An Appetite for Wonder: With Richard Dawkins and Brian Greene

Does God exist? Could our universe be a simulation? Watch WSF co-founder Brian Greene and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in a lively discussion on philosophical ideas of atheism, science and religion. Recorded in front of a live audience at New York's 92nd Street Y.
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Original Program Date: Sept. 24 2014
Participants: Richard Dawkins and Brian Greene
Welcome to all. 00:00
Richard Dawkins do you believe in god? 0:44
Is there something from your childhood that has made you who you are? 5:25
Reality is so wonderful, who needs the supernatural? 9:55
When is a young mind ready for the worlds truths?14:55
Dawkins get denied for biochemistry. 19:06
The simple vs the complex. 26:06
The transition into atheism. 30:28
What if god turned out to be a reality? 35:15
Wendy Wright... afterthoughts? 38:00
Do you pray to god? 42:18
Are all the explanations right in front of us and we just can't see them? 47:45
A simulated universe, who is at the keyboard? 42:43
When will the POTUS stop saying god bless America? 57:53
How do you inspire those who are ignorant? 59:18
How do you think humanity will escape it's technological adolescence? 59:43
Why are there not more high profile female atheists? 1:03:50
How much does the big bang influence a creation point? 1:04:31
What does the end of your book mean? 1:07:30
A couple of poems to end the night. 1:13:46

[@WorldScienceFestival]

Hello, KZbinrs. The World Science Festival is looking for enthusiastic translation ambassadors for its KZbin translation project. To get started, all you need is a Google account. Check out An Appetite for Wonder: With Richard Dawkins and Brian Greene to see how the process works: kzbin.info_video?ref=share&v=z2w4nurt0X4 To create your translation, just type along with the video and save when done. Check out the full list of programs that you can contribute to here: kzbin.info_cs_panel?c=UCShHFwKyhcDo3g7hr4f1R8A&tab=2 The World Science Festival strives to cultivate a general public that's informed and awed by science. Thanks to your contributions, we can continue to share the wonder of scientific discoveries with the world.

[@TheXitone]

cough up some bucks and maybe ?

[@sturtfc]

Message to WSF re above timeslots. "A simulated universe, who is at the keyboard? 42:43" begins at 52.43 mark.

[@user-ch2sh4rm9d]

يرجى ترجمة هذا الفيديو الى اللغه العربيه

[@leodevasia6749]

Please add English subtitle

[@taymourelachkar1088]

@@sturtfc die Bilder sind im Preis ist okay wenn wir um AA Mignon und

[@davooddar7057]

When he says "Newton's balls",Brian's face is just priceless.

[@GodmyX]

David Macbeth For those who want to see it again, from 27:00 on :)

[@stardust4001]

GodmyX Thanks

[@Tularis]

I LOVE Brian Greene, the world needs more of him!

[@geompon6505]

True, he is my fav.

[@2fast2block]

Why is he needed? The goof thinks God really wasn't part of it. He sees no need for God.

[@Tularis]

@@2fast2block because there is no god

[@dist321]

We need more atheist like Brian Greene in this world. He's fantastic!

[@highchief9099]

@Star Trek Theory Moron! Obviously you don't understand the theory AT ALL. You must be one of the red shirts.

[@kp8129]

I dont think Brian Greene is atheist, i think he has the roots or the upbringing of a religious person, i have seen him invoke the possibility of a God in a few interviews (including this one), so i wouldnt call him "an atheist" per se.

[@dist321]

Agreed. But he entitles himself as one. What is different about him is that he's very open minded and he recognizes he doesn't know everything single thing. He's brilliant!

[@DANGJOS]

+Kp 1 That would still make him an atheist. Invoking the possibility of a god doesn't nullify being an atheist. An atheist is one that does not believe in god, and so Brian, *by definition,* is an atheist. You could call him Agnostic Atheist I suppose, as is the title I go under

[@AZOffRoadster]

An atheist espousing Pascals Wager? That's a pretty wishy washy atheist.

[@sydneymorey6059]

Two of my favourites, great intellect, always plenty to learn, from great minds with seemingly effortless espousing. Showing great respect for themselves and all participants. A world full of the like, would be worth living in.

[@raven7thhole]

what a wonderful and true Renaissance man is Richard Dawkins - eloquent voice of reason and searcher for the truth.

[@exilfromsanity]

I like Dawkin's tie.

[@AZOffRoadster]

His wife makes/draws them by hand.

[@clayandputtyvideos1647]

@@AZOffRoadster OMG that is amazing.

[@GlowingMpd]

I like Dawkins!👍😇

[@alexandrakalandarishvili4901]

Absolutely one of my favorite interviews of all time! funny, smart and informative!

[@highchief9099]

Two brilliant minds here. I encourage people to check out more of their work!

[@kurohikes5857]

Black atheist reporting for duty, sir!

[@keyboarddancers7751]

At ease, John Dow.

[@johnblack9281]

Greetings fellow black atheist

[@DarronMoe]

Greetings fellow black

[@cseeger1]

Haha, that was great. Welcome Sgt. Black.

[@godlessrathead7292]

John Dow ex Muslim Militant Atheist Asian Indian here... militant as in I enjoy eating bacon in public during Ramadan...

[@beatsforyou9171]

Show me the evidence Show me the evidence

[@gdn5001]

ghada92011 what's the highest level of education you've achieved?

[@JoshSweetvale]

lanemonehP 'Show me the evidence!...Or I will...not believe you? And encourage others not to believe you?' Ok. Go do that. Good luck.

[@mcainox]

Rich for you to talk about brainwashing yet you blindly put your faith in a book that also has no evidence.

[@sabotsabotskij7047]

Wrong... evolution has better proof than the theory of gravity. If you choose not to believe it, that's your loss, but if you choose not to teach it, then you're a problem.

[@kristenmichelle8710]

Sabot, there is abundant proof of microevolution but not macroevolution. There is a difference.

[@willemvanmierlo8590]

In my own experience my love for supernatural fantasies never stood in the way of being sceptical. Even as a very young kid I never believed in things like santa clause and such but that never affected my appreciation in a negative way of the storytelling surrounding such fantasies.

[@zblofu]

That was amazing that they ended with poetry. I wish more conversations would end with a poem. After the rational descriptions of nature it seems a good balance to end with a bit of poetic wonder.

[@TrickOrRetreat]

Dawkins is a great fan of poetry

[@huskiehuskerson5300]

@@TrickOrRetreat 🙂

[@TrickOrRetreat]

@Wolf Ticket Time to put down the crack pipe, and take a nap 😏

[@TrickOrRetreat]

@Wolf Ticket You need professional help mate. Your totally lost in translation.

[@TrickOrRetreat]

@Wolf Ticket Are you so dumb that you don't know humans don't come from monkeys ? You fail at basic evolutionary knowledge.

[@JizzyMcFrizzyLOL]

41:15 is when I get dem feels. :'( Brian speaks the truth. Love him

[@corydinsmore1117]

Brian Greene interviewing a wall would be great so this is absolutely thrilling.

[@black_jack_meghav]

Thank you professor, to set up this WONDERFUL CHANNEL, WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL. I AM A PROUD SUBSCRIBER!

[@christineclaiborne3139]

I know what brings me ultimate happiness. Resting in peace. Yet I've just seen so many souls resting. Why can't I rest?

[@cool2beliving]

THAT. WAS. AWESOME!

[@deepaktripathi4417]

Great conversation! I love Brian Green. He's just an amazing physicist. He's funny. We need this kind of scientists.

[@user-je1ck6vw7g]

🗣️ that person is some stupid person acting that he is samthing that person is nothing ? ... Don't you see how this person talk he is an apsulut idiot !?...

[@ChanelCoco555]

BG is so eloquent and witty :) love him

[@ebptube]

The most wonderful way to spend a gray day - or any day - listning to witful humans sharing meaningful thoughts. Thank you KZbin for making that possible!

[@tredecimkanzaki4284]

A very satisfying concersation.

[@darwinlaluna3677]

When u in peace ,LOVE, FAITH, wisdom will always in you

[@fb150185]

THank you for a great talk, so itneresting. And thank you for allowing science to be accessible to us all!!

[@orlandotongue6325]

It's funny he mentions rational people doing irrational things. I do that somtimes, I'll try and move things with my mind every once in a while even though I know it doesn't work lol. As a physics student I suppose I rationalize it by thinking that I'm just retesting the theories to make sure physics is still working lol

[@qorilla]

I think it's just a natural human tendency. Like "intrusive thoughts" where you contemplate punching a random guy on the street even if you would never do it. Or like dreams etc. It's just random thoughts whirling around.

[@jeremybowser7690]

Orlando Tongue You think you got the force, lol!!

[@ThinkOneMoreTime]

I do that too!

[@KeikoMushi]

Orlando Tongue The next question is: Do you have a theme song playing in your head when you retest those theories? e.g. Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" from the film Excalibur.

[@DeathBringer769]

+Orlando Tongue Never take anything for granted, lol. Sometimes I hold up a bottle of water and contemplate that it is technically possible (though unlikely) that the second I let go of this water bottle that gravity will suddenly disappear... It's always nice just to reinforce the current reality through experiment, lol.

[@Pollywar]

Dawkins would convince Jesus himself on atheism

[@kmstanton]

Polwarthful Jesus: I rose from the dead. Dawkins: After being unconscious, for 2 minutes, during a surgery.

[@obijuan3004]

I think Jesus is in my big toe, because every time I bang my toe I yell his name.

[@Slytherin88]

Amen

[@kenadams5504]

Who wouldnt believe in the God who let an angry mob nail you to a wooden crucafix ...just to show his followers how much he prioritised their support ahead of his own son !!.

[@ijustwanttolikecomments4677]

Richard Dawkins saying "show me the evidence. show me the evidence" in that mocking tone perfectly sums up every single "debate" I've seen between anyone who is somewhat science literate and any science denier. I loved it!!

[@shitholeworld]

Is first person testimony considered evidence?

[@ijustwanttolikecomments4677]

@@shitholeworld In a court of law, yes. but even then it's trusted too much knowing now how easily someone's memory can be changed or misremembered outright. scientifically, which has much harder guidelines, first person testimony would not be evidence. it would only be a cause for possibly pursuing something scientifically to find evidence.

[@philjamieson5572]

I think they're both remarkable thinkers.

[@GlowingMpd]

👍

[@georgepaul5843]

Bia Brian Greene’s and Richard Dawkins’s facetious smiles and humor in discussing a serious subjects is delightfully cheerful.

[@SalesforceUSA]

I LOVE Brian Greene, He is a genius!

[@user-je1ck6vw7g]

No that person is not he is so stupid and don't no even what he is talking about ,? 🤨

[@brabantstad384]

Show me the evidence @39:08

[@Why.Just_why]

thanks m8

[@inisus]

Oh my god so funny. That should be a meme.

[@420MusicFiend]

Fantastic!

[@christineclaiborne3139]

I WAS. Now, no. We have this tremendous knowledge and power now! What a gift! Santa came early this year! :)

[@karlrschneider]

Anything that may exist outside space and time can not possibly interact in any way with us who live inside it. Which is analogous to 'natural' and 'supernatural'. Same problem.

[@vivekrangarajan1981]

39:10 Dawkins increased the entropy of his hair

[@vimalvnair999]

I loved your age of wonder: your third and fourth and fifth years spent astonished, widening your eyes at each new trick of the world-and me standing there, solemnly explaining how it was done. The moon and stars, rainbows, photographs, gravity, the birds in the air, the difference between blood and water. In true life? you would say, looking up and I would nod, like some broken-hearted sage, knowing there would be no answers soon to all the big questions that were left, to cruelty and fear, to age and grief and death, and no words either. And you, like me, will sit and shake your head. In true life? Yes, my sweet, strong daughter, I’m afraid there is all this as well, and this is it: true life. ---------- Keys to the Doors by Robin Robertson

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

I’m so happy to see you happy

[@Dr.physioAli]

I enjoyed that

[@black_jack_meghav]

Richard Is So Damn Cool! Especially his tie

[@SocietyIsCollapsing]

Well, that was an hour well spent. Thanks for doing that, Richard is a remarkable man.

[@deeliciousplum]

I would have loved for this conversation between these two inspiring and enlightening gentleman to have been a bit more equal. Professor Dawkins may have taken a little too much liberty in expressing things, Yet, Dr. Greene was also fuelling this by asking the greater number of questions. I will have to view this again, as there were moment where Dr. Greene appeared to express a great discomfort with his own agnostic atheism position. Professor Dawkins did pick up on this and tried to help by reflecting thoughts on the concerns Brian was inquiring of. Yet, I am not certain that Brian caught this. Though, I cannot read minds. So, I may be off by thinking this. Thanks for sharing this interview!

[@guilhermepaula6496]

"Which God?". That question is the best answer you could find.

[@GlowingMpd]

👍

[@sekoivu]

This was very interesting, yet awe inspiring discussion between these guys.

[@hackerhesays731]

Love the tears of relief

[@auxbonnieux]

Brian Greene is a riot. Love it

[@willemvanmierlo8590]

It's amongst the best of his qualities

[@ryde9042]

Absolutely brilliant, yet simply-conveyed mind. His subtle jabs poking holes in religion is actually just a very basic and standard scientific method that drop religion in its head with ease.

[@asokoniso]

he said "Newton's Balls" :D :D anyways, I love you guys both. One day I'll tell my kids about both of you and encourage them to read and search and think about you :)

[@makakhalik966]

Richard Dawkins is an exceptional person. The voice of reason and a real credit to the science field. He is softly spoken and down to earth. A real inspiration to young scientists.

[@christianfarina3056]

Dawkins is a very intelligent person.

[@kpzcbttp]

I totally agree.

[@highchief9099]

Troll alert!

[@HamzaKhan-eq5xo]

or intelligently stuid

[@fredriksvard2603]

Yes but Greene is on yet another level

[@ingenuity168]

Dawkins has the coolest ties and Brian a fine nose.

[@fredriksvard2603]

Thats what i took away from this too

[@thriveinlife]

I love the banter. Thanks Gentleman. 🌎⭕️😂

[@Sharperthanu1]

I'm now inspired to paint ties!

[@alecampa1006]

kick ass, must see!

[@clayandputtyvideos1647]

Richard's tie is super lovely.

[@paulpulaski]

Please put on close captioning CC. Thanks!

[@hochathanfire0001]

Was looking for the biology, but the atheism is even more interesting 😏.

[@jesseolson335]

one charming soul !

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

If your ways of explanation, is strong enough, to proof your creation, in a scientific ways, and makes the other’s agree, then you done it !

[@peterkay7458]

Really great discussion. A case study for articulate debate. Love the comment about his late father, brilliant way of looking at it.

[@gangoffour1]

My two favorite people!

[@FantastyckplastycK]

+Matilda Percival yeah mine too and there was also hitch

[@gangoffour1]

+FantastyckplastycK and Sam Harris!!!

[@2phalanges]

+Matilda Percival what about your parents?

[@gangoffour1]

+2phalanges What about them?

[@cmiguel268]

Brian WINS HANDS DOWN.

[@cseeger1]

dawkins has a wicked sense of humor -. 1:05:50

[@ethanjohnson9521]

great bloke. cheers for vid.im starting the pimply kid religion !!!

[@alfredoontiveros6504]

When Greene first referred to the "22 million people on livestream" I was like WHAAAAAAT? Then I heard the laughs from the public.

[@ToddSloanIAAN]

Good and slow conclusion to nearly agree that God is part of our language.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

God is an imposition on our language

[@simonenina_]

Richard Dawkins just stated what I've thought of for decades!!! ~ "We're here (alive today) due to happenstance." ~ "The sneeze" ~ "Parents, grandparents, etc.."

[@bretnetherton9273]

Reality is not two, there can be no primacy. Awareness is known by awareness alone.

[@philaypeephilippotter6532]

Gobblydegook.

[@GlowingMpd]

@@philaypeephilippotter6532 👍

[@fredriksvard2603]

Are you one of those new age word salad generators

[@pwr905]

As a long-time fan of Brian Greene (back before he was famous; watching him give KITP lectures in low-res, etc), I actually thought he did himself a bit of a disservice in this. He was so .. flippant, that even though he asked (quasi)-serious questions, the manner in which he asked them made them feel more like notes on a napkin, rather than serious philosophical / scientific questions. It's not a bad conversation by any stretch, but I feel like he (Brian) could do so much better.

[@deepaktripathi4417]

"It's a part of language". Look at the Richard's facial reaction. 😆😆

[@ianmarshall9144]

just like we say Jesus fucking christ how can you believe in god ? Its part of our English language , a remnant of a christian belief that existed in ignorant and uneducated period of our history .

[@ticogis]

Love then both. High level convertation.

[@christineclaiborne3139]

No way. Timing is everything. If I find something that doesn't make sense, I will point it out.

[@forrisvourvopoulos3252]

Feels so good to know and hear and if lucky enough to come across with such Mentally Brilliant people. Remarkable man, deep thinker 🤘🙄 We simply so lucky. It comes down to one fact alone.....its time for the two currents to reconcile, and Greene is one of those who leaves the possibilities open! Simply brilliant, and innovative in some sense. Thanks for uploading 🤘🤘🙏

[@pb4520]

I love these guys. I am so sad when i think they are sure there's no such thing as some sort of God for lack of better word. We are limited as human-beings to fully understand or comprehend eternity and god and heaven and immortality. That is part of Life. I believe there surely is Eternity and God. It's true that we are limited to fully grasp or understand it fully in our mortal Worldy life. It is more vastly beautiful and good and wonderful than we can imagine in this Life. Never surrender to darkness. Think positive!

[@alienrs5655]

Dawkins and Brian ?? What a duo !

[@ThePJExperience]

Sir Richard Dowkins' view point is correct on the concept of religion and GOd. Let's face it , religion was first attempt at science .

[@ThePJExperience]

@@KAT-dg6el Initially , people were figuring things out , pondering about the Sky and the Earth. But yes , it did soon led itself to the best means to control the masses.

[@fredriksvard2603]

No, it was a version of dreaming or storytelling. It helps people orient themselves and practice for difficult realities in their minds. That comes first, then it's been used as a science, and for societal norms.

[@robertmcclintock8701]

Everytime an artist make something social and intelligent it has artistic integrity. That only possible in a created universe.

[@lasthope3230]

How so?

[@robertmcclintock8701]

@@lasthope3230 I can give you an example. The movie 2001 a space odyssey is the antichrist solving abortion. A space odyssey is a fetus in the womb. The Clint Eastwood dirty Harry movies was angry calm. It seems nasty but it's a good police officer. Angry calm is how a women chooses abortion. Everything in motion makes one error. Your supposed to park the errors where it doesn't matter or you play wack a mole with errors. It's intelligently designed that if you try killing God you will always make one error. A movie is in motion so you have to park the errors where it doesn't matter. 2001 movie is about abortion but a fetus is blind. That why HAL computer eye is colored red so it still has artistic integrity. 2001 movie is most perfect movie ever made. It only has one error to park. You can't do better than that.

[@DummyFace123]

When it gets to the point about a god, I think its just different imaginings of what exists outside of the universe. I could think of reasons to simulate a universe, and so that gives motive to create a universe, and as an outside observer, may as well be called a god. To the existence inside my simulated universe, god is just a word, an idea. Just a word given to something that is unknowable. I would be an existence beyond their ability to comprehend, just as anything outside of our universe is an existence beyond what we would be able to comprehend. In a way, it really doesn't matter, to us its all the same *_outside_* reality. And in that way, makes anything outside of our universe irrelevant. Except if we can figure out how to hack it. That would be awesome, but also sorta scary. Like a program that learns to mess with physical system components in which it runs, not knowing whether or not it would be capable of breaking it's own reality.

[@mohamedeldeeb6114]

why aren't there any subtitles?

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

When you’re became to an awareness , everything will be produced in you brains, and that is your life times experience and your knowledge and jobs your family,the country of you’re born , your cultures, history, poetry, revolution, and scape from your country and gets to know the new world and new cultures, and everything new , will open another doors for your success, and your new experiences, and your previous philosophical background and your original language, helping you lot more .

[@brabantstad384]

I love you

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

Dear , sirs , Richard and Brian , I am finding the lost and missing part of the story , and I never said that I am great in all parts of science, which can be find everywhere and you just need to put more time to do it and I not giving credit for myself for those google searches.

[@lobola956]

I feel like brian thought that Santa clause question didn’t get the reaction he wanted

[@knarfx4732]

I watched the interview with that lady Wendy something and Prof Dawkins destroy that woman 😂, it was arguments after arguments and facts after facts and that woman only response was “ not evidence” 🤦🏻‍♂️😂.

[@christineclaiborne3139]

I never said a word about, towards, or against atheists. My message has always been clear. ALL lives, voices, stories matter. Jesus, I am starting to sound like a broken recorder player. Hello? Anyone out there? Anyone listening to a word I am saying?

[@bulwarkandthesunbeam]

interesting how brian greene presses dawkins about his childhood growing up in british colonial africa. the privilege of having servants, a good education etc. important to consider the context of his ideas/perspective i think

[@ethanp5948]

If we needed to vote on a king of science, I'd vote for Richard Dawkins

[@warezwolf1]

Thank you Richard Dawkins. You have changed my life and my childrens doctrine of discovery. Your life's service has made a difference,

[@AnastasiaTapper]

Richard dawkins always amazing

[@ineskucharz1990]

What a wonderful interview, full of humour, self-deprecation, and interesting questions. I wish there were many more people like Brian Greene and Richard Dawkins.

[@shitholeworld]

More nonces?

[@christineclaiborne3139]

Yes. For if we definitively are but stardust - we are but a byproduct of that stardust. When we grow - so do they. When we shrink - so do they.

[@actiaint]

glad i watched this - remarkable how in spiritual search richard dawkins really is.

[@amaramichaels2064]

I cannot imagine how it must feel to have absolute conviction that our ancestors were apes, and we are mere biological accidents. Even Charles Darwin wrote that the theories of evolution could not explain some biological features ( for example the complexity of the eyes ) which require different aspects of function to appear simultaneously, and therefor suggest gradual development could not account for their mutually interdependent co - operation. Perhaps our perception ( inverted as pointed out by Mr Dawkins ) causes us to mis - understand a bigger picture where there is no competition between science/religion/evolution. .

[@hanshvaffornoget3311]

i like the way Brian Greene think ...

[@christineclaiborne3139]

You can't have an all good being that is skeptical. We can only believe what we see. And what I see as what We see. What you see of me is a perception of me. Not the reality of me.

[@joegeorge5940]

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE DAWKINS. BUT THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE HIM.

[@pcstar123]

A chrysalises turning into butterfly is a better miracle than frog turning into prince, and it is real! Growing up in the countryside in East Asia, I was never exposed to all these fairy tales, but as a child I was always in amazement with nature and it's a lifetime love of nature and science and none of the religious stuff for me.

[@haripanthi5694]

Richard is really a great person...i really like his logics and speeches...

[@lisengel2498]

Yes I love your conversation thank you very much - and isn’t it just wonderfull that Biology/Life- is such a mess ? True life is always an intertwining of heart-mind-World and because of that allegorial, methaphorical, scientific and poetic and embodied languages all tell us something about the experience of life - 🦎🦋🍀💚

[@lepidoptera9337]

Biology isn't a mess. It's just complicated. The human mind is not well developed to track the evolution of dynamical systems with tens of thousands of free variables.

[@drwinford-thomas1349]

The Selfish Gene by Dawkins was the first book I read at university. I never understood it.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

Probably because it was the first book . Have you read it since ?

[@uppermoonzeroo]

“You studying Balls really” “Yeah that’s right” Well damn Brian 💀

[@marisoltohorton9500]

I always told my kids the truth