Something from Nothing? Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss Discuss Cosmology, Origins of Life & Religion Before a Packed Crowd

Richard Dawkins needs no introduction. Lawrence Krauss barely needs an introduction — although we’ll tell you that he’s a leading voice in theoretical physics and the author of the recent book, A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing. (We recommend watching this lecture to get familiar with his work.) In February, the two scientists met up at Arizona State University and spent two hours in a freewheeling conversation, touching on evolution, cosmology, religion, and other topics. They spoke before a packed house, but Shirley Films was good enough to post the video online, and you can watch it above. Another conversation — this one recorded at The Australian National University on 10 April 2012 — can be viewed here.

Related Content:

Lawrence Krauss: Every Atom in Your Body Comes From a Star

Growing Up in the Universe: Richard Dawkins Presents Captivating Science Lectures for Kids (1991)

Richard Dawkins & John Lennox Debate Science & Atheism


by | Permalink | Comments (5) |

Support Open Culture

We’re hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. To support Open Culture’s educational mission, please consider making a donation. We accept PayPal, Venmo (@openculture), Patreon and Crypto! Please find all options here. We thank you!


Comments (5)
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
  • louis says:

    your theory of something from nothing require’s more faith than believing in God… What if when God made man from the dust of the earth, and blew the breath of life into his nostrols it took longer than one day,as in a thousand years are like a day to God.and as God formed man in His image,and making all animals according to their kind,like a tadpool turning into a frog,God forming man ?can evolution, and creation be the samething but people still argue for argument sake.and it all still is a miracle !!!

  • Via says:

    Full transcript here: http://vialogue.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/something-from-nothing-notes-review-response/

    And I’m curious if the answer to Krauss’s challenge in this post is viable?

  • christopher palermo says:

    Krauss’s “challenge” is to sell his own book. Unfortunately, he has bad comic timing, and provides a disgraceful interview of Dawkins who, like most thinkers, need time to warm-up to a discussion… without being interrupted, at odd times, by some book salesman.

  • Boris says:

    Mr. Krauss, your frequent referrals to your political beliefs and your left affiliations, constant bashing President Bush, idea to ban from teaching those who do not share your opinion only spoil otherwise interesting discussion. Let me just remind you that many Physicists, who understand Physics infinitely better than you do, believe in God. Speaking of which by the way, one can also say that today we do not know what God is, and where it comes from, but one day we will. If you allow yourself to believe that our current gaps in knowledge (genes, DNA origin, etc) should not preclude us from believing in evolution, why this is not the case for God?

    Factual comments: 1. empty space (mathematically empty) by definition does not have energy. If it does, it is not empty. There is no such thing as empty space in physics.

    2. Something from Nothing is called in Physics Phase transition (ice – no ice, for example). I highly recommend that you learn about phase transitions. It’s known to physics for over century.

  • Gryph says:

    Please cite your sources, otherwise your argument holds no merit.

Leave a Reply

Quantcast
Open Culture was founded by Dan Colman.