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00:00 In many ways, you are amazing.

00:03 You're a complex and unique bundle of cells to make the bones and muscles and organs that

00:08 form your body, and also to build and fuel the single most impressive thing you have

00:12 - your brain.

00:14 But still, from some loftier perspective, you're actually not that great, or interesting,

00:21 or special at all.

00:22 On the cosmological scale, human life is but a tiny fleck on an endless and unfathomable

00:28 landscape.

00:29 And that's pretty daunting, but also quite inspiring.

00:33 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question; what's the purpose

00:38 of the universe?

00:41 Do you need the big questions answered?

00:43 Are you constantly curious?

00:44 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?

00:47 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!

00:51 What is the universe, really?

00:53 From a purely physical point of view, it's reasonably simple.

00:56 It's matter.

00:57 Lots and lots and lots of matter.

01:00 Some that gets clumped together, some that gets stretched out.

01:03 And all of it moving around and through space, all of the time, at variously immense speeds.

01:08 Thankfully, in terms of us even beginning to understand it all, that matter does at

01:12 least form some recognisable shapes and structures.

01:16 Galaxies are comprised of planetary systems, which involve an indeterminate number of planets

01:20 orbiting around a star.

01:22 Perhaps two stars, maybe more than two stars.

01:25 Planets are joined by other astronomical entities like asteroids, occasionally black holes,

01:31 quasars, magnetars, etc, etc.

01:34 And all of the endless stuff combined is made up of rock, ice and gas.

01:38 Of minerals and elements.

01:40 Of molecules, atoms and subatomic particles.

01:43 But clearly the question of what is the universe can take us in different directions as well,

01:48 and towards some of the deepest and greatest mysteries of all time.

01:52 That can lead us to ask further questions, like what's it all for?

01:55 Why does any of it matter in a non-physical sense?

01:59 And why are we here to even think these thoughts about the universe in the first place?

02:03 The theory of cosmological natural selection was devised by the American theoretical physicist

02:08 Lee Smolin in the 1990s.

02:11 Smolin built the idea in the early part of the decade, before setting it out in full

02:15 in his 1997 book, The Life of the Cosmos.

02:18 It's a theory that suggests pretty much exactly what it sounds like - that the universe

02:23 is the way it is because it's been honed and perfected to be that way.

02:27 Away from cosmology, natural selection is the evolutionary process through which life

02:32 adapts and grows to give itself the best chance of survival.

02:35 What Smolin proposes, then, is that the universe behaves in the same way.

02:40 As part of regular natural selection, however, there are inevitably lifeforms that don't

02:44 make it, that don't change enough or in time, and as a result they die off and disappear.

02:50 So, how would that work in cosmological natural selection?

02:53 Two words.

02:55 Black holes.

02:57 At the heart of Smolin's theory is the suggestion that black holes act as a kind of facilitator

03:01 for multiple universes, including this one.

03:04 It's said that a collapsing black hole is actually a birthing point for a new universe,

03:09 which then emerges from the other side of that black hole.

03:13 The theory argues, then, that any one universe is capable of reproducing as many new universes

03:18 as there are black holes within it.

03:20 What's incredible is that, for our universe, that would mean that it has the potential

03:24 to generate upwards of forty trillion new universes - going by just the more conservative

03:30 estimates as to how many black holes there are.

03:33 If we were to assume that our universe itself was also born out of a similar arrangement,

03:38 and that that setup were to repeat over and over and over again, then we very quickly

03:43 weave an incredibly intricate mesh of endlessly recalibrating matter - otherwise known as

03:48 the true nature and structure of reality.

03:52 Cosmological natural selection isn't without its pitfalls, however.

03:55 And as clean and satisfying as it may all appear at first, many physicists have taken

04:00 issue with one key element to it.

04:02 The theory relies on there being some form of information transfer between the universe

04:07 that's hosting a black hole - the parent - and the universe that the black hole creates

04:11 - the baby.

04:12 For there to really be any kind of selection at play, there has to be reproduction, mutation,

04:18 and some level of learning happening within the black hole.

04:22 But nothing we know of would indicate that that is the case.

04:25 As a standalone claim, then, the idea that black holes could double up as effective universe

04:29 factories just doesn't hold up.

04:32 Although, more broadly, black hole cosmology does endure as a wider, more general framework,

04:38 proposing that our universe could still exist within a black hole.

04:42 For as long as only part of it is observable, while the rest remains unobservable, there

04:47 might always be an argument that this could be the case.

04:51 One thing that cosmological natural selection does provide, to a point, is a purpose.

04:56 If the universe really does exist within the model it lays out, then there seemingly is

05:01 a kind of end goal to aim for.

05:03 As it pulses its way through the endless stream of potential universes, we can imagine that

05:08 reality is really always striving for the perfect one.

05:12 Whether or not this universe is that perfect rendition is probably impossible to tell from

05:16 our lowly perspective.

05:18 However, there are hints toward it being a pretty effective attempt at a universe, at

05:22 least - such as the fine-tuning problem.

05:26 This is the much-debated concept that asks, "Why does this universe apparently work

05:30 so particularly well?"

05:32 We have certain fundamental conditions, such as the nature of gravity, of electromagnetism,

05:37 and the structure of atoms, that if changed even a tiny way would otherwise render our

05:42 universe impossible.

05:44 If we see the universe that we know of as simply the product of natural selection, however,

05:48 then it begins to make sense as to why all of those things exist as they do.

05:53 Across all of the other universes until this point, the balance was never quite correct.

05:58 But here, it's just right.

06:00 But still, just right… for what?

06:03 Usually we think of the finely-tuned universe as being the one - this one - that allows

06:07 for life on Earth, or life as we know it.

06:10 But can we ever be sure that life is what a universe - any universe - would want to

06:15 happen?

06:16 For more on this pretty ominous existential question in particular, be sure to check out

06:20 our other recent video.

06:22 But for now, it's a question that serves to further highlight just how unknowable the

06:27 true power, scale and purpose of the universe really is.

06:31 Because consider for a moment that life actually isn't part of what the perfect universe

06:35 would be.

06:36 What would that then mean for us?

06:38 If multiple universes really were possible - and especially if they're possible via

06:42 cosmological natural selection - then that would mean that we are inescapably doomed.

06:47 And not only doomed from this universe, but also from all other successful universes that

06:52 this one ultimately gives rise to.

06:55 And suddenly the fine-tuning problem actually isn't much of a problem at all.

06:59 Because in this case, the universe got it wrong, not right.

07:02 And all that we know is really just one of trillions of try-agains that ultimately get

07:07 consigned to the cosmological scrapheap.

07:10 Statistically speaking, it's much more likely than not.

07:14 But of course, no one can yet claim to definitely know the true matter of things.

07:18 If they did and they could, then they'd basically be a god.

07:22 And there are various arguments that humankind has the concept of god in order to directly

07:27 combat many of the great unknowns that we've touched upon in this video.

07:31 Clearly, there are some aspects to reality - to our conscious experience - that defy

07:36 anything even close to a simple explanation.

07:39 And so, god provides a kind of catch-all safety net for anything that we don't or can't

07:45 understand.

07:46 But, even with god or gods to fall back on, perhaps the same questions still apply.

07:52 Even if a god were to exist, and even if they did create the universe, then why?

07:59 Let us know what you think in the comments.

08:01 Do you think we can ever hope to have a clear answer to something as immense as this?

08:06 Should we even want to have a clear answer?

08:08 For some, the pondering of higher mysteries is all a part of life in itself.

08:14 For others, the quest for answers is one that we all should be on.

08:18 Into which camp do you fall?

08:20 The debate certainly doesn't begin or end with only cosmological natural selection,

08:26 or black hole cosmology.

08:28 It represents just one direction we could head down in a search of knowledge and clarity.

08:33 But for now, it does paint a compelling picture of what the true purpose of the universe might

08:38 be.

08:39 What do you think?

08:40 Is there anything we missed?

08:41 Let us know in the comments.

08:43 Check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell

08:47 for our latest content.

What is The Purpose Of The Universe? | Unveiled

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