Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature — the three others being electromagnetism, the strong nuclear interactions, and the weak nuclear interactions — and it pervades space like an invisible field until infinity. Albert Einstein taught us that the gravitational field is spacetime itself, and that gravity is experienced as a result of large masses bending […]
Physics explains how our material Universe works. However, its theories do not currently form a satisfying whole. For example, the theory that describes the fundamental forces and building blocks of our physical world excludes gravity, and we do not comprehend how the Universe was born. As we naturally strive for things to be complete and […]
It is relatively easy to get lost in our mental world. However, finding our way back to a life in which we feel comfortable in our skin is no sinecure. Along the journey, wishful thinking aside, we have no airtight guarantee that we will arrive at the final destination we have in mind. And if […]
Scientific inquiry can be a lesson in humility. Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus taught us this in the sixteenth century when submitting the hypothesis that the Sun is sitting at the centre of the Solar System, not the Earth. Although we are limited by our own cognitive abilities, such humility can nevertheless open doors towards a broader […]
The other day, I had a rather civil discussion with a climate change denier. His main argument was that, since the carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration has historically followed the Earth’s temperature trend, it could not possibly be that man-made CO₂ emissions now dictate our natural climate. After all, he went on, if CO₂ were responsible […]