In search of now: The mystery and science of the present moment
- Date & time
- Speaker
- Jo Marchant
- Location
- Royal Institution
- Organisation
- The Royal Institution
Topics
About this talk
What is Now? It seems simple. The immediate moment, what we're experiencing this instant, bathes us like air, or gravity. It is our connection with the world. Yet when we try to grasp it and analyse the phenomenon of the present, it vanishes. According to the most trusted models of physics, Now doesn't exist at all, and neuroscience suggests that it's merely a convincing hallucination. But if there's no such thing as Now, where does our feeling of "nowness" come from? What shapes the flow of events and sensations that we perceive—and is this really just an illusion? Best-selling science writer Jo Marchant takes us on a grand tour of the latest thinking in cosmology, quantum mechanics, psychology, and neuroscience to tackle these questions and explore the fundamental essence of time. Copies of Jo's book "In Search of Now: The Science and Mystery of the Present Moment" will be available for purchase after the talk. This is an in-person, theatre-only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre. Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.
Add to Calendar