35

James Watson: On the Shoulders of Giants

01:08:08

The Elusive Neutrino and The Nature Of The Cosmos

457,300 views | 01:30:42

Why We Prevailed: Evolution and the Battle for Dominance

162,001 views | 01:31:59

Exoplanets: The Search for New Worlds

108,894 views | 01:24:28

Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind

378,058 views | 01:35:31

Beautiful Minds: The Enigma of Genius

545,311 views | 01:30:32

The Illusion of Certainty: Risk, Probability, and Chance

699,211 views | 01:28:02

The Dark Side Of The Universe

1,172,011 views | 01:44:14

Mysteries of the Mathematical Universe

829,089 views | 01:16:48

A Thin Sheet of Reality: The Universe as a Hologram

3,024,076 views | 01:30:10

The Limits of Understanding

1,662,619 views | 01:33:00

Faith and Science

95,459 views | 01:41:19

Back to the Big Bang: Inside the Large Hadron Collider

376,031 views | 01:35:29

Food 2.0: Feeding a Hungry World

01:32:13

Mind and Machine: The Future of Thinking

274,364 views | 01:25:28

What It Means to Be Human: The Enigma of Altruism

01:18:33

NOTHING: The Subtle Science of Emptiness

1,044,281 views | 01:25:19

Infinite Worlds: A Journey through Parallel Universes

2,466,479 views | 01:43:58

Time Since Einstein

875,760 views | 01:36:21

What It Means to be Human

01:25:35

Science Faith and Religion

337,781 views | 01:46:12

Beyond Einstein: In Search of the Ultimate Explanation

246,427 views | 01:02:50

Echoes From The Beginning: A Journey Through Space And Time

168,612 views | 01:17:21

The Invisible Reality: The Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World

4,892,581 views | 01:30:56

Faith and Science