Roger Penrose | Reality, Consciousness, Quantum and the Universe

Renowned mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose has made groundbreaking contributions from general relativity to cosmology. We unpack these ideas and bring you his latest research and findings on reality, truth, quantum and much more.

Roger Penrose is an English mathematical physicist, mathematician and philosopher of science. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford.

In this video:
00:32: How did the universe begin?
05:08: Can we understand consciousness?
13:28: Are computers intelligent?
17:59: What is free will?
22:11: What's wrong with quantum?
27:52: Are truth and beauty related?
32:53: Is there a reality?
38:44: What next?

Debates and talks in order of appearance:

In-depth Interview: On Gravity and Quantum Mechanics (2019)

Secrets of the Mind (2014)

March of the Machines (2015)

In-depth Interview: On Gravity and Quantum Mechanics (2019)

The Arc of Life: Roger Penrose (2019)

Truth and Beauty (2018)

Beyond Reality (2015)

[Tubemanjac]

I am just a layman but this sympathetic man lets me peek a little bit into that endless realm i will never be able to fully grasp.

[zaw]

Roger Penrose deserves way more credit than he gets. This man is on another level.

[goodsirknight]

I love Roger Penrose, what a humble genius. Compared to Krauss or Degrasse Tyson, he's curious and uncertain about everything he thinks he knows

[Murlur]

I love how Roger at one point takes some time to explain the rules of ‘rock scissors paper’, but then goes on to use the term ‘logarithmic tables’ without explanation, as if that’s common knowledge :D

[raghu]

Penrose is an acknowledged scientist, a physicist in particular. He thus answered, or attempted to answer, the seemingly abstract questions to his best scientific ability. He even frackly alluded to his inability to correctly identify consciousness.

Consciousness, in the context of this interview, is one of the TWO fundamental axioms of nature, the other being Existence. Consciousness is a defining factor of life. Considering Existence as that which exists, Consciousness is that which recognizes Existence, including it's own existence.

Being a factor of life, consciousness manifests itself within the constraints of the genus of life it belongs to. A plant is conscious of basic cycles of seasons. Animals are conscious of instincts of survival. Humans are conscious of the need to CHOOSE a course of life. Humans can't escape this choice, and any attempt would only result in a default taking over, and from then on bump from one consequence to another, until he or she consciously intervenes with an assessment and a conscious choice.

It is this process of choice that has evolved into the various branches of knowledge, which we call mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, cosmology, psychology, ... Justice, satisfaction, ... Politics, religion, ... PHILOSOPHY.

[_Beebrox_]

Meeting him at a conference was something that I will remember forever.
Me: I really like your book.
Roger: Which book?
Me: Fashion, faith and fantasy.
Roger: What do you like about it?
Me: A lot of things, but I appreciate your insights of how nature works, and pointing out the fashionable ideas and consider it with gentle argumentation meanwhile proving some mainstream science is being led in the wrong direction. I wonder if due to the radical nature of your ideas, it must have been difficult for you to defend your position. Did you get a lot of criticism from the mainstream?
Roger: Oh, you should read the Emperor's New Mind, its where I got much more criticism...

So i read it... Reading Roger's books is time well spent. He makes you feel you entertained meanwhile your brain is courageously coping with going through not easy to understand contents. It does it in such way your curiosity is being fully activated, and feeling of actually find the principles yourself never disappears.
On top of being bright, his content delivery is exceptional. Highly recommend to all the physics students, and people in various life science industries.

[adymode]

Probably the best interviews of probably the best Pen' in the world

[dylanshort]

Roger Penrose is a beast! So highly intelligent and a great speaker and science communicator

[sparksmacoy]

What a time we live in when you are one click away from hearing the thoughts of people of the caliber of Roger Penrose.

[Bix]

Sir Roger is a GIANT amongst the minnows here, I'm afraid. The Orch OR model he & Hameroff are offering up is, to my mind, the best, most thought out and complete hypothesis currently making the rounds in the field of human consciousness....further, although conjecture now, I believe it to be correct, and will be proven so in time.

[buddyrichable]

In our daily lives we interact with many people, some more intelligent than ourselves, but still in the same
neighborhood, so to speak, totally relatable to our intellect.
Then there are people like Penrose who occupy a different realm, that is inaccessible to an average mind.

[허유선-ym]

It's time for us to consider our environment not to be dead. Worldwide web is our new environment which enables us to see the world in a new perspective. It's a new connection. It's not only a computational system but also a newly emerging conciousness system. Professor Pen Rose is being watched. Conciousness exists inside and outside us.

[salmanuel]

Here are several segments showing the brilliance of Roger Penrose. His thoughts captivate as they elucidate little-mentioned aspects of quantum physics. The material is so well-chosen for sheer wonderment, it is as if the work were edited by the late Carl Sagan.

[monkerud]

Beauty in mathematics and physics comes from the unconscious part of the brain, just like what you think is profound or true on an acid trip. It differs between people, and it is a measure of how consistent the principles or equations seem to your own subconscious set of prejudices.

[imgayasheck]

Aw hell yeah. I'm ready for some twistor theory.

[alpacino]

thank you for the time stamp in your description.

[CGMaat]

Roger is a new species . Love his genius childlike way but mostly unlike other physicist, he EMANATES HUMILITY……

[Oliveir]

Important to outline our view of considering the universe

[susanwoodward]

Will, and the freedom of will are two very different things. Will is the focus (the force) of attention. Free Will, or what is often called volition, FOLLOWS the exercise of will/coherence through the "turning toward"/resonance with a particular potentiality. This also aligns with DISCRIMINATION.

[Oliveir]

I am a small physicist dealing mainly with fronteer between classical and quantum mechanics. I agree we did not find any clue for quantim theory being wrong even when predicting things that a against our logics.