A Physicist Answers Why We Are Here

Physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf, a contributor to the "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge," explains how the small differences in theories about space and time might explain why life just happened to happen.

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Following is the transcript of the video:

Perhaps the most fundamental philosophical question that you can ask in science is: “Why are we here?”I’m Robbert Dijkgraaf. I am Robbert Dijkgraaf and the Director and Leon Levy Professor of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. and a theoretical physicist.

To understand the universe, we have to bring together the two key ideas that are governing modern physics. On the one hand, we have Einstein’s theory of relativity. That describes the largest structures in the universe in terms of curvature of space and time. On the other hand, we have quantum theory. Which very successfully describes the elementary particles. But it also has issues.

For instance in quantum mechanics you never know exactly what is going to happen. The best thing that you can do is calculate the probability for something to happen. If you look in the very distant past of the universe and we see kind of the baby photo of the universe, we see little spots. And these spots, in the end, grew to galaxies to stars to planets to us.

So it could be that the intrinsic randomness of quantum theory, the fact that things are not uniform. But they’re always fluctuating a little bit, like the surface of a pool where you have small waves. That actually these small fluctuations give rise to everything that we see around us. And so the fundamental feature of quantum theory, the fact that there is chance. That Einstein famously said well that he didn’t believe that God threw dice.

But actually throwing of the dice and probability cause the structure that we see in the universe. And I feel that's a very poetic and very satisfying way to answer that fundamental question.

[tervanruth]

So he didn't answer the question.

[kuzi]

Damn... and im here thinking DaNk MeMes is the only reason why I'm still here.

[williamblair]

Save yourself 1:51 of time because he really said " I don't know why we are here"

[CelestialChapel]

But, a dice throw really isn't random - it conforms to the rules like everything else. We just don't bother to observe and measure the dynamics of the event.

[briansmith]

Not only did he not give the answer, but he went on to express a theory of probability in randomness to create order. But the fact is that it is statistically impossible for randomness to be responsible for all of creation in all it's complexity and fine tuning.

[weremiahjiller]

The real question is why are we here watching the video??

[agnosticatheist]

"why we are here?"

That implies purpose, which there is no evidence to support purpose.

We are here because we are here. There is no rhyme or reason to "why we are here."
We are just by-products of the purely naturalistic and unintelligently guided descriptive laws of physics. In which, in such an old and vast universe, whatever can happen by those laws, no matter how improbable, will occur.

Now, that doesn't mean we as intelligent beings we can't make our own meaning in life.

[SilmeonMusic]

The answer is so simple yet beyond human comprehension💭

[mariafoteini]

Still no answer to really *why* are we here.

[EpicMarioBros]

Simmons: Hey
Grif: yeah?
Simmons: You ever wonder why we're here?
Grif: It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it. Why are we here? Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a god, watching over us, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know man, but it keeps me up at night...

[greatestclips]

The thing is this life does not seem random, it is perfectly organized, every human has things they will accomplish in life, and that alone is what makes this so called “Life” none random. It drives me crazy to know that we might never know why we are here, and why this life is so harsh.

[adisafwan]

i was talking with my friends asking them what they want to be if they can be anything in this world, when the asked me what i want to be i just said i want to be a coconut, they laugh thinking i was joking, the look on their face as i started to describe why coconut is the perfect thing to be. i am gonna summarize it here cuz i explain it so long.
1. when you is kokonut, you is hanging around on a tree palm, enjoying the breeze of the sea and the sun set as the ocean waves calms you down
2. when you is kokonut, you is useful in most ways, from the palm tree to the inside of your shell, young or old, you give value to the people who uses you, at the same time making them happy
3. when you is kokonut, when you fell down from the tree, your fall can make someone unconscious or dead, meanig your downfall will bring a collateral damage, when you go down, you aint going down alone, you is somewhat important, in a way when youre gone, its gonna have a huge impact, good or bad.
4. damn kokonut is life.

[ageraldo]

to summarize :
we dont know why, but according to quantum mechanics we are super duper lucky to exist.

[ryanm]

It appears that there is no reason to believe that the universe owes us an answer to this question. It may be that there is no reason. There never has been. There never will be. But in a way this is powerful because we get to make life whatever we want to get out of it.

[servantofgod]

Science has theories. These can be change at anytime.

[space_monster_thing]

"one of life's great mysteries isn't it?" if anyone got that you're awesome

[habibsyed]

Im so glad that you were able to answer the question of the last two millennium in a 1:51 minute youtube video with absolutely 0 numbers.

[Resolute]

When your teacher ask you a word you say in a presentation :

[amaytripathi]

When he said " bring together" then suddenly I thought he would say "...a group of remarkable people"

[spaceforrest]

So we're here because of randomness...probably?! Yeah mate very satisfying answer to the question. Really feeds my soul smh