What are Foundational Questions? David Sloan in conversation with Pinar Emirdag

LATEST VIDEO | June 3, 2025

David Sloan (FQxI’s Chief Scientific Officer) and Pinar Emirdag (FQxI Board Member) talk about the kinds of questions that don’t get answered in textbooks — the ones where even experts don’t agree. What is time, really? Why does math describe the universe so well? Where do our current theories stop making sense?

"The curiosity driven research of today will be the technology of tomorrow"–David Sloan

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Hipparchus | Julian Barbour | FQxI's "My Favourite" Ep 3

LATEST VIDEO | June 3, 2025

Welcome back to the FQxI "My Favourite" series, where our members explore their most cherished scientific ideas.

In episode three, Julian Barbour takes us back to 150 BC to uncover the revolutionary insights of Hipparchus, the great ancient astronomer. Hipparchus developed one of the first dynamical equations to describe the Sun's motion across the ecliptic, laying the foundation for the entire field of dynamics. He introduced the concept of relating time to the Sun’s position, relying on precise ratios and geometric reasoning.

This theory explained the non-uniformity in the Sun's motion and established a paradigm that has helped shape physics for millennia. Hipparchus’s legacy reminds us of the deep connections between observation, mathematics, and the quest to understand the cosmos.

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Help us continue to explore and share foundational scientific ideas. Your donation makes a difference. Stay tuned for the next episode, where another FQxI member shares their favourite scientific inspiration.

Extraterrestrial life and civilizations - where and how to search for them?

LATEST VIDEO | June 3, 2025
Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and best-selling science author. He has published about 30 books and hundreds of research papers and review articles across a range of scientific fields. He is also well-known as a media personality and science popularizer in several countries. His research interests have focused mainly on quantum gravity, early universe cosmology, the theory of quantum black holes and the nature of time. He has also made important contributions to the field of astrobiology, and was an early advocate of the theory that life on Earth may have originated on Mars. For several years he has also been running a major cancer research project, and developed a new theory of cancer based on tracing its deep evolutionary origins. Among his many awards are the 1995 Templeton Prize, the Faraday Prize from The Royal Society, the Kelvin Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics, the Robinson Cosmology Prize and the Bicentenary Medal of Chile. He was made a member of the Order of Australia in the 2007 Queen's birthday honours list and the asteroid 6870 Pauldavies is named after him. His more recent books include "What's Eating the Universe?", "The Demon in the Machine", "About Time", "The Origin of Life", "The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life?", "How to Build a Time Machine" and "The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone in the Universe?"