The beauty of our improbable existence with a NASA expert, physicist & futurist

Humanity’s future is bright, according to the ones who study our past.

This video is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation.

The future is coming, whether we’re ready or not. Physicist Sean Carroll, planetary scientist Nina Lanza, and futurist Kevin Kelly are three brilliant minds who have spent their careers studying how time has affected the Earth — and Kmele is on a mission to understand their findings.

Part of understanding what we know includes identifying the things we don’t know; this way, we can keep our minds open to new discoveries and ideas.

What is it really like to be a theoretical physicist, who only works with ideas? How does philosophy underline the progress we’ve made as a society? And, finally, what is humanity’s role in the future, and what can we do to make sure our lives have meaning? Find out this, and much, much more, in the last episode of Dispatches from The Well.

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About Kmele Foster:

Kmele Foster is a media entrepreneur, commentator, and regular contributor to various national publications. He is the co-founder and co-host of The Fifth Column, a popular media criticism podcast.

He is the head of content at Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital firm investing in companies building revolutionary technologies, and a partner at Freethink, a digital media company focused on the people and ideas changing our world.

Kmele also serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

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Read more from The Well:
Actually, neuroscience suggests “the self” is real
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can illuminate the debate over generative AI
Few of us desire true equality. It’s time to own up to it

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About The Well
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

Together, let's learn from them.

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Join The Well on your favorite platforms:

[breathspinecore]

This is definitely the best and most meaningful series on YT right now, and this was the best episode yet! Please keep going with this. Thank you

[Jed]

I see a video with Sean Carrol in my feed; I watch that video. Love this man!

[speaker]

"I want to be a good ancestor." I need that quote on a t-shirt. It explains so much about how I view everything.

[diegoaguilar]

Any video that Sean Carroll appears in is guaranteed to be excellent. I have seen every one of the videos in which he appears and I just can't get enough. One of the best physicist/philosopher of our times

[spideken]

Nice advice 👍
1. Embark on a journey
2. Read a books
3. Talk to people from all walks of life
4. Ask big audacious question, dont settle for lazy answer.
5. Above all make the most of the time you have while your here

[TurdFerguson]

What a great show! The guests are some of my favorite people. The host asks the right questions. Keep this going!!! And going

[mickeybrumfield]

One reason to be optimistic about the future is because the virtue of human curiosity is becoming more appreciated as a fundamental human value.

[littlefang]

Big kudos to everyone involved in this series. Simply awesome work.

[ronaldolivier]

One of THE BEST videos I have been presented with on Youtube. Well done all involved. Good timing in the edits, relatable presenter, enthusiastic guests, good graphics etc.

[timtrewyn]

Very thoughtful and admirable. A fine piece of journalism.

[goldwingerppg]

Nina has a pleasant delivery of information, I came to know her on the Science Channel program “How the Universe Works”. Sean now works in my area at Johns Hopkins, which happens to be my healthcare provider. I enjoy listening to his podcast on a variety of subjects and he makes the subject easy to digest.

[ashok.nurture]

One of the uplifting and calming videos, I have ever watched

[cecily]

I love Kevin showing his oddities shelf ❤

[Erazon]

As science student this types of video help me to be motivated.thank you so much and loads of love from india ❤

[CrAck-MoNey]

This is one of my favorite Big Thinks so far. Very intellectually invigorating.

[justicewillprevail]

I remember when I was a very little girl, maybe about 6 or 7. I read a book volcanoes, lava and how rocks are formed on earth. I was so facinated by this book, I started to search books about how other planets were likely formed. I still remember like it was yesterday how incredibly amazed I felt by this universe. It's too bad I did not furthur explore with my curious mind and study all that's involved. Now that I'm almost 50, I start to reminisce back and think about what could've been. This world still fascinates me.

[markharding]

I like expressions. One of which goes:

"The optimist creates the airplane. The pessimist creates the parachute."

In a manner of speaking, you need both. A sort of balance if you will?!

[RKupyr]

My first viewing of this series, and I've subscribed. Kmele Foster really leaves us with a solid foundation and a clear way forward.

[arefmoin]

Each and everyone of your guests is truly inspirational. Thank you for bringing this to us. To choose optimism is indeed a moral imperative.

[Kawaii-]

Thank you so much for Big Think and Well. The most valuable content ever on YT❤