In the winter of 1610, Johannes Kepler was crossing Prague's Charles Bridge when he noticed a snowflake landing on his arm. Fascinated, he wondered why snowflakes always have six sides: “I do not believe,” he wrote, “that even in a snowflake this orderly pattern exists by chance.”
Four hundred years later, we know part of the answer. Snowflakes are made up of water molecules, which in turn are made up of atoms, which are composed of quarks and electrons – possibly even “superstrings.” All of this is held together by the forces of nature described by quantum theory. But how can such abstract simplicity give rise to such delicate beauty?
“Emergence” is a tribute to the sophistication of the universe and an exploration of the laws of nature that shaped it. From the vast structures of the galaxy streams that form the cosmic web, to the interconnected ecosystems of Earth, to the architecture of the human brain – from black holes to snowflakes – a world of overwhelming complexity unfolds, underpinned by astonishing simplicity.
How could a species of great apes only 250,000 years old on a small planet orbiting an ordinary star in an average galaxy figure all this out—guided only by curiosity, mathematics, and a sense of symmetry and beauty? And what could we achieve if we managed to preserve the ideas of the Enlightenment – the ideas developed by Kepler and his contemporaries that still guide us today? They made it possible to decipher the history of the universe and send our space probes to the edge of the solar system and beyond to the stars.
Professor Brian Cox says of his new show: "I have had an incredible amount of fun developing Emergence. It is the most ambitious live show I have ever written. I was very fortunate to work with a wonderful group of scientists, musicians, filmmakers, and graphic designers to bring cosmology, biology, philosophy, and history to the most modern and largest LED screens—supported by the best lighting and sound system I could find. I hope the show will be an all-encompassing experience and leave all visitors, whether they love science, music, or history, or simply contemplate the beauty of nature, with something new to think about."
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