Emergence: How Complexity Arises From Simple Rules

Resources

Resources & Recommendations

Books

• "The Six-Cornered Snowflake" by Johannes Kepler - This book, written in 1609, explores the symmetry of snowflakes and speculates on its origin, touching upon early ideas that foreshadow modern scientific thought about emergence and underlying causes of natural phenomena.
• "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan - This book is referenced for its insights into critical thinking, specifically a story about a taxi driver's curiosity about unscientific concepts, highlighting the importance of access to reliable knowledge and education.
• "Feynman Lectures on Physics" by Richard Feynman - Volume 1 is specifically mentioned for its "lovely explanation" of tidal forces and bulges, making complex physics concepts accessible.

People Mentioned

• Johannes Kepler - A 17th-century astronomer whose book "The Six-Cornered Snowflake" is discussed as an early example of modern scientific thinking about symmetry and emergence.
• Carl Sagan - An astronomer and science communicator, quoted for his definitions of physics and for his perspective on the public's access to reliable scientific knowledge, as detailed in his book "The Demon-Haunted World."
• Roger Penrose - A Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and physicist, known for his work on black holes. He is mentioned for his paper demonstrating the inevitable formation of black holes from sufficiently massive stars and for his views on the fundamental nature of spacetime.
• Oppenheimer and Snyder - Physicists who worked on the theory of gravitational collapse before Penrose, with their work involving certain assumptions about symmetry.
• Leonard Susskind - A theoretical physicist credited with coining the term "ER = EPR" in the context of black holes and quantum entanglement, and for his concept of the "Uvir connection" related to the Planck length.
• Alan Turing - A pioneering computer scientist who, in the 1930s, introduced the concept of a universal Turing machine, a foundational idea for modern computing.
• Sir Paul Nurse - A Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher and a good friend of Brian Cox, who pioneered the building of the Francis Crick Institute.
• Francis Crick - Co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, after whom the Francis Crick Institute is named.
• Searle - A philosopher known for his argument about "symbol shuffling" in the context of artificial intelligence and understanding.
• Mendeleev - The creator of the periodic table of elements, mentioned in comparison to the pattern of three particle families.
• Brian Schmidt - A Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who was one of the discoverers of the accelerating expansion of the universe.
• Fred Hoyle - An astronomer who coined the term "Big Bang" because he initially thought the idea was ridiculous.
• Ross (Postdoc of Brian Cox) - Developed a real-time calculation tool for sound waves in the early universe, used in Brian Cox's live shows.
• Richard Feynman - A Nobel Prize-winning physicist, mentioned for his clear explanations in the "Feynman Lectures" and for his insights into the fundamental properties of the universe.
• Rutherford, Niels Bohr, and Einstein - Key figures in the early development of quantum mechanics, noted for their philosophical struggles with the statistical nature of quantum phenomena.
• Stephen Hawking - A theoretical physicist, mentioned for his "chronology protection conjecture" related to time travel.

Organizations & Institutions

• University of Manchester - Where Brian Cox is a professor of particle physics.
• BBC - The British Broadcasting Corporation, which produces Brian Cox's podcast, "The Infinite Monkey Cage."
• Guinness Book of World Records - Mentioned for Brian Cox's record-breaking science tour.
• CERN - The European Organization for Nuclear Research, where the LEP collider and LHC are located, and where Brian Cox had a position.
• Francis Crick Institute - A biosciences research institute in London, where Brian Cox is involved and has hosted podcasts.
• Google Research Group - Mentioned for a paper on replicators emerging from random code.
• The Royal Society (of London) - A prestigious scientific society, mentioned in the context of the historical development of science.

Courses & Educational Resources

• MasterClass (masterclass.com/startalk) - An online learning platform offering courses from experts, including Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Websites & Online Resources

• Feynman Lectures Online (Freely available online) - Provides access to Richard Feynman's classic physics lectures.

Other Resources

• Infinite Monkey Cage - Brian Cox's popular BBC podcast, which has been on air for a long time.
• Horizons - The title of Brian Cox's world record-breaking science tour, which covered topics like the universe and scientific discoveries over four years.
• Wonders of the Solar System, The Planets, Solar System - Titles of BBC shows hosted by Brian Cox, tracing the evolution of his content on the solar system.
• Wonders of the Universe - A cosmology show also hosted by Brian Cox.
• James Webb Space Telescope - Mentioned for its spectacular images and the new problems they raise about the early universe.
• Vera Rubin Observatory - Mentioned as a source of new images and data.
• Voyager Spacecraft - Discussed as humanity's "first emissary to the stars," carrying a golden record and representing our exploration beyond the solar system.
• Comet Atlas 3I - A comet mentioned for its exceptional age and origin from a distant star system, offering an unprecedented opportunity to observe interstellar material.
• M87 Black Hole - The supermassive black hole for which a photograph exists, used as an example in a discussion about black hole properties.