Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:02SO THIS HUMBLEST LITTLE SERVANT
00:00:05OF YOUR DAILY LIFE CONTAINS NOT
00:00:07JUST A PRODUCT, BUT SYMBOLIZES A
00:00:11MORE ABUNDANT LIFE FOR ALL.
00:00:13FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
00:00:17THIS IS THE MIRACLE OF THE CAN.
00:00:31BEGINNING NOW, 24 HOURS OF
00:00:34TELEVISION FOR SERIOUS READERS ON BOOK TV.
00:00:38HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER TODAY. WE VISIT HYDE PARK, NEW YORK,
00:00:41FOR THE ROOSEVELT READING FESTIVAL. YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT ELEANOR
00:00:44ROOSEVELT, CHRISTIAN FAITH, FDR, HIS MENTORS AND MORE.
00:00:48ALSO TODAY, 50 YEARS AFTER THE
00:00:50PUBLISHING OF ALEX HALEY'S ROOTS, AUTHOR LUCAS JOHNSON
00:00:54TALKS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE BOOK AND TELEVISION MINISERIES.
00:00:57AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR, LEAH CUT AHMED EXPLORES THE ECONOMIC
00:01:02PANIC OF 1873. FIND A FULL SCHEDULE ON YOUR PROGRAM GUIDE OR BY VISITING
00:01:05BOOK TV DAWG STARTING NOW.
00:01:08THEORETICAL PHYSICIST CHANDA PRESCOTT WEINSTEIN HIGHLIGHTS
00:01:11WHAT HUMANS HAVE DISCOVERED ABOUT THE COSMOS AND WHAT WE
00:01:14STILL HAVE TO LEARN TONIGHT.
00:01:20WE WELCOME TO THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA YEAR CHANDA
00:01:23PRESCOTT WEINSTEIN, WHO IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS
00:01:26AND ASTRONOMY AND CORE FACULTY IN WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES AT
00:01:30THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. SHE CONDUCTS AWARD WINNING
00:01:34THEORETICAL PHYSICS RESEARCH ON
00:01:36DARK MATTER THE EARLY UNIVERSE AND NEUTRON STARS, WHILE ALSO
00:01:40RESEARCHING BLACK FEMINIST SCIENCE STUDIES.
00:01:44HER FIRST BOOK, THE DISORDERED COSMOS, IS A JOURNEY INTO DARK
00:01:49MATTER. SPACETIME AND DREAMS DEFERRED WON THE 2021 LOS ANGELES TIMES
00:01:53BOOK PRIZE IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
00:01:57THE 2022 PHI BETA KAPPA AWARD IN
00:02:00SCIENCE AND A 2022 PEN OAKLAND
00:02:02JOSEPHINE MYLES AWARD.
00:02:04TONIGHT, SHE WILL BE SPEAKING
00:02:06WITH US ABOUT HER GROUNDBREAKING AND DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL NEW BOOK,
00:02:10THE EDGE OF SPACETIME.
00:02:12SHE WILL BE JOINED IN
00:02:14CONVERSATION BY ERA DEEP MATHEWS, WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF
00:02:18BREAD AND CIRCUS FROM SCRIBNER
00:02:20BOOKS IN 2023, WHICH WON THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN
00:02:24POETRY, THE PEN OF OAKLAND. JOSEPHINE MYLES AWARD AND WAS A
00:02:28FINALIST FOR THE HURSTON WRIGHT LEGACY AWARD.
00:02:31HER POETRY COLLECTION, SIMULACRA
00:02:33FROM YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS IN 2017 WILL SELECTED BY CARL
00:02:38PHILLIPS AS THE WINNER OF THE 2016 YALE SERIES OF YOUNGER
00:02:42POETS. FOLKS, THIS PROMISES TO BE AN
00:02:46INCREDIBLE CONVERSATION. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING
00:02:48CHANDA PRESCOTT WEINSTEIN AND
00:02:50ARA DE MATTHEWS.
00:03:04WELCOME TO PHILADELPHIA. THANK YOU.
00:03:08WE ARE SO THRILLED TO HAVE YOU AND TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT
00:03:12THIS LATEST WONDER THAT YOU'VE
00:03:13BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD AND
00:03:16WHENEVER I READ YOU REALLY IN ANY MEDIUM, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF
00:03:20IT'S SOCIAL MEDIA FROM READING
00:03:21YOU ON THE PAGES, THERE'S ALWAYS
00:03:24SOMETHING TO LEARN. RIGHT.
00:03:28AND I THINK THIS BOOK DELIVERS
00:03:31IN THAT IN SO MANY VERY RICH AND WONDERFUL WAYS.
00:03:34AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU WILL ENTER INTO THIS EVENING WITH US
00:03:37BY JUST READING AN EXCERPT OF
00:03:39YOUR CHOICE. OKAY.
00:03:43I'LL GO UP TO THE PODIUM. OKAY.
00:03:52SO THIS IS FROM THE INTRODUCTORY
00:03:55CHAPTER, SANKOFA, THE BOOK YOU
00:03:59ARE READING IS ABOUT THE QUEER POETIC WONDER THAT IS OUR
00:04:01UNIVERSE AND WHAT WE GAIN WHEN WE LOOK AT IT FROM THE MARGINS.
00:04:05IT IS MY VERSION OF WHAT HISTORIAN AMARTYA STIGLER CALLS
00:04:08COSMIC VISIONS A RESPONSE TO THE
00:04:11QUESTION OF WHY WE SHOULD BOTHER TRYING TO GET BEYOND THE EDGES
00:04:14OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE.
00:04:17THE EDGE OF SPACE TIME IS PART OF A LARGER TRADITION THAT
00:04:20INCLUDES NOT JUST SCIENTISTS, BUT ALSO ARTISTS. PEOPLE LIKE JAZZ, MUSICIAN,
00:04:25ARTISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS. MELFORD GRAVES, WHO USED
00:04:27PERCUSSION, SOUND AND
00:04:29OBSERVATIONS OF PRAYING MANTISES AND PLANT GROWTH.
00:04:32TO UNDERSTAND A PHENOMENON HE
00:04:34TERMED COSMIC ENERGY.
00:04:36GREAVES WAS NOT FORMALLY TRAINED AS A SCIENTIST AND COSMIC ENERGY
00:04:40SOUNDS A LITTLE LIKE MYSTIC TALK. BUT WHEN I LISTEN TO HIM DESCRIBE HIS IDEAS IN THE
00:04:45DOCUMENT OR IN MILFORD GRAVES FOR MANTIS, I HEARD A FAMILIAR
00:04:47SENSIBILITY ABOUT HOW MATTER IS LINKED WITH AND THROUGH SPACE
00:04:51TIME, A RELATIONSHIP THAT TAKES CENTER STAGE.
00:04:54IN THIS BOOK AS A SET OF KNOWLEDGES AND TECHNIQUES.
00:04:57PHYSICS PROVIDES A PATHWAY TOWARD ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTIONS.
00:05:01GREAVES ASKED ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF OUR COSMIC AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
00:05:06MATTER, ENERGY AND SPACE TIME. IT ALLOWS US TO SPECIFY IN GREAT
00:05:10DETAIL THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHOTONS AND THE PLANTS AND
00:05:14GRAVES'S GARDEN, WHICH TRANSFORM THE PHOTONS INTO LIVING
00:05:18PARTICLES. IT IS ANOTHER ENTRY POINT TO WHAT PLANT BIOLOGIST AND BLACK
00:05:20FEMINIST THEORIST OF INTERSECTIONALITY AND SCIENCE
00:05:24VARINDER PAUL MONTGOMERY CALLS LESSONS FROM PLANTS WHEN IT'S AT
00:05:28ITS BEST. PHYSICS IS A KIND OF POETRY, A
00:05:31STORY ABOUT THE COSMOS THAT IS MADE FROM METAPHORS AND A
00:05:35PRODUCER OF METAPHORS AND ITS OWN RIGHT. I BELIEVE THAT SEEING THE
00:05:39UNIVERSE THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVE OFFERED BY PHYSICS STRENGTHENS OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
00:05:42WORK METAPHORS ARE DOING ON US AND HOW WE MIGHT WIELD THEM.
00:05:47IT IS IN THIS SENSE THAT PHYSICS WORKS ON US LIKE POETRY, A WAY
00:05:50OF UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD THAT PROVIDES INSIGHTS NOT AVAILABLE
00:05:54TO US ELSEWHERE. THIS HELPS US SEE WHY WE SHOULD
00:05:58BOTHER WITH IT. WE SHOULD BOTHER WITH PHYSICS BECAUSE IT IS IN PART HOW WE AS
00:06:02A SPECIES LEARN TO USE OUR MINDS.
00:06:06WE SHOULD LEARN AND TEACH POETRY, PHYSICS, ALGEBRA AND
00:06:09OTHER ABSTRACT IDEAS BECAUSE THEY TRAIN US TO THINK AND
00:06:13SYMBOL AND FIGURATIVE TERMS. THE SAME GOES FOR CALCULUS AND
00:06:17QUANTUM MECHANICS. AND IF WE CANNOT LEARN TO THINK IN AND THROUGH THE ABSTRACT AND
00:06:21THE SYMBOLIC, THEN WE ARE PLIABLE. WE ARE SITTING DUCKS FOR THE
00:06:26FASHION ARTS AND AUTHORITARIANS WHO WILL USE US FOR THEIR ENDS.
00:06:28AND THEIR ENDS ARE ULTIMATELY CATASTROPHE FOR THE REST OF US.
00:06:32THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRUE AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE.
00:06:36IN A WORLD WHERE GENOCIDES
00:06:38PLURAL CAN BE LIVESTREAMED AND
00:06:40STILL CONTINUE UNABATED, IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE THAT SOCIETY
00:06:43COULD BE OTHERWISE WHEN WHAT IS BROKEN ABOUT IT FEELS SO TOTAL.
00:06:47AND IN THE CASE OF THE FAMILIES SHATTERED AND LIVES LOST, SO
00:06:50FINAL, I DON'T THINK COSMOLOGY BY ITSELF CAN SAVE THE WORLD
00:06:56EVEN SO, I BELIEVE IN THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE A
00:06:58CONNECTION TO THE COSMOS AS NOURISHING. AND I BELIEVE IN PREPARING FOR
00:07:02THE BETTER WORLD THAT IS COMING.
00:07:05THE 1951 BOOK LENGTH POEM MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED BY
00:07:09LANGSTON HUGHES OPENS WITH A SCENE DREAMED BOOGIE CENTERED ON
00:07:12BLACK BRILLIANCE, BLACK STRUGGLE AND BLACK DEFIANCE.
00:07:16GOOD MORNING, DADDY. AIN'T YOU HEARD THE BOOGIE
00:07:19WOOGIE RUMBLE OF A DREAM DEFERRED?
00:07:23THOSE OF US LIVING THROUGH THESE TIMES OF GENOCIDE AND GLOBAL
00:07:25WARMING NARROW INTIMATELY THE MEANING OF THE PHRASE DREAMED
00:07:29DEFERRED. HERE'S FROM A TIME OF EXTREME REPRESSION OF BLACK PEOPLE,
00:07:33ESPECIALLY THOSE WHOSE SEXUALITY HAS REFUSED CONFINEMENT IN
00:07:38HETEROSEXUAL POLITY. SADLY, HIS WORDS HAVE CONTINUED
00:07:40TO SPEAK TO GENERATIONS OF BLACK AND QUEER FOLKS, INCLUDING MY
00:07:44OWN AND THE ONES COMING UP AFTER US.
00:07:46EVEN SO, LIKE HUGHES, I WRITE WITH THE BELIEF IN THE SOUND OF
00:07:50THE BOOGIE WOOGIE RUMBLE, THE GRIEF OF THE BLUES, YES, BUT
00:07:53ALSO THE BRILLIANCE OF THE BLUES.
00:07:56THERE IS POWER IN THESE SOUNDS
00:07:58OF DEFIANCE IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT MAKE THEM AND THE DREAMS WE
00:08:02STUBBORNLY DREAM ANYWAY. THE EDGE OF SPACE TIME IS ABOUT
00:08:05THE WAYS IN WHICH OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE COSMOS CAN
00:08:08BE PART OF OUR BOOGIE WOOGIE RUMBLE. OUR CHALLENGE TO A DREAM
00:08:14DEFERRED.
00:08:23YOU BEGAN TO ANSWER IT IN THAT
00:08:26EXCERPT, AND I HAVE TO ASK EVERY
00:08:29WRITER IF ALL WRITING COMES FROM
00:08:32A SPACE OF WONDER AND INQUIRY.
00:08:36WHAT WAS THE DRIVING QUESTION
00:08:38THAT LED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK,
00:08:41AND HOW DID THAT QUESTION DIFFER FROM THE DISORDERED COSMOS?
00:08:45SO YOU THINK THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION BECAUSE THERE IS WHAT I
00:08:48THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DO. AND THEN OF COURSE, THERE'S WHAT HAPPENS AS YOU START TO WRITE
00:08:52AND THE BOOK STARTS TO TELL YOU ABOUT ITSELF. AND.
00:08:56AND SO GOING INTO IT, WHAT I
00:08:58THOUGHT I WAS DOING, I HAD JUST GOTTEN TENURE.
00:09:02I HAD JUST BECOME THE FIRST
00:09:04BLACK WOMAN EVER ON THE PLANET TO GET TENURE AND THEORETICAL
00:09:08COSMOLOGY AND.
00:09:14AND I WAS GRAPPLING WITH WHAT I
00:09:16HAD TO GIVE UP AS PART OF THAT JOURNEY.
00:09:20AND THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ASKED IN ACADEMIA, LIKE WITHIN PHYSICS, THERE ARE SOME
00:09:25QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE ALLOWED TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT, AND THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE
00:09:28NOT ENCOURAGED TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT, SO YOU'RE NOT REALLY ENCOURAGED TO SPEND A LOT OF
00:09:32TIME WONDERING WHAT IS SPACE? THERE'S NO POINT IN THE PHYSICS
00:09:36CURRICULUM WHERE WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH OUR STUDENTS OR WE TELL OUR STUDENTS TO HAVE
00:09:39THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEMSELVES. AND SO THERE WAS KIND OF THIS
00:09:43MOMENT OF GETTING TENURE AND WANTING TO RETURN TO MY
00:09:47INTELLECTUAL ROOTS OF HOW DID I DECIDE TO BE A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST?
00:09:50WHY DID I DECIDE TO BE A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST? AND WANTING TO COME BACK TO
00:09:54THOSE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS THAT I LITERALLY FELT I COULDN'T
00:09:58ALLOW MYSELF TO SPEND TIME ON, BUT THAT TAKE TIME AWAY FROM ME
00:10:02DOING THE THINGS THAT WE GET.
00:10:02ME TENURE AND ALSO REALIZING
00:10:06THAT MOMENT WASN'T LIKE WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE AND
00:10:09NOT IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL, LIKE GETTING TENURE AT A RESEARCH
00:10:11INTENSIVE INSTITUTE IN AN HOUR
00:10:14WHEN LIKE THE ONE WHERE I WORK, THAT MEANS THAT THERE EARLY
00:10:18CAREER RESEARCHERS WHOSE FUTURES
00:10:20DEPEND ON YOU GETTING YOUR WORK DONE.
00:10:23WHICH MEANS THAT MY RESEARCH PROGRAM IS NO LONGER JUST ABOUT
00:10:25ME AND MY INTERESTS. IT'S ALSO ABOUT ENSURING THAT
00:10:29THE EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS GET WHAT THEY NEED AND ARE
00:10:33RESPONSIBLE PARTIES TO EACH OTHER ARE MUTUAL.
00:10:35SO THAT WAS WHAT I WAS THINKING AS I WAS GOING INTO WRITING THE
00:10:40PROPOSAL AND WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE WORKING ON.
00:10:42THEN WHILE I WAS WORKING ON THE BOOK, I WAS READING THIS EDITED
00:10:48COLLECTION, HOW WE WRITE, AND
00:10:52IT'S EDITED BY JERICHO BROWN AND
00:10:55ITS BLACK WRITERS ON CRAFT. AND I HAD PICKED IT UP BECAUSE I
00:10:59COLLECT CRAFT BOOKS. I'M ALWAYS LOOKING. I LOVE READING ABOUT HOW TO WRITE.
00:11:02AND SO I OBVIOUSLY I READ THE
00:11:05NIKKI GIOVANNI ESSAY, AND THEN I WAS LIKE, I'M JUST GOING TO READ THIS.
00:11:09NATASHA TRETHEWEY ESSAY ABOUT A BITING METAPHOR.
00:11:12AND IN THE ESSAY IS OSTENSIBLY
00:11:16ABOUT THE ABIDING METAPHORS OF
00:11:18PATHWAYS CHILDHOOD AS A CHILD OF MISCEGENATION WITH A WHITE
00:11:22FATHER AND A BLACK MOTHER, AND THE STORIES THAT HER WHITE
00:11:25FATHER TOLD HER ABOUT HERSELF AND HOW THOSE THE METAPHORS THAT
00:11:29HE WORKED THROUGH, HOW THOSE TOLD HER STORIES ABOUT HERSELF
00:11:33THAT HAVE STAYED WITH HER. BUT SHE KIND OF ANCHORS HERSELF
00:11:37IN THIS ROBERT FROST POEM, EDUCATE OR ESSAY CALLED
00:11:39EDUCATION BY POETRY.
00:11:41AND SHE HAS THIS LONG QUOTE FROM HIM.
00:11:44AND SO I'M JUST SITTING THERE READING, AND HE'S TALKING ABOUT
00:11:47THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING HOW TO THINK WITH A METAPHOR. AND OBVIOUSLY, I THINK THIS IS
00:11:50VERY IMPORTANT. I GREW UP IN A POLITICAL
00:11:54ACTIVIST FAMILY, SO I AM LIKE VERY IN TUNE WITH LIKE, YES, WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT LANGUAGE.
00:11:57I'M A WRITER, SO I AGREE. AND THEN AT THE VERY END, HE'S
00:12:01BASICALLY SAYING, IF YOU DO NOT
00:12:03UNDERSTAND THE METAPHOR, YOU ARE
00:12:05NOT SAFE IN SCIENCE. YOU ARE NOT SAFE IN HISTORY.
00:12:09AND I WAS SITTING THERE AND I WAS LIKE, YEAH, I JUST CAME HERE
00:12:12FOR WRITING ADVICE. I WASN'T HERE TO TO SEE LINKS
00:12:16BETWEEN POETRY AND SCIENCE AND
00:12:19TO GET READ AS A SCIENTIST AND
00:12:23THAT VERY CLEARLY YOU'VE READ THE BOOK BECAME LIKE A THROUGH
00:12:26LINE FOR THE BOOK. I'M THINKING THROUGH, WAIT A
00:12:29MINUTE, THESE METAPHORS ARE IMPORTANT. THE METAPHORS.
00:12:32I'M CHOOSING TO TALK TO MY AUDIENCE. AND THEN I WAS THINKING, YOU KNOW, WRITING ABOUT PHYSICS IS
00:12:36HARD. I REALLY WANT TO WRITE FOR AN AUDIENCE THAT THINKS THAT THEY
00:12:39CAN'T UNDERSTAND PHYSICS. THIS WAS ONE OF MY NUMBER ONE
00:12:42GOALS, AND I SHOULD JUST SAY TO
00:12:44MY READER, I HAVE TO USE METAPHORS TO DO THIS BECAUSE
00:12:48YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DO MATH. THAT'S NOT PART OF THE BOOK.
00:12:51AND SO BEING HONEST WITH MY
00:12:54AUDIENCE ABOUT THAT THEN INVOLVED HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT
00:12:59METAPHORS I WAS USING AND WHAT THEIR LIMITATIONS WERE AND THE
00:13:03POLITICS OF THE THE METAPHORIC CHOICES THAT WE MAKE IN OUR
00:13:07WRITING. I WANT TO GO BACK FOR A MINUTE BECAUSE I THINK YOU REACH INTO
00:13:11THAT INTO THAT COMMENT. I THINK YOU REACH BACK INTO
00:13:14CHILDHOOD TO SOME DEGREE IN THINKING ABOUT HOW WE WE'RE
00:13:19EXPOSED. YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUNG READERS
00:13:21OR PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE EXPOSED TO SCIENCE.
00:13:24HOW DID YOU DEVELOP A LOVE OF
00:13:30SPACE AND PAGE WHICH I CONSIDER
00:13:32TO BE SPACE, A TYPE OF SPACE.
00:13:38YOU KNOW, THE BOOK IS IN PART DEDICATED TO MY FATHER, SAM
00:13:42WEINSTEIN, AND MY DAD READ
00:13:46POETRY WITH ME.
00:13:46AND IN FACT, I LEARNED TO READ
00:13:50WITH ONE OF THE POEMS THAT'S IN
00:13:53THE BOOK, DISOBEDIENCE BY A ON. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE IS FAMILIAR WITH THAT ONE, BUT IT'S
00:13:57BASICALLY ABOUT A TODDLER WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS MOTHER FOR SOME REASON.
00:14:00AND HIS MOTHER IS A TROUBLEMAKER, WHICH I GUESS I
00:14:04COULD IDENTIFY WITH ANYBODY WHO KNOWS MY MOM.
00:14:06MARGARET PRESCOTT. I WOULD UNDERSTAND WHY I SAID THAT.
00:14:10AND I'M I HAD HIM READ IT TO ME
00:14:14SO MANY TIMES THAT I MEMORIZED IT. I CAN STILL RECITE IT. I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT, BUT I
00:14:18WILL JUST I'M GOING TO ASK YOU. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
00:14:23BUT AND AT SOME POINT, I STARTED
00:14:26MATCHING WHAT I HAD IN MY HEAD WITH THE WORDS ON THE PAGE AND
00:14:29THE CADENCE BECAUSE I WAS ABLE
00:14:33TO SEE WHERE WE WERE ON THE PAGE WITH WHERE I WAS IN MY HEAD IN
00:14:37THE STORY THAT THE POEM TELLS ABOUT HOW OUR GEORGE GEORGE,
00:14:41WHETHER IT BE GEORGE DUPREE IS
00:14:43RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS MOTHER AND
00:14:46HE TELLS HER HE MUST SHE MUST NEVER GO DOWN TO THE END OF THE
00:14:49TOWN IF YOU DON'T GO DOWN WITH ME. AND THEN AT SOME POINT SHE GOES DOWN WITHOUT HIM AND SHE
00:14:54DISAPPEARS. AND SO THERE'S A WHOLE KIND OF
00:14:56JOURNEY THAT HAPPENS IN THE POEM. AND THAT WAS HOW I LEARNED TO
00:15:00READ. THAT WAS LIKE REALLY LIKE MY FIRST. AND SO THERE WAS THIS MOMENT
00:15:04WHERE I'M DOING THIS MAPPING OF BEING ON THE PAGE WITH THE
00:15:08WORDS, WITH ALSO THE SOUND OF THE WORDS AND MY MY PARENTS
00:15:13BIRTH GREW UP IN THE COMMONWEALTH AND WENT THROUGH
00:15:17COMMONWEALTH BRITISH STYLE EDUCATION. AND SO I THINK LIKE READING OUT
00:15:20LOUD WAS HIGHLY VALUED. AND SO MY DAD AND I WERE DOING A
00:15:23LOT OF READING OUT LOUD. ALICE IN WONDERLAND APPEARS A
00:15:26LOT IN THIS BOOK, AND THAT WAS ALSO SOMETHING WE READ ALOUD
00:15:31TOGETHER. AND SO I THINK THERE WAS A LOT
00:15:34OF LISTENING WHILE LOOKING AND SEEING WHERE THINGS ARE PLACED
00:15:38ON THE PAGE. I THINK YOUR BOOK WAS THE FIRST
00:15:41TIME THAT I READ ALICE IN WONDERLAND OR UNDERSTOOD ALICE
00:15:44IN WONDERLAND AS A COMMENTARY ON
00:15:48COLONIAL CITY AND ONE OF THE
00:15:52THINGS THAT I THINK THAT THIS BOOK DOES IN PARTICULAR IS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS.
00:15:56WE TEXTED THIS THIS WEEKEND.
00:15:58I DON'T THINK IT'S JUST A BOOK ABOUT PHYSICS.
00:16:02I THINK IT'S A BOOK ABOUT LIBERATORY PRACTICE.
00:16:04AND SO EVEN IN THE TITLE OR THE
00:16:08SUBTITLE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT
00:16:11PARTICLES POETRY AND THE COSMIC
00:16:13DREAM BOOK, IT'S NOT ONLY THE SPIRIT OF THE BOOK, IT IS A
00:16:17METHOD OF KNOWING.
00:16:19AND SO WHEN WHEN DID YOU GIVE
00:16:23YOURSELF THOSE PERMISSIONS TO
00:16:25MERGE YOUR METHODS OF KNOWING?
00:16:28I MEAN, CERTAINLY ONE THING THAT WAS HAPPENING WHILE I WAS
00:16:31WORKING ON THE BOOK PROPOSAL AND
00:16:34THEN WHILE I WAS WRITING THE
00:16:36BOOK IS I SPENT A LOT OF.
00:16:38SO IN ACADEMIA YOU DO TEACHING, YOU DO RESEARCH, AND YOU ALSO DO SERVICE.
00:16:42AND MOST OF MY SERVICE COMMITMENTS.
00:16:46I'M TALKING TO THE PROVOST OF RENMARK COLLEGE RIGHT NOW
00:16:49OUTSIDE, JUST HENCE THE LAUGHTER.
00:16:52THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE IN
00:16:57POETRY AND OTHERWISE. YES, I AM.
00:17:00I WAS MOST OF MY SERVICE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAS BEEN IN
00:17:05POLICY OF SOME KIND, MOSTLY ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND
00:17:07COORDINATING WITH INTERNATIONAL
00:17:09PARTNERS AND DEVELOPING FUTURE
00:17:12PLANNING FOR PARTICLE PHYSICS IN
00:17:14THE UNITED STATES AND BEYOND.
00:17:16AND IN AND DEPENDING ON WHICH
00:17:19AREA OF SERVICE I WAS DOING, I WAS HELPING TO MAKE THE CASE FOR
00:17:23DARK MATTER RESEARCH USING
00:17:26ASTROPHYSICAL TECHNIQUES.
00:17:29I WAS ALSO SITTING ON A PANEL
00:17:30THAT WAS LOOKING AT THE FUTURE OF PARTICLE PHYSICS, LIKE 50 YEARS FROM NOW.
00:17:34AND THEN I WAS ALSO SITTING ON A
00:17:38PANEL THAT WAYS UNTIL DONALD
00:17:40TRUMP DISBANDED IT ON YOM
00:17:44KIPPUR, I WAS THE TOP ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN THE FEDERAL
00:17:48GOVERNMENT ON PARTICLE PHYSICS POLICY AND WAS BASICALLY
00:17:53RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING ALL OF THE NATIONAL PLANNING. AND SO I WAS SPENDING A LOT OF
00:17:57TIME IN THESE ROOMS, USUALLY AS THE YOUNGEST PERSON.
00:18:00AND I HAVE TO SAY I'M 43, SO I'M NOT A SPECIAL ONLY YOUNG.
00:18:03BUT I WAS STILL, IN MANY CASES, USUALLY THE YOUNGEST PERSON IN
00:18:07THESE ROOMS TALKING TO COLLEAGUES WHO WERE FROM A
00:18:12DIFFERENT TIME. IF FUNDING AND PUBLIC ENGAGE
00:18:15MEANT AND FRANKLY FROM A
00:18:18DIFFERENT SET OF DEMOGRAPHICS OF
00:18:20WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO ENGAGE AS AN AUDIENCE? WHO ARE YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO?
00:18:24WHO ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE TO? AND I WAS FINDING MYSELF SAYING
00:18:27A LOT, WE NEED TO MAKE OUR CASE
00:18:30TO THE PUBLIC. HISTORICALLY, THE ATTITUDE IS WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS WHERE OUR
00:18:34FUNDING GETS CUT, WE GO TO CONGRESS AND WE HAVE OUR LOBBY DAYS.
00:18:38AND I'M NOT SAYING DON'T LOBBY
00:18:40CONGRESS, BUT ALSO, IF I'M NOT IN ROOMS LIKE THIS ONE WITH YOU
00:18:43ALL SAYING, HERE'S WHY PARTICLE
00:18:45PHYSICS MATTERS, THEN HOW AM I
00:18:49MAKING THE CASE FOR WHY YOU ALL SHOULD BE CALLING YOUR MEMBER OF
00:18:52CONGRESS AND SAYING, ACTUALLY, I
00:18:54DO THINK YOU SHOULD CONTINUE YOUR FUNDING?
00:18:56I AM THE NANCY GRACE ROMAN SPACE TELESCOPE, WHICH IS LAUNCHING
00:19:00THIS OCTOBER AND WHICH WAS FOR A WHILE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK LAST
00:19:04YEAR. I WANT YOU ALL TO BE INVESTED IN
00:19:06THAT, NOT JUST BECAUSE, LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PRETTY GALAXIES.
00:19:12THERE'S LIKE A VERY THERE IS A SELF INVOLVED ELEMENT OF THAT.
00:19:14BUT ALSO WHEN THEY TAKE
00:19:16COSMOLOGY FROM PEOPLE LIKE ME,
00:19:19THEY'RE ALSO TAKING COSMOLOGY FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU. THAT'S RIGHT.
00:19:23AND SO A LOT OF IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST ME THINKING ABOUT IT.
00:19:27I HAVE TO BE DIRECTLY ENGAGED
00:19:30WITH MAKING THE CASE TO PEOPLE.
00:19:33AND SO IF I'M GOING TO MAKE THE CASE, WHY SHOULD MOST OF MY
00:19:38AUDIENCES NOT GOING TO TAKE A QUANTUM MECHANICS CLASS? MOST OF MY AUDIENCE IS NOT GOING
00:19:41TO TAKE A QUANTUM FIELD THEORY CLASS. AND EVEN THE STUDENTS WHO GET
00:19:45REALLY EXCITED AND DO TAKE THOSE CLASSES, MOST OF THEM ARE NOT GOING TO BECOME PROFESSIONAL,
00:19:49THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS. SO THEN WHAT'S THE POINT? WHY SHOULD THEY SPEND 300 PLUS
00:19:53PAGES WITH MY BOOK?
00:19:55WHY SHOULD THEY? I AM, YOU KNOW, COME AND SIT IN
00:19:59ROOMS LIKE THAT, WHICH, BY THE WAY, THANK YOU. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.
00:20:01THIS IS REALLY HEARTENING,
00:20:03PARTICULARLY AFTER THE LAST YEAR THAT WE'VE HAD IN SCIENCE.
00:20:07I AM AND I WANTED TO SAY TO
00:20:10PEOPLE, THIS IS PART OF HOW OUR BRAINS WORK. THIS IS SOMETHING OUR SPECIES
00:20:14HAS ALWAYS DONE, OUR SPECIES HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED WITH HOW
00:20:18THINGS WORK, WHY THE NIGHT SKY LOOKS THE WAY IT DOES FOR MOST
00:20:21OF THE EXISTENCE OF OUR SPECIES.
00:20:25EVERYONE HAS SEEN A DARK NIGHT SKY EVERY SINGLE NIGHT EXCEPT
00:20:29WHEN IT WAS CLOUDY. BASICALLY.
00:20:31AND THAT'S ONLY REALLY CHANGED
00:20:34IN THE LAST COUPLE OF CENTURIES. SO THERE IS AN EVOLUTIONARY
00:20:37ELEMENT OF I GREW UP IN A
00:20:40HOUSEHOLD WHERE THE ANCESTORS WERE REALLY IMPORTANT ALSO.
00:20:43SO IF I WANT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE
00:20:45TO THE ANCESTORS CAUSE THAT ALSO
00:20:47MEANS CALLING PEOPLE BACK TO THE
00:20:50PRACTICES OF THE ANCESTORS.
00:20:52AND PART OF THAT IS THE CALL TO
00:20:54TELL STORIES ABOUT THE NIGHT SKY
00:20:56AND MAP ARE RELATIONSHIP WITH IT.
00:21:00AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE METHOD OF COMING
00:21:02BACK AND SAYING, WELL, WAIT A MINUTE, THERE'S VALUE IN YOU
00:21:06TAKING THE TIME TO LET THE STORY WRITE THESE PATHWAYS IN YOUR
00:21:10BRAIN BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN I'M SITTING HERE IN FRONT OF THESE
00:21:14LIGHTS AND I'M HONESTLY, I'M STILL LIKE THIS LIKE 20 SOMETHING YEARS LATER.
00:21:19PHOTONS ARE FLYING OUT OF THE LIGHT. LIKE WHEN YOU TURN THE LIGHT ON, THEY'RE JUST LIKE PARTICLES
00:21:22FLYING AT YOU. AND THERE ARE NEUTRINOS RADIATING OUT OF YOUR BANANAS
00:21:27LIKE, THAT'S AWESOME.
00:21:31IT MAKES AND IT'S WHIMSICAL. IT'S VERY ALICE IN WONDERLAND,
00:21:36EXCEPT THIS IS WONDERLAND. SO I THINK ALSO THE LESSON THERE
00:21:39IS THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS WONDERLAND.
00:21:41WE DON'T JUST HAVE TO ESCAPE INTO FICTION, WHICH I OBVIOUSLY
00:21:45LOVE, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THIS
00:21:47OPTION OF BEING PRESENT WITH A
00:21:49WONDROUS AND FANTASTIC CALLED REALITY.
00:21:52AND SO WHY NOT?
00:21:56AND.
00:22:00BECAUSE YOU JUST GAVE US SOME
00:22:03POETRY ABOUT NEUTRINOS AND
00:22:07PHOTONS. I'M GOING TO ASK YOU FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON'T LIVE INSIDE OF
00:22:11EXPERIMENTAL OR THEORETICAL
00:22:13PHYSICS, WHAT IS A BEAUTIFUL AND INTUITIVE WAY TO UNDERSTAND
00:22:18SPACETIME AND SO I THINK MY FAVORITE WAY OF THINKING ABOUT
00:22:22SPACE TIME IS TO KIND OF EMBODY
00:22:26IT AND PERSONALIZE IT. AND SO THERE THERE WAS AN ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHER NAMED W THE
00:22:30EQUATION HERE, IF YOU TALK TO
00:22:32PHILOSOPHERS, THEY'RE LIKE, HE'S THE HARD ONE TO READ AND YOU'RE
00:22:36LITERALLY JUST LIKE, ALL RIGHT, I'M GOING TO SET 20 MINUTES
00:22:38ASIDE FOR EACH SENTENCE WHEN YOU'RE READING HIM, BUT HE HAS
00:22:42THIS REALLY BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF SPACE TIME WHERE
00:22:45HE BASICALLY SAYS YOU EXIST IN
00:22:47THREE PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS, AND
00:22:50THEN I'LL JUST PICK MY CASE, MY
00:22:51TIME DIMENSION IS 43.5 YEARS AND
00:22:57SO THAT STARTS TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE'RE
00:22:59TALKING ABOUT SPACE AND TIME TOGETHER.
00:23:04AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KIND OF SCARES PEOPLE ABOUT
00:23:08PHYSICS, YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE
00:23:10IS KIND OF.
00:23:13A BOUNDARY YOU HAVE TO CROSS OVER ACCEPTING THAT YOU ARE
00:23:18GOING TO BE IN BEGINNERS MIND FOR A LITTLE BIT. AND THAT'S ACTUALLY PART OF WHAT
00:23:20PHYSICS DOES FOR YOU, IS THAT
00:23:24THE INTUITION THAT YOU MAY WALK INTO PHYSICS WITH IS NOT THE
00:23:28INTUITION THAT YOU WILL WALK OUT
00:23:30OF PHYSICS WITH AND INSTEAD OF
00:23:32EXPERIENCING THAT AS A THREAT BECAUSE IT'S CONFUSING AND MAYBE
00:23:37DISORIENT, BEING INITIALLY EXPERIENCING THAT AS AN
00:23:39OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THAT DISORIENTATION MEANS YOU'RE
00:23:43DEVELOPING A NEW SENSE OF ORIENTATION AND A DIFFERENT
00:23:46ARRAY OF CHOICES AVAILABLE TO YOU AS TO HOW YOU WILL ORIENT
00:23:50YOURSELF IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT. I THINK THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT
00:23:54IS THAT YOU MAY SURPRISE YOURSELF WHEN THINGS TURN OUT TO BE INTUITIVE.
00:23:57THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN HAVEN'T BEEN.
00:24:00AND SO I'M THINKING OF THE BRITISH IRAQI DRAG QUEEN, AMARU
00:24:06AL-KADHIMI, WHO WAS ASKED AT ONE POINT BY CHANNEL FOUR NEWS, I AM
00:24:10HOW BEING NON-BINARY COULD POSSIBLY BE NATURAL. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS QUITE
00:24:14THAT RUDE, BUT IT WASN'T GREAT.
00:24:17AND OMRI WAS LIKE, PARTICLES CAN BE WAVES AND PARTICLES AT THE
00:24:21SAME TIME. LIKE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
00:24:23PARTICLES ARE NON BINARY AND OF COURSE THAT'S NATURAL.
00:24:27AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S AN
00:24:29EXAMPLE OF, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP
00:24:32TELLING PEOPLE, OH, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY INTUITION FOR THIS.
00:24:36AND I REALLY FELT LIKE IN THE BOOK THERE WAS A TENSION THERE
00:24:38WHERE I WAS TRYING TO HOVER OVER. I'M TELLING YOU THAT THIS THING
00:24:41MIGHT NOT BE INTUITIVE FOR YOU, BUT ACTUALLY I DON'T KNOW YOU.
00:24:45I DON'T KNOW YOUR LIFE.
00:24:47IT MAY BE THAT WHAT I THINK IS
00:24:49NOT INTUITIVE FOR ME WILL FEEL EXTREMELY NATURAL TO YOU.
00:24:51AND YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN TO THAT
00:24:55POSSIBILITY OF BOTH EMBRACING SOMETHING THAT SPEAKS READILY TO
00:24:58YOU AND EMBRACING THE CHALLENGE WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T SPEAK
00:25:02READILY TO YOU. BECAUSE ON THE OTHER END OF RECKONING WITH IT, YOU WILL HAVE
00:25:07INTUITION AGAIN. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT PHYSICS STUDENTS DO. WHEN I'M TEACHING A GENERAL
00:25:11RELATIVITY CLASS, THE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE ANY INTUITIVE SENSE
00:25:13REALLY OF WHAT SPACE TIME IS AND
00:25:15THEY GET IT JUST BY PRACTICING, BY DOING THE PROBLEMS.
00:25:19AND SO I CAN'T THERE'S NO
00:25:23PROBLEMS IN THIS BOOK. THERE'S NO TEST AT THE END, I PROMISE YOU NOW.
00:25:26I PROMISE THE READER THAT
00:25:28MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE I REALIZE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE LIKE THEY
00:25:31JUST ASSUME IT'S ABOUT PHYSICS. THERE'S GOING TO BE A TEST AT THE END.
00:25:34I'M STRESSED RIGHT? IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT.
00:25:38BUT I YEAH, I THINK THAT THERE I
00:25:40PLAY WITH DIFFERENT METAPHORS IN THE BOOK, LIKE USING BITS.
00:25:44SO BUTLER'S WORK WITH FABRIC TO,
00:25:47TO THINK ABOUT SPACE TIME FOR EXAMPLE. I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF
00:25:50OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO US. AND SO I TRIED TO PLAY AROUND IN THE BOOK WITH DIFFERENT THINGS
00:25:54THAT MIGHT WORK FOR PEOPLE. CAN I TELL A STORY ABOUT YOU
00:25:58REALLY QUICKLY? SO ABOUT 13 YEARS AGO, WAS IT
00:26:0413, 14, 15, TEN?
00:26:08ARE YOU TELLING THE ONE THAT I
00:26:11THINK YOU'RE TELLING IT WAS IT WAS TEN YEARS AGO.
00:26:14LIKE BASICALLY AROUND NOW. WAS IT REALLY? YEAH.
00:26:17NO, IT WAS LONGER.
00:26:20IT WAS 2016. IT WAS 2016.
00:26:24YEAH. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. AND LIKE RIGHT AROUND NOW, THIS
00:26:26IS LIKE ALMOST TO THE DAY THAT
00:26:31IT'S EXCITING TO HEAR. I KNOW.
00:26:34SO WHEN I WAS WRITING MY FIRST BOOK BEFORE IT WAS GETTING PUBLISHED, I WAS OBSESSED WITH
00:26:38BLACK HOLES. AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT I
00:26:41REALLY NEED IN MY LIFE? A PHYSICIST WHO CAN ACTUALLY
00:26:45EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THEY WORK. THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO.
00:26:49THIS WAS MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO. YEAH, I SAID, A PHYSICIST WHO
00:26:53CAN EXPLAIN HOW THINGS WORK.
00:26:55SO I HIT YOU UP ON FACEBOOK. HI.
00:26:59HOW ARE YOU? YOU DON'T KNOW ME. WE DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER, BUT HELLO.
00:27:02AND I LIKE YOU VERY MUCH. WOULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME
00:27:05HOW BLACK HOLES WORK? AND YOU DID IT IN THE MOST
00:27:11PRECISE AND BEAUTIFUL WORLD. YOU NAILED IT.
00:27:14AND BECAUSE OF THAT EXPLANATION,
00:27:18COUNTLESS POEMS ABOUT BLACK HOLES, SOME NOT VERY GOOD, BUT
00:27:22SOME ALSO VERY BEAUTIFUL,
00:27:26EMERGED. JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE OPEN TO
00:27:28ASKING OR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
00:27:31AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. AND I JUST KIND OF WANT TO BRING
00:27:34THAT OUT INTO THIS SPACE AND SAY THAT'S THE KIND OF PERSON THAT YOU ARE. YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO, YOU KNOW,
00:27:38AND YOU'RE VERY GOOD AT DOING IT.
00:27:41AND JUST IN RESPONSE TO THESE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE BEING
00:27:43ASKED TO MAKE, YOU'RE ANSWERING THEM LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS A
00:27:46HEART FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND
00:27:49HOW THE WORLD WORKS AND HOW THE
00:27:51WORLD FAILS.
00:27:54AND IN THE BOOK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU DO IS YOU MAKE
00:27:58THIS ANALOGOUS RELATIONSHIP
00:28:00BETWEEN EDGES AND THE MARGINAL
00:28:03LYSED AND HOW VERY SIMILAR THEY ARE.
00:28:07RIGHT? AND THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LEARN ABOUT THE EDGES OF
00:28:12COSMOS OLOGY. BUT I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN
00:28:14HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE
00:28:16EDGES OF COSMOLOGY EXPLAIN TO US
00:28:19ABOUT OUR HUMANITY.
00:28:22BLACK HOLES MAKE ME THINK OF
00:28:25THIS, BY THE WAY. I MEAN, ONE OF THE CLAIMS THAT I
00:28:29MAKE IN THE BOOK IS THAT BLACK HOLES ARE THE BEST LEAD EDGES IN THE UNIVERSE.
00:28:34YES, THEY JUST ARE THEY REALLY ARE.
00:28:37AND I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST THOUGHT LIKE, OH, I'M GOING TO
00:28:40PUT THIS IN TERMS OF I AM BLACK WOMEN'S HAIR.
00:28:44THAT'S REALLY LIKE MY STRONG ASSOCIATION IS LAYING YOUR EDGES
00:28:48THAT I AM. THERE IS KIND OF A MOMENT OF
00:28:52CULTURAL CONNECT FOR ME. OH, OF BEING ABLE TO THINK
00:28:57THROUGH LIKE AS A CHILD SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WORRYING ABOUT
00:29:00LIKE WHAT'S FLYING UP AND LIKE HOW AND THEN BEING ABLE TO
00:29:05CONNECT THAT WITH MY SCIENCE RIGHT?
00:29:08AND ALSO KIND OF THIS FEELING OF
00:29:10ONE OF MY GOALS IN MY WRITING IS
00:29:13ALWAYS TO WRITE TO AUDIENCES ON THE MARGINS WHO THINK THAT THEY
00:29:16DON'T BELONG IN PHYSICS, THAT THEY DON'T BELONG IN A PHYSICS BOOK, AND THAT A PHYSICS BOOK
00:29:20DOESN'T BELONG IN THEIR HANDS. AND I THINK BLACK WOMEN ARE
00:29:24ALWAYS MY VERY FIRST AUDIENCE, NOT MY ONLY AUDIENCE, BUT ALWAYS
00:29:28MY VERY FIRST AUDIENCE AND SOME OF THAT IS THAT I WILL PROBABLY
00:29:33SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WRITING BOOKS THAT I WISH
00:29:36SOMEONE HAD PUT IN MY HANDS WHEN
00:29:38I WAS A TEENAGER AND FIGURING
00:29:40OUT WHAT MY JOURNEY IN PHYSICS WAS GOING TO BE AND HOW I WAS
00:29:43GOING TO NAVIGATE THAT JOURNEY.
00:29:46I AM. SO I THINK THAT THERE IS AN
00:29:50ELEMENT OF THAT UNDERSTANDING. THE SURPRISING CONNECTIONS THAT
00:29:53YOUR BRAIN WORKS AND LETTING YOUR BRAIN MAKE THOSE
00:29:57CONNECTIONS. AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT CHOOSING
00:29:59THE EDGE AS MY RUNNING METAPHOR
00:30:04FORCED ME TO DO. ACTUALLY, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT
00:30:06DIDN'T ALWAYS COME OUT NATURALLY OR REALLY THAT BEST LAID.
00:30:09I JUST THINK CAME AFTER THE BOOK
00:30:12HAD BEEN THROUGH MULTIPLE DRAFTS AND IT WAS KIND OF FUSSING WITH
00:30:15THE BLACK HOLE CHAPTER AND WASN'T FEELING LIKE I HAD I HAD
00:30:18COMPLETELY STUCK THE LANDING AND I HAD.
00:30:21YOU DID? THANK YOU. I HAD TO SUBMIT IT'S IN THERE
00:30:25BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GEORGE, GEORGE,
00:30:28WHETHER IT BE GEORGE DUPREE'S MOTHER, MAYBE SHE FELL INTO A BLACK HOLE.
00:30:32AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. AND SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT
00:30:35THERE BITING METAPHORS OF MY CHILDHOOD.
00:30:37BUT THEN ALSO THERE'S THIS OTHER
00:30:40ABIDING KIND OF NARRATIVE AND PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE ABOUT THE
00:30:43STORIES THAT I TOLD MYSELF ABOUT MY HAIR AND MY RELATIONSHIP TO
00:30:46MY HAIR AND FIGURING OUT
00:30:48PRODUCTS FOR MY HAIR. AND THAT ALL BECOMES PART OF THE STORY.
00:30:52AND I THINK THAT BECOMES PART OF THE STORY BECAUSE ONE OF THE
00:30:56THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING THROUGH AS I WAS WORKING ON THIS
00:30:58IS BELL HOOKS TALKING ABOUT
00:31:01GOING FROM THE MARGINS TO THE
00:31:03CENTER AND WHAT IT MEANS TO
00:31:05PLACE THOSE CONNECTIONS THAT I,
00:31:09YOU KNOW, PROBABLY A LOT OF THE AUDIENCE WON'T EVEN GET THE BEST LEAD EDGES JOKE.
00:31:14AND THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S BETWEEN ME AND THE PEOPLE
00:31:17WHO GET IT RIGHT. AND THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF MOVING
00:31:20THAT AUDIENCE FROM THE MARGIN OF
00:31:24SCIENCE WRITING TO THE CENTER OF SCIENCE WRITING.
00:31:27I WAS SAYING ACTUALLY INSTEAD OF
00:31:29ASSUMING AN INTUITION THAT IS
00:31:32NORMATIVE TO A WHITE MAN WITH STRAIGHT HAIR, I'M GOING TO
00:31:35ASSUME THAT THE INTUITION THAT'S NORMATIVE HERE IS A COMPLETELY
00:31:39DIFFERENT GROUP THAT'S EMBODIED
00:31:40IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY.
00:31:48AND BY FORWARDING THAT RIGHT,
00:31:51YOU OPEN THE DOOR FOR SO MANY
00:31:53PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE INTERESTS.
00:31:56IT'S IN PHYSICS, BUT NOT AWARE THAT THEY COULD WALK THROUGH
00:32:00THAT DOOR, NOT EVEN AWARE THAT THAT DOOR EXISTS. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT,
00:32:04BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TOOK AWAY FROM MY READING WAS
00:32:08THAT I THINK MY BELOVED JUST
00:32:10WROTE A BOOK THAT CAN EXPLAIN
00:32:13THE FULL LOSS OF FEAR OF SCIENCE
00:32:15IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE WILL HEAR IT.
00:32:17IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PRIVILEGED
00:32:21KNOWING IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PRIVILEGED KNOWLEDGE, RIGHT?
00:32:26AND I'M SO HAPPY FOR THAT
00:32:28BECAUSE I THINK WHAT YOU DO IS
00:32:30YOU'VE ALLOWED YOU WILL ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO WALK THROUGH
00:32:33THAT DOOR. SO YOU'RE THE FIRST RIGHT NOW.
00:32:36BUT YOU'VE YOU'VE MADE SURE THAT YOU WON'T BE THE LAST.
00:32:40AND THAT IS CRITICAL, I THINK, FOR BLACK WOMEN.
00:32:45HOW WE OPEN SPACES. AND IT'S ALREADY ASSUMED THAT
00:32:47WE'LL DO THAT ANYWAY, RIGHT? BUT THAT IS PART OF WHAT WE DO.
00:32:51WE DO IT WELL. WE OPEN SPACES FOR OTHERS, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR OWN.
00:32:54SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD. THANK YOU.
00:32:58AND MAYBE IN IN CONNECTION WITH
00:33:00THAT, I WILL ADD ONE OF THE
00:33:04FUNNY THINGS ABOUT DOING THIS BOOK AND HAVING KIND OF THE
00:33:07FREEDOM OF HAVING HAD A FIRST
00:33:09SUCCESSFUL BOOK WAS THAT I WAS
00:33:14ALLOWING MYSELF TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SYNTHESIS. YES.
00:33:17AND SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, I TALK ABOUT THIS BIG CRIT. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY
00:33:21OTHER BIG CRIT FANS IN THE AUDIENCE EITHER.
00:33:23HE'S A RAPPER FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW AND HE HAS THIS
00:33:27BEAUTIFUL ALBUM CALLED CADILLAC DECAY, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY
00:33:29WRITTEN FOR ME, LIKE VERY SPECIFICALLY LIKE A HIP HOP
00:33:33ASTRO NERD. IT'S GOT ALL OF IT.
00:33:35AND HE, ACROSS ALL OF HIS ALBUMS
00:33:39IS DOING THE SERIES OF SONGS CALLED MY SO. SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN SEVEN OF THEM.
00:33:44THERE WAS ONE ON THE RECENT ALBUM RELEASE. SO THIS IS LIKE A CONTINUING
00:33:46STORY AND ALL OF THEM ARE
00:33:48SOMEHOW ABOUT SUBWOOFERS IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
00:33:54AND SO CADILLAC TACOS, MY SO PART THREE ON IT AND IN THAT
00:33:56HE'S TELLING THE STORY ABOUT SOMEONE WHO'S TRYING TO SOUP UP
00:34:00THE SOUND SYSTEM ON HIS CAR AND
00:34:03HE PLUGS IN, HE PUTS THE THE TWO
00:34:06FIFTEENS IN THE TRUNK AND WIRES THEM AND DOES NOT PROPERLY
00:34:11GROUND THEM AND THE WIRES GET FRIED. OKAY.
00:34:14SO MOST PEOPLE LISTEN TO THIS AND THEY'RE LIKE, DUDE, YOU JUST MESSED THAT UP.
00:34:18AND IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CAR OR WHATEVER. AND I'M SITTING THERE LISTENING
00:34:22TO IT AND I'M LIKE, WELL, THIS IS CLEARLY A STORY ABOUT
00:34:24ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND AND THE BLACK SCIENCE NERD.
00:34:28AND SO I THINK LIKE A FUNNY
00:34:31THING ABOUT WHERE MY BRAIN HAS GONE AT THIS POINT IS THAT I
00:34:34OFTEN READ THINGS FOR WHERE IS THE SCIENCE IN THIS STORY?
00:34:37AND IN PARTICULAR, I READ BLACK
00:34:41LITERATURE AND CULTURAL WORK FOR WHERE IS THE SCIENCE IN THIS STORY?
00:34:43PARTLY BECAUSE I KNOW WE LIVE IN
00:34:45A SOCIETY THAT HAS TAUGHT US NOT
00:34:48TO LOOK AT BLACK LITERATURE AND BLACK CREATIVE WORK IN THOSE
00:34:52TERMS, AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THOSE ARE THE ONLY
00:34:55MEANINGFUL TERMS, BUT OFTEN THOSE NARRATIVES ARE THERE,
00:34:59RIGHT? AND SO BIG CRIP BECOMES ONE OF
00:35:02MY ANCHORS IN IN THIS BOOK AND ONE OF MY COSMO LOGICAL ANCHORS,
00:35:06CADILLAC TACO BECOMES THE STORY
00:35:09WHERE HE'S TALKING ABOUT HOW SOUTHERN HIP HOP COMES TO BE,
00:35:12THAT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TELL THE STORY OF SOUTHERN HIP HOP,
00:35:16YOU HAVE TO START WITH THE BIG BANG. AND THE WAY HE MAKES THAT POINT
00:35:20IS THAT HE ACTUALLY USES THE BIG BANG AS A METAPHOR TO TELL THE
00:35:24STORY OF HIS ORIGIN AND THE ORIGIN OF THIS MUSICAL FORM.
00:35:28BUT HE ISN'T SUSTAINING WITH
00:35:30THIS ALBUM THAT COSMIC HISTORY
00:35:34IS BLACK HISTORY. AND SO I SEE MY ROLE HERE IS TO
00:35:38MAKE SURE THAT ANYBODY WHO DIDN'T HEAR THAT HEARS IT RIGHT
00:35:43AT THE SAME TIME, THAT ALSO MEANS THAT HOPEFULLY I HAVE I
00:35:46WILL HAVE SOME READERS WHO ARE
00:35:48LIKE, OKAY, I CAN HANG WITH A COSMOLOGY BOOK THAT TALKS ABOUT
00:35:52BIG CRIT, EVEN IF THAT IS MAYBE
00:35:54HIS MOST UNLOVED ALBUM.
00:35:57THAT'S CRIMINAL, BY THE WAY.
00:36:00Y'ALL ARE WRONG FOR THAT, RIGHT?
00:36:02SO WE KNOW BIG CRIB AND WE KNOW
00:36:07IF YOU KNOW STAR TREK.
00:36:10STAR TREK IS A BIG PART OF YOUR LIFE.
00:36:13CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS IS GOING TO SOUND FOR YOU THAT IF ALL OF YOU
00:36:17DO DON'T KNOW. STAR TREK IS HUGE.
00:36:20SHE'S REALLY UNDERSELLING IT. LIKE HUGE ISN'T EVEN THE RIGHT
00:36:24WORD FOR IT. BUT YEAH, BUT TELL TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW STAR TREK
00:36:29INFLUENCE ASKED YOU AND MADE ITS WAY APPEARED IN THE BOOK.
00:36:33WHAT IS IT TELLING US?
00:36:37I THINK STAR TREK IS A VERY INTERESTING CULTURAL TEXT, AND
00:36:41THAT'S NOT JUST JUSTIFYING WHY I SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON IT,
00:36:45ALTHOUGH THAT THERE IS A KIND OF FEEDBACK LOOP THERE. BUT I THINK IT'S A VERY
00:36:48INTERESTING CULTURAL TEXT BECAUSE THE CREATOR OF STAR
00:36:52TREK, GENE RODDENBERRY, ENVISIONED IT ACTIVELY AS A SHOW
00:36:55THAT WOULD PUSH BOUNDARIES. SO WHATEVER WAS NORMATIVE IN
00:36:59SOCIETY AT THAT POINT, WHATEVER PROBLEMS SOCIETY WAS HAVING,
00:37:01THAT HE WAS GOING TO PUSH AGAINST THAT A LITTLE BIT. SO ACTUALLY, HE INITIALLY TRIED
00:37:05TO CAST THE SHOW WITH A WOMAN AS
00:37:10THE FIRST OFFICER AND AND WNBC
00:37:12SAID, NO, THEY FILMED THAT PILOT.
00:37:15AND YOU CAN WATCH THAT PILOT NOW. SO IT IS AVAILABLE.
00:37:18BUT NBC SAID NO, AND WE'RE NOT PROCEEDING WITH THE SHOW.
00:37:22AND LUCILLE BALL OF I LOVE LUCY
00:37:24HER DESI REPRODUCTIONS. SHE WENT TO BAT FOR THE
00:37:29FRANCHISE WITH NBC AND SAID, GIVE THEM ANOTHER CHANCE.
00:37:32AND SO RODDENBERRY WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT.
00:37:34AND NBC WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT SPECIFICALLY MAJOR, WHO WOULD
00:37:38EVENTUALLY GOING TO BE MAJOR RODDENBERRY BEING IN THIS
00:37:42LEADING ROLE IN THE SHOW. SO HE WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT, YOU SAID, I CAN'T HAVE A WOMAN IN
00:37:45THAT ROLE, SO I'M JUST GOING TO
00:37:48OUTFIT THE I'M THE CREW OF THE
00:37:51ENTERPRISE WITH A BLACK WOMAN IN
00:37:53CHARGE OF COMMUNICATION AND AND
00:37:56AN ASIAN AMERICAN NAVIGATOR
00:37:58WHO'S PLAYED BY SOMEONE WHO GREW
00:38:00UP, GREW UP AND WENT TO THEIR WORLD WAR TWO ERA CONCENTRATION CAMPS.
00:38:04AND IN CALIFORNIA AND I'M
00:38:09THERE'S AND THEN THE SHOW GOES ON TO HAVE THE FIRST INTERRACIAL
00:38:12KISS ON TELEVISION WHICH TO US
00:38:14SEEMS LIKE NOT A VERY BIG DEAL.
00:38:18BUT AS I WAS RECOGNIZING IS VERY
00:38:22EARLY ON IN 1967 BY THE BLACK
00:38:27MEDIA, NICHELLE NICHOLS, WHO PLAYS LIEUTENANT OR HER WHO
00:38:31PLAYS THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, BECOMES THE FIRST BLACK
00:38:35ASTRONAUT, AND SHE PRECEDES MAE
00:38:38JEMISON, THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN
00:38:40ASTRONAUT, TO ACTUALLY GO INTO
00:38:43SPACE BY ALMOST THREE DECADES. AND IT'S ACTUALLY REPORTED, ED,
00:38:48THAT NBC COLOR HAS BEAT NASA.
00:38:52AND SO THIS IS PART OF THE ROLE THAT STAR TREK PLAYS IN AMERICAN
00:38:56SOCIETY, WHICH IS HOLDING UP A MIRROR AND SAYING THIS IS WHAT'S
00:39:00MISSING. AND IT'S ALSO JUST THIS
00:39:03INCREDIBLE WORK OF LITERATURE OR THAT IT'S VERY COMMITTED TO
00:39:08ENGAGING WITH SHAKESPEARE AND
00:39:10CLASSICAL LITERATURE.
00:39:13MOBY -- COMES THAT COMES UP IN IT.
00:39:15SO FOR A LITERATURE NERD, IT'S A
00:39:17VERY EXCITING TEXT, AND FOR ME
00:39:21IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO THINK
00:39:22ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND
00:39:25WHERE THINGS ARE GOING AND WHAT HOLLYWOOD MISSES. RIGHT?
00:39:30BECAUSE IT IS AT THE END A CORPORATE PRODUCTION. AND SO THERE ARE GOING TO BE
00:39:34LIMITATIONS ON IT.
00:39:37I GUESS NOT SPECIFICALLY IN
00:39:39RELATION TO THIS BOOK.
00:39:41AROUND THE TIME THAT I STARTED
00:39:44MY PATHWAY TO TENURE, THE FIRST EVER STAR TREK SERIES FEATURING
00:39:48A BLACK WOMAN LEAD, WENT ON AIR
00:39:50STAR TREK DISCOVERY, AND IT
00:39:54FEATURED FEATURES SONEQUA
00:39:55MARTIN-GREEN IN THIS AND
00:40:00CREDIBLE ROLE AS MICHAEL BURNHAM, WHO DOES NOT START OUT
00:40:03AS A CAPTAIN. AND I HAD A LOT OF REALLY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THAT.
00:40:07AND THERE WAS SO MUCH IT WAS
00:40:09SUCH A FREIGHTED EXPERIENCE FOR
00:40:13HER TO DO THIS WORK BECAUSE THE
00:40:19RACISM FROM FANS WHO WOULD NOT ACCEPT A BLACK WOMAN IN THE
00:40:22LEADING ROLE WAS EXTRAORDINARY.
00:40:25AND ALL OF US BLACK WOMEN FANS
00:40:27HAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT RACISM WITH HER.
00:40:30AND SO EVERY TIME HER CHARACTER MESSED UP, THERE WAS THE SENSE
00:40:34OF HOW DOES THAT REFLECT ON US? WE'RE ALWAYS WORRIED WHEN
00:40:36SOMEONE MESSES UP IN PUBLIC IS HOW DOES THAT REFLECT ON US? AND SO SHE BECAME A CHARACTER
00:40:42THAT I GREW WITH AND HOW TO
00:40:44ACCEPT HER IMPERFECTIONS WITH AND THEREFORE ACCEPT THE
00:40:48CHALLENGES AND THE TIMES THAT I DIDN'T QUITE STICK THE LANDING
00:40:50AS I MADE MY WAY INTO BECOMING A LEADER IN MY FIELD.
00:40:54AND SO I THINK THAT THAT WAS ALSO AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHY
00:40:58STAR TREK ENDS UP SO MUCH IN THIS TEXT.
00:41:00AND JUST TO WRAP IT AROUND,
00:41:05START SEASON TWO OF STAR TREK DISCOVERY IS BASICALLY A
00:41:08NARRATIVE THAT THINKS WITH AND THROUGH ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
00:41:11SO ALICE IN WONDERLAND MAKES ITS
00:41:13WAY INTO THIS BOOK BECAUSE I'M
00:41:16WATCHING THIS CHARACTER ON
00:41:18TELEVISION WHO WAS ABLE TO FIND
00:41:20HER PLACE IN SOCIETY AND HER
00:41:23LIFE BECAUSE SHE IDENTIFIED WITH ALICE. YEAH.
00:41:27SO MUCH OF WHAT SHE DID IS IT'S GOING TO BE MY LAST QUESTION UNTIL I OPEN IT AND WHEN I OPEN
00:41:31IT UP FOR THE AUDIENCE. BUT SO MUCH OF WHAT YOU DO HAS
00:41:35TO DO AT A AS A SCHOLAR, AS A
00:41:38BLACK WOMAN, AS A WRITER, MAKING
00:41:41WHAT'S KNOWN TO YOU, NEW TO YOU.
00:41:45AND WHEN I THINK IN THOSE TERMS,
00:41:48WHAT IN YOUR FIELD, WHETHER IT'S
00:41:52CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER IT'S YOUR, YOUR, YOUR AREA OF
00:41:56SCHOLARSHIP, WHAT STARTLES YOU.
00:42:02I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT I ACTUALLY THINK THE FIRST THING THAT COMES
00:42:06TO MIND IS LIKE THE EXTREME COMMITMENT TO WHITE SUPREMACY AS
00:42:08A PRACTICE IN MY FIELD.
00:42:10AND I SAY STARTLES ME AND I MEAN
00:42:13OBVIOUSLY WHITE SUPREMACY IS VERY UPSETTING. I DON'T THINK ANYONE HERE NEEDS
00:42:17ME TO GET INTO THAT IN ANY DETAIL, BUT I THINK THAT MY
00:42:21INNER CHILD IS CONSISTENTLY JUST
00:42:24LIKE, BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE THE RATIONAL THOUGHT.
00:42:27PEOPLE, AND THIS IS SUCH AN
00:42:29DEEPLY IRRATIONAL COMMITMENT
00:42:31THAT I THINK THAT I WILL NEVER
00:42:33GET OVER THAT.
00:42:35SO I THINK THAT'S UNFORTUNATELY THAT STOLE LIKE FOR ME, THE
00:42:38FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND
00:42:42SCIENTIFICALLY, I THINK WHEN THE
00:42:44FACT THAT MOST OF THE THE MATTER
00:42:48IN THE UNIVERSE IS COMPRISED OF INVISIBLE STUFF THAT WE DON'T
00:42:52UNDERSTAND IS WEIRD. LIKE ONLY WE ONLY REALLY HAVE A
00:42:56GOOD ACCOUNTING OF ABOUT 4% OF THE MATTER, ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSE. THAT'S CRAZY.
00:43:00THAT'S LIKE. AND THEN I HAVE PEOPLE WALKING AROUND BEING LIKE, WELL, WE FIGURED OUT PHYSICS.
00:43:04WE DON'T NEED TO FIND THAT ANYMORE. I'M LIKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
00:43:07WE HAVEN'T WORKED OUT 96%. WE'RE LIKE ONLY FOUR.
00:43:11WE'RE NOT EVEN HALFWAY THERE. LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST LIKE,
00:43:15WE'RE ONLY AT 4%. AND THEN I GUESS THE OTHER THING I WILL SAY THAT I THINK IS LIKE
00:43:18REALLY ODD AND KIND OF MY FAVORITE THING, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T.
00:43:22SO I WORK ON THE DARK MATTER PROBLEM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I FIND THE FOUR
00:43:25PRESENTING QUITE, QUITE
00:43:27STARTLING BECAUSE DARK MATTER
00:43:29MAKES UP ABOUT 2,520% OF IT.
00:43:33I AM NEW NEUTRINOS.
00:43:37SO I MENTIONED BEFORE THAT NEUTRINOS ARE EMITTING FROM YOUR BANANAS.
00:43:40IT'S VERY COOL. I HOPE THAT CHANGES THE WAY YOU LOOK AT BANANAS FOR THE REST OF
00:43:43YOUR LIFE. FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
00:43:47THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF POTASSIUM DECAYING IN THE BANANA
00:43:50AND THAT POTASSIUM DECAY MAKES NEUTRINOS. NOW HERE'S THE THING ABOUT THE
00:43:54NEUTRINOS AS THEY'RE FLYING OUT, THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF NEUTRINOS.
00:43:58THERE ARE ELECTRON NEUTRINOS,
00:44:00TALON NEUTRINOS AND MUON NEUTRINOS.
00:44:03SO THREE KINDS ELECTRON TALON,
00:44:05YUAN AND A NEUTRINO ARROW CAN
00:44:08START AS AN ELECTRON NEUTRINO, BUT IT WON'T STAY THAT WAY.
00:44:12THEY RANDOMLY CHANGE IDENTITY AS
00:44:17THEY FLY THROUGH SPACE TIME.
00:44:19SO I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE WHEN
00:44:21NEUTRINOS ARE NON TRAIN AIRY.
00:44:24SPEAKING OF WHAT'S NATURAL, I
00:44:27DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE PUSHING IT FAR ENOUGH. THOSE OF US WHO ARE GENDER DROP
00:44:31DROPOUTS WORK ON IT.
00:44:34WHAT'S THE THIRD OPTION.
00:44:39I JUST REALLY LIKE WANT TO PUSH BACK WHEN PEOPLE SAY LIKE, OH,
00:44:42THE BINARY IS NATURAL. NAH, IT JUST ISN'T RIGHT.
00:44:46NEUTRINOS ARE NINE TRAIN AIRY AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY.
00:44:50WE HAVE NO EXPLANATION AND WE HAVE LOTS OF THEORIES.
00:44:53I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE HAVEN'T WORKED OUT SOME GOOD IDEAS, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CHANGE
00:44:58IDENTITY. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF MASS, BUT WE
00:45:01DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND AND HOW THEY GET THAT MASS.
00:45:04THEY DON'T SEEM TO GET IT THE SAME WAY. ALL THE OTHER PARTICLES DO.
00:45:08IF YOU'VE HEARD OF THE HIGGS BOSON THAT WAS DISCOVERED AND DETECTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
00:45:122012, THEN YOU MAYBE HEARD THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH PARTICLES GETTING MASS NEUTRINOS
00:45:15DON'T SEEM TO GET THEM THROUGH THE SAME MECHANISM.
00:45:19WE THINK THAT MAYBE THE MASS
00:45:22MECHANISM IS RELATED TO THESE IDENTITY OSCILLATIONS, WHAT ARE
00:45:25CALLED NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS.
00:45:27I THINK THAT PROBLEM IS WHY I ALWAYS WILD.
00:45:31YEAH THAT IS. YEAH, IT'S FASCINATING.
00:45:35NON TRYING AREAS NATURAL.
00:45:39I WANTED TO OPEN IT UP FOR THE AUDIENCE TO SEE IF YOU HAD ANY
00:45:44QUESTIONS. WE HAVE ROVING MICROPHONES
00:45:47AROUND THE ROOM, SO WE'RE READY FOR YOU. SEE ONE THERE AND ONE HERE.
00:45:52YEAH, RIGHT IN THE BACK THERE.
00:45:57I DO. I GO FIRST. YEAH.
00:45:59HAVE TURNED TINY GIRL.
00:46:02SO BEAUTIFUL. AND YOUR MIND IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
00:46:05AND THANKS FOR MAKING, LIKE, THIS EVENT JOYOUS. LIKE I THINK I NEEDED THE JOY
00:46:09TONIGHT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. YEAH.
00:46:13AND SO I REALLY BELIEVE IN THE
00:46:16MESSAGE OF LIKE, COMMUNICATING THE SCIENCE.
00:46:20SO BECAUSE THE SCIENCE BELONGS TO ALL OF US AND ASKING THE
00:46:24PUBLIC TO ADVOCATE FOR SCIENCE. BUT I'M ALSO LATELY REALLY
00:46:27STRUGGLING WITH THIS IDEA OF
00:46:29ASKING PEOPLE TO ADVOCATE FOR SCIENCE IN OUR SOCIETY.
00:46:33WHEN OUR SOCIETY DON'T ADVOCATE FOR US AND THE SCIENCE DOESN'T
00:46:36ADVOCATE FOR US. HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF THAT?
00:46:39LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RATIONALIZE THAT IN MY HEAD AND
00:46:43I, I THINK YOU KNOW, YOU'RE THE EXPERT HERE.
00:46:47THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION TO GET WHILE I'M BEING RECORDED.
00:46:51I AM NOT I GUESS WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT YOU DO HEAR.
00:46:54SO THERE HAVE BEEN VARIOUS ITERATIONS.
00:46:57I'M DURING THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. THERE WAS THE MARCH FOR SCIENCE.
00:47:00AND THEN MORE RECENTLY, THERE'S BEEN THE STRUCTURE OF SCIENCE.
00:47:04I'M STAND UP FOR SCIENCE AND YOU
00:47:08KNOW, IN BETWEEN THERE ACTUALLY DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION,
00:47:11THAT MOVEMENT KIND OF DIED DOWN BECAUSE PEOPLE FELT LIKE, WELL,
00:47:15THINGS HAVE KIND OF GONE BACK TO NORMAL AND ONE OF MY
00:47:18FRUSTRATIONS WITH HOW THESE THINGS WERE TALKED ABOUT ON A
00:47:23NATIONAL SCALE, OF COURSE, THERE ARE LOCAL ORGANIZERS AND I'M NOT IN EVERY LOCAL SPACE.
00:47:26AND SO I CAN'T COMMENT ABOUT EVERY LOCAL ITERATION OF THIS.
00:47:30BUT ON THE NATIONAL SCALE, WAS KIND OF THIS, WELL, YOU GUYS
00:47:34SHOULD SUPPORT SCIENCE.
00:47:36SCIENCE IS NOW IN TROUBLE NOW WE WILL MARCH IN THE STREETS.
00:47:39AND THE QUESTION WAS, WELL, WHERE WERE YOU AT DURING THE
00:47:43BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS? YEAH, I AM.
00:47:46AND I WAS ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS
00:47:49OF THE ACADEMIC STRIKE FOR BLACK LIVES IN JUNE OF 2020.
00:47:52I KNEW THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD.
00:47:56WE HAD 6000 SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD WHO SIGNED ON TO STOP
00:47:59FOR A DAY AND WE EXPLICITLY SAID
00:48:01TO THEM, WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU
00:48:04TO HAVE A PANEL ABOUT DCI. THAT IS NOT WHAT WE WANT.
00:48:07WE WANT YOU ALL TO SIT DOWN WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES AND TAKE THE
00:48:11DATA PLAN FOR HOW YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE ACTION GOING FORWARD. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PLANNING
00:48:15DAY FOR HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH THE
00:48:18COMMUNITY AND STAY ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY.
00:48:22THE FACT THAT SCIENTISTS ONLY
00:48:22SEEM TO TAKE UP THESE ORGANIZED
00:48:27PRACTICES WHEN SCIENTISTS FIND THEMSELVES IN TIMES OF NEED BUT
00:48:31DON'T BUILD THOSE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND SENSE OF
00:48:35ACCOUNTABILITY IS A PROBLEM AS I
00:48:38AM AND AS I AND I WILL SAY, LET ME JUST CALL OUT SOMETHING VERY
00:48:41SPECIFIC THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. WE'RE RECORDING THIS AT A MOMENT. WE HAVE THESE INCREDIBLY BRAVE
00:48:46ASTRONAUT WHO HAVE JUST DONE A FLYBY AROUND THE MOON.
00:48:50AND WE'RE JUST LIKE, I CAN'T
00:48:52LIKE IT'S AN INCREDIBLE THING THAT THEY HAVE DONE. I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD GET ON A
00:48:57SPACESHIP AND TRUST THAT THE ROCKET UNDERNEATH ME IS GOING TO DO WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO.
00:49:00AND I WILL COME OUT THE OTHER END IN ONE PIECE. BUT THEY DO.
00:49:04AND THAT'S BRAVE. AND BEING IN ZERO GRAVITY IS ACTUALLY REALLY PHYSICALLY HARD
00:49:08ON PEOPLE IN WAYS THAT CAN BE UNEXPECTED. YOU HAVE TO WEAR DIAPERS.
00:49:11YOU HEARD THAT THE THE TOILET BROKE ON THE FIRST DAY.
00:49:14THERE'S LOTS OF DRAMA WITH IT. THEY'RE FLYING IN A SPACESHIP
00:49:19THAT WAS PRIMARILY MADE BY LOCKHEED MARTIN, WHOSE MISSILES
00:49:21HAVE BEEN KILLING PEOPLE IN GAZA
00:49:23AND PROBABLY OTHER PLACES.
00:49:25I'M CONTEMPORARILY AND I AM THIS
00:49:31IS COMMON. THE TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY USED TO
00:49:34SEND US, EVERYBODY SAW THE NEW TESLA VIDEO, RIGHT?
00:49:37THE NEW TESLA FLYING ACROSS. AND THE MOST AMAZING ACCIDENTAL
00:49:43GALACTIC ADVERTISEMENT OF ALL TIME.
00:49:45WE SAW THAT ALL IN INCREDIBLE 4K
00:49:48VIDEO USING BECAUSE OF A TECHNOLOGY, A LASER TECHNOLOGY
00:49:52THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY NASSER AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT
00:49:55OF DEFENSE'S LINCOLN LABS, WHICH IS MANAGED BY MIT.
00:49:58WHEN I SAW THE REPORTING ABOUT
00:50:01THIS, IT WAS CALLED MIT LINCOLN LABS, AND THERE'S NO MENTION OF
00:50:05THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN THE REPORTING ABOUT THIS AT ALL. SO HERE'S WHAT I WILL SAY ABOUT
00:50:09THIS, ARTEMUS, AS A MISSION, IS
00:50:12THAT BEST POLITICALLY COMPLICATED? AND ONE OF MY FRUSTRATIONS WITH
00:50:16SCIENCE TESTS RIGHT NOW IS A LOT OF US ARE DOING SCIENCE
00:50:18COMMUNICATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN THE PRESS ABOUT THIS.
00:50:21AND WE ARE NOT OPENLY TALKING ABOUT THESE MILITARIZED AND
00:50:26COMMERCIAL CONNECTIONS THAT THE PUBLIC GENUINELY HAS A RIGHT TO
00:50:30KNOW ABOUT. WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH LOCKHEED
00:50:33MARTIN SHOULD BE INVOLVED OR NOT IS A SEPARATE QUESTION.
00:50:37I MEAN, I DON'T AGREE, BUT THAT'S A SEPARATE QUESTION.
00:50:40BUT AT THE VERY LEAST, EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO KNOW THAT INFORMATION.
00:50:44AND WE SCIENTISTS HAVE REALLY FAILED THE PUBLIC BY NOT
00:50:46COMMUNICATING ADEQUATELY ABOUT IT. BEAUTIFUL.
00:50:50WELL, THANK YOU.
00:50:54WE HAVE A QUESTION ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK.
00:50:59IS IS TOTAL FANGIRL MOMENT. I OH, MY GOD.
00:51:05OKAY. SO I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT
00:51:09QUANTUM COMPUTERS AND A.I., BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT.
00:51:13WHEN YOUR FIRST BOOK DISORDER COSMOS CAME OUT, YOU PUT IT
00:51:16WELL, A LOT OF US PUT IT IN
00:51:20CONVERSATION WITH DR. KATHERINE MCKITTRICK, DEAR SCIENCE AND
00:51:23OTHER ESSAYS, AND IT JUST SEEMED LIKE SUCH A NICE FIT AND SUCH A
00:51:27SYNERGY. DO YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US? BECAUSE I JUST GOT YOUR BOOK.
00:51:31WHAT OTHER BOOK THAT YOU'RE READING OR THAT YOU'VE READ?
00:51:35WILL YOU PUT IT IN CONVERSATION WITH? I, I THINK ABSOLUTELY.
00:51:41MARIA MAKES YEAR BOOK THE MILKY
00:51:44WAY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
00:51:46MOYA IS SO BRILLIANT AND WRITES THESE INCREDIBLE.
00:51:49SHE HAS ANOTHER BOOK COMING OUT
00:51:50THIS AUGUST AT THE MILKY WAY AN
00:51:54AUTOBIOGRAPHY IS LITERALLY THE HISTORY OF THE MILKY WAY TOLD
00:51:58FROM A FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE. AND MOYA'S REALLY THE ONLY PERSON WHO COULD PULL THAT OFF.
00:52:02SHE'S A PHD, ASTROPHYSICIST. SHE IS AN UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE
00:52:04IN FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY AND ASTROPHYSICS.
00:52:07SHE'S LITERALLY THE PERSON TO PULL THAT OFF.
00:52:10I'M ALSO I MENTIONED BRENDA
00:52:13MONTGOMERY IN THE EXCERPT THAT I READ. I MENTIONED HER FIRST BOOK,
00:52:16LESSONS FROM PLANTS. SHE HAS A NEW BOOK OUT RIGHT NOW
00:52:20CALLED WHEN TREES TESTIFY, WHICH ACTUALLY YOU CAN FIND A
00:52:24RECORDING ON BOOK TV OF ME IN CONVERSATION WITH HER ABOUT IT
00:52:27AT HARVARD BOOKSTORE IN FEBRUARY.
00:52:29AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MEDITATION
00:52:31ON BLACK HISTORY AND THE POWER
00:52:35OF TREES AND THE STORIES THAT
00:52:37TREES TELL US ABOUT OURSELVES AND ABOUT SOCIETY.
00:52:41AND I REALLY THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT OF CONNECTION BETWEEN
00:52:44THOSE WORKS. I WILL ALSO SAY THAT DEER SCIENCE AND OTHER STORIES BY
00:52:48KATHRYN MCKITTRICK HOVERS OVER
00:52:51THIS TEXT A LOT AND IS CITED IN
00:52:54HERE AND HER FRAMING, MCKITTRICK
00:52:56IS FRAMING OF SCIENCE AS A SET
00:52:58OF STORIES I THINK IS A VERY
00:53:02POWERFUL FIGURATIVE WAY OF
00:53:04LOOKING AT WHAT THE WORK OF SCIENCE IS.
00:53:07AND IT'S BEEN A VERY POWERFUL
00:53:08VISUAL FOR ME.
00:53:12MORE QUESTIONS. WE HAVE ONE RIGHT IN THE FRONT.
00:53:15WE HAVE SEVERAL.
00:53:19MAKE SURE THAT THAT MICROPHONE
00:53:19MIGRATES THROUGHOUT THE ROOM.
00:53:28THANK YOU. HI.
00:53:30SO I REALLY LIKE LEARNING ABOUT
00:53:33PHYSICS, JUST LIKE FOR FUN.
00:53:35AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S LIKE I FEEL
00:53:37LIKE I TEND TO BE VERY OVERWHELMED BY, LIKE, LIKE THE
00:53:41FEELING THAT WE DON'T. I MEAN, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE DON'T REALLY KNOW A LOT ABOUT
00:53:45WHAT LIKE IS ACTUALLY OUT THERE. AND YOU MENTIONED LIKE THERE'S
00:53:48SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY, EVEN LIKE IN QUANTUM MECHANICS AND STUFF. IT'S LIKE, THIS IS WHAT WE
00:53:52THINK, WHAT'S GOING ON. BUT LIKE, I'M MAYBE NOT AND I'M
00:53:56WONDERING IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT LIKE, BOTHERS YOU OR LIKE,
00:53:59HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT UNCERTAINTY AND KIND OF KNOWING
00:54:03THAT THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT WE'LL NEVER ACTUALLY KNOW 100%
00:54:06ABOUT HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS.
00:54:10NO, NOT AT ALL.
00:54:12I SO I ACTUALLY WOULD SAY, LIKE ONE OF THE ARGUMENTS I'M MAKING
00:54:15IN THIS BOOK IS THAT SPENDING TIME WITH PHYSICS IS A GREAT
00:54:18PLACE TO PRACTICE BEING WITH THAT UNCERTAINTY AND NOT FEELING
00:54:21THREATENED BY IT. I ACTUALLY THINK THAT THAT'S ONE
00:54:24OF THE GIFTS THAT PHYSICS GIVES US, AND IN PARTICULAR THAT
00:54:28QUANTUM PHYSICS GIVES US IS GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH BEING
00:54:32UNCOMFORTABLE AND GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH THAT UNCERTAINTY.
00:54:34I GUESS THE OTHER THING I WILL
00:54:36SAY ABOUT HUMANS AND OUR SPECIES
00:54:39IS I WON'T COUNT US OUT.
00:54:41WE OFTEN SURPRISE OURSELVES AND
00:54:45WE CAN SURPRISE OURSELVES IN GOOD WAYS.
00:54:47SO I GUESS AS AS WE WRAP UP, I
00:54:49WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT
00:54:52THERE IS NO COSMIC RULE THAT
00:54:54SAYS WE CAN'T GET IT TOGETHER
00:54:58AND REPAIR THE RELATION ENDS IN
00:55:01WAYS THAT ARE VERY NEAR DEAD, RIGHT? THERE IS NO COSMIC RULE THAT
00:55:05SAYS THAT THAT IS A CHOICE WE MAKE EVERY DAY IN TERMS OF HOW
00:55:09WE RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER ON AN
00:55:11INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE GLOBAL SCALE.
00:55:15AND THE THINKING WITH PHYSICS HAS HELPED ME SIT WITH THE
00:55:18DISCOMFORT OF FEELING LIKE, WELL, THE CHANCES ARE LOOKING
00:55:22PRETTY SMALL. BUT IN THE BOOK, I TALK ABOUT A PHENOMENON CALLED QUANTUM
00:55:26TUNNELING, WHERE IT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT A PARTICLE WILL GO
00:55:30FROM POINT A TO POINT B, BUT VERY OCCASIONALLY IT DOES.
00:55:34AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OUR SUN
00:55:36WORKS BECAUSE IT HAPPENS OFTEN
00:55:41ENOUGH. WE CAN ENFORCE GENERALLY ONLY
00:55:45TAKE ABOUT ONE MORE QUESTION. GOSH.
00:55:48AND WE'VE GOT FOUR HANDS IN THE ROOM.
00:55:50IT'S SO HARD OVER HERE, ALL THE
00:55:54WAY ON THE SIDE.
00:55:56BLACK SHIRT.
00:56:02OH, THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY QUESTION.
00:56:04I REALLY HAVE TO.
00:56:07THE FIRST ONE IS CHOOSE ONE. CHOOSE ONE. OKAY.
00:56:12THE POLITICS, I GUESS, OF HOW TO
00:56:14GET SCIENCE BACK ON TRACK.
00:56:16WHEN I READ A STATISTIC THAT
00:56:18IT'S ONLY LIKE 20 TO 20 TO 25%
00:56:22OF STUDENTS NOW ARE QUALIFIED TO
00:56:25GET INTO A COLLEGE LEVEL,
00:56:29SCIENCE MATH PROGRAM, THEY'RE NOT PREPARED TO GET INTO IT.
00:56:32FROM ALL THE STATISTICS THAT
00:56:34THEY'VE DONE IN THE ACA TESTING, I THINK.
00:56:37SO HOW DO WE HANDLE THAT?
00:56:39YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WHAT ARE THE
00:56:41YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO GOING FORWARD TO GETTING
00:56:44PEOPLE MORE QUALIFIED AND READY
00:56:45FOR COLLEGE LEVEL SCIENCE?
00:56:49I'M A BIG FAN OF HOLISTIC THINKING, AND SO IT'S NOT GOING
00:56:52TO BE ONE SOLUTION. I THINK PEOPLE OFTEN, YOU KNOW,
00:56:57WE HAD THIS HORRIBLE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND DURING GEORGE W BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION, AND WE'RE
00:57:02SEEING THE FALLOUT NOW. I AM F PEOPLE BEING TAUGHT TO
00:57:04THE TEST THAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ A LONG TEXT AND KIND
00:57:08OF DEAL WITH THE RHETORICAL
00:57:11EXPERIENCE OF ENGAGING WITH A LONG TEXT AND ANALYZING IT. RIGHT.
00:57:14AND THAT'S. AND SO WE HAVE TO BE VERY WEARY OF QUICK SOLUTIONS BECAUSE NO
00:57:18CHILD LEFT BEHIND WAS ACTUALLY PREMISED ON THE IDEA THAT YOU COULD DO THE QUICK FIX OF JUST
00:57:22TEACHING TO THE TEST. AND THAT BILL DIDN'T SOLVE THE
00:57:26PROBLEM OF CHILDREN NOT HAVING ENOUGH TO EAT AND NOT HAVING
00:57:31CLEAN WATER IN FLINT, MICHIGAN, AND JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.
00:57:35AND IT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM
00:57:37AT ALL OF VOTING RIGHTS AND THE CRISIS IN VOTING RIGHTS.
00:57:41AND SO COMMUNITIES LOSING CONTROL OVER THEIR COMMUNITIES.
00:57:45RIGHT. ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE TO BE A
00:57:49FACTOR IN WHEN WE ASK OURSELVES THE QUESTION OF WHY AREN'T THE
00:57:53CHILDREN LEARNING, WE SHOULD LOOK AT THEIR LEARNING CONDITIONS.
00:57:58WE NEED TO LOOK AT THEIR LEARNING CONDITIONS. IF YOU'RE AT THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE INSTALLING A METAL
00:58:02DETECTOR OR THEN YOU'RE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION AND YOU'RE
00:58:05LOOKING AT THE WRONG SOLUTION
00:58:08AND NOBODY IS BORN BEING LIKE,
00:58:10WELL, I WANT TO BRING A GUN TO
00:58:12SCHOOL THAT'S PRODUCED BY SOCIAL
00:58:14AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS THAT ARE THAT THE MOST POWERFUL
00:58:18PEOPLE IN SOCIETY ARE FOISTING
00:58:21ON CHILDREN WHO OFTEN HAVE NO
00:58:24CHOICE AND NO SAY IN THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH THEY ARE RAISED.
00:58:28AND SO I ACTUALLY THINK THINKING
00:58:30ABOUT THE THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN AND
00:58:34THEIR ABILITY TO, FOR EXAMPLE, ACCESS THE DARK NIGHT SKY, WHICH
00:58:37IS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE, CAN BE
00:58:39VERY GENERATIVE FOR US BECAUSE
00:58:41WHEN WE START TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT WOULD REQUIRE AND
00:58:45REQUIRE IS US TO THINK ABOUT WHAT DOES OUR PUBLIC
00:58:48TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM LOOK LIKE?
00:58:51YOU YOU CAN'T GET TO JOSHUA TREE IN CALIFORNIA AND PUBLIC
00:58:54TRANSPORTATION IS VERY HARD TO DO. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET KIDS
00:58:58OUT TO A DARK NIGHT SKY? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET THEM TO FOCUS ON IT IF THEY HAVEN'T HAD
00:59:02A PROPER MEAL? IF THEY HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH WATER AND THEY'VE GOT A HEADACHE, IF
00:59:06THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT MOBILITY DEVICE THAT CAN GO OVER
00:59:09THE SAND. I THINK COMING BACK TO THE
00:59:14ARTEMUS MISSION, WHAT I WILL SAY ABOUT WHAT'S SO IMPRESSIVE ABOUT IT IS THAT IT IS A SIGN OF WHAT
00:59:17WE CAN DO WHEN WE DECIDE SOMETHING HARD AND WILD AND
00:59:21DIFFICULT NEEDS TO BE ACHIEVED. AND SO THERE'S NO REASON THAT
00:59:24THAT CAN'T APPLY TO ENSURING THAT EVERY CHILD HAS ADEQUATE
00:59:29HOUSING, ADEQUATE FOOD, ADEQUATE HEALTH CARE.
00:59:32AND THAT MEANS THAT THEIR
00:59:34FAMILIES HAVE TO HAVE IT TO. AND THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO
00:59:37ASK REAL HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT HUMAN INCARCERATION IN THIS COUNTRY.
00:59:42SERVES AS WELL.
00:59:49THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.
00:59:52IF YOU HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE HOLD THEM. GO ON UPSTAIRS AND GET YOUR
00:59:56BOOKS SIGNED. CHANDA WILL BE UP THERE AND WILL
00:59:59BE SIGNING BOOKS AND I'M SURE ANSWERING SOME QUESTIONS NOW AND
01:00:03THEN AGAIN AS THEY COME UP NOT
01:00:05TOO LONG, BUT JUST KEEP THEM BRIEF. RIGHT.
01:00:07THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT
01:00:09AND HAVE A WONDERFUL THANK YOU.
01:00:18HERE'S A PORTION OF A RECENT PROGRAM ON BOOK TV.
01:00:22I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THEM LATER, BUT LET ME JUST SAY, WHERE IS ERIC MENDOZA FROM? FIRE STATION 69. STAND UP.
01:00:26ERIC MENDOZA. YEAH. THE.
01:00:30THE MET, THE FIREFIGHTERS OF FIRE STATION 69, THE FIRST IN IN
01:00:34THE PALISADES. ABSOLUTE HEROES. THEY WERE THERE FROM THE JUMP AT
01:00:38THEY WERE WORKING OUT OF 630 IN THE MORNING.
01:00:40THEY THEY ARE DOWN ON SUNSET THEY SEE A 1030.
01:00:44THE SMOKE AND THEY GO IMMEDIATELY UP INTO THE HIGHLANDS.
01:00:48THEY WERE NOT SCARED. THIS MAN LAID ON HIS STOMACH ON
01:00:50OUR MEDIA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET IN A THOUSAND DEGREE TEMPERATURES BECAUSE IT WAS SO
01:00:54HOT. IT WAS THE ONLY PLACE THAT HE COULD LAY TO FIGHT THE FIRE
01:00:58OPENED HIS HOSE, THE THICKEST THOSE THEY HAD TO THE FULL AMOUNT OF PRESSURE THAT THEY
01:01:02COULD FLOW TO SAVE ANY STRUCTURE THAT THEY COULD. I'LL TELL A LOT MORE ABOUT HIM
01:01:05LATER, BUT ABSOLUTE EXTREME HEROES.
01:01:08AND I'M SO INSPIRED TO KNOW YOU AND THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THE BOOK AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. APPRECIATE IT.
01:01:14100%.
01:01:16SO ANYWAY, I WAS FREAKED OUT. HE WASN'T FREAKED OUT.
01:01:20HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF PALISADES. THIS IS NOW. AND IT WAS I JUST KNEW MY LIFE
01:01:23AND ALL OF OUR LIVES WOULD CHANGE IMMEDIATELY IN THAT
01:01:27MOMENT. YEAH. YOUR BOOK IS FULL OF THESE
01:01:29INCREDIBLY UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS LIKE YOU, AND I'M SO
01:01:34HAPPY YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT, TOO. BUT ALSO, I'LL BE. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ON
01:01:37THAT AND WHAT THAT MEANS? THERE'S ALL THESE WORKERS THAT,
01:01:41YOU KNOW, SPEND MORE TIME IN THAT COMMUNITY, AND MANY OF US, THEY DON'T LIVE THERE.
01:01:44THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE IN AFFLUENCE. I'LL BE WITH YOU HERE TONIGHT AT THE PALACE.
01:01:47THEY'LL BE HERE. OH, THEY'LL BE GREAT. I'LL BE AN AFFRONT TO STAND UP. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FROM CAFE
01:01:52VITO.
01:01:58MY MAN.
01:02:00THIS IS A BOOK AS MUCH ABOUT PEOPLE AS IT IS ABOUT POLITICS
01:02:03OR CLIMATE. AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STOOD THERE AND I WATCHED MY MY, MY
01:02:06CHILD AT HOME, WHICH FOR 35 YEARS BECAME THE HOME OF THE
01:02:10JACOBY FAMILY, CARBONIZED IN
01:02:13FRONT OF MY EYES, AS WELL AS OUR
01:02:16WHOLE COMMUNITY. I COULD NOT PROCESS IT IN REAL TIME.
01:02:20I FEEL SICK TALKING ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW, WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO BE THERE. BUT I KNEW THAT. EXCUSE ME.
01:02:24I KNEW THAT I HAD. I KNEW.
01:02:27I SAID TO TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT I WAS SEEING AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE.
01:02:30AND BUT WHEN I WAS THERE, I KNEW THAT I NEEDED TO PROCESS AND
01:02:34THIS WAS SO HEAVY AND AND I. AND I.
01:02:38HOW WAS THIS HAPPENING? YOU KNOW, IS IT GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN? WHO'S TO BLAME?
01:02:42WHAT CAUSED THIS? THOSE ARE THE REASONS THAT I SET OUT TO WRITE THIS BOOK.
01:02:47AND AND WHILE THE BOOK READS
01:02:48LIKE A SCI FI THRILLER AND IN IT
01:02:52IS A MINUTE BY MINUTE ACCOUNT OF WHAT I CALL THE FIRE OF THE
01:02:55FUTURE, I THOUGHT I WAS LOOKING AT MY PAST, BUT IT TURNS OUT
01:02:57THIS IS THE FUTURE THAT WHERE WE
01:02:59ALL LIVE TOGETHER.
01:03:03IT'S AS MUCH A STORY ABOUT THE
01:03:05PEOPLE AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH I NEEDED TO GET TO KNOW
01:03:09ERIC MENDOZA AND SPEND TIME WITH ALBY FUENTES.
01:03:13HOLLY BENDER, WHO'S HERE FROM NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY. WHERE ARE YOU? HOLLY? HI.
01:03:18STAND UP. HOLLY AND ALTADENA. HUNDREDS OF HER COLLEAGUES LOST
01:03:22THEIR HOMES FROM JPL AND CALTECH
01:03:25IN THE EATON FIRE. THEY'RE STUDYING THE FIRE OF THE FUTURE.
01:03:28I GOT TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM AFTER I KNEW AND I KNEW I NEEDED TO LEARN.
01:03:31AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT AND WHY I'LL BE.
01:03:35HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON THAT I CALLED TO COME BACK TO THE
01:03:39PALISADES TO MEET ME. I WAS THEN I TEXTED MY SIBLINGS AND MY SISTER MOLLY WROTE ME BACK.
01:03:43I SAID, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ALL THESE NUMBER?
01:03:47AND AND RIGHT AWAY MOLLY WROTE ME BACK AND I CALLED OUT AND
01:03:50SAID, YOU GOT TO COME AND I THINK I'D BEEN THERE FOR DAYS.
01:03:54BUT WHEN WE HUGGED IN FRONT OF
01:03:56KATHY VITA HOME IN