Will Humanity Ever Become An Interstellar Civilisation? - Avi Loeb - #678

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello everybody, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Avi Loeb. He's a theoretical physicist specializing in astrophysics and cosmology, a professor of science at Harvard University, and an author. Humanity traveling to different planets is a huge undertaking, yet we're already looking further afield. If we are to survive out into the far future, we need to travel to different solar systems, and this presents a ton of unique challenges. Today, we get to find out about the biggest ones. Expect to learn how Avi discovered and collected the first ever material from a different solar system that landed here on Earth earlier this year, whether we will ever send generations of humans on a spacecraft to different stars, how Avi is planning to propel a craft up to the speed of light within the next decade, the dangers lurking beyond the edge of our solar system, and much more. This Monday, Sarah Safaree joins me on Modern Wisdom for a very fun episode, and then the Monday after that and the Monday after that for probably a month, or maybe even a couple of months, we've got a big cinema episode every single week. Consider it a little September treat for you. It'll keep you going. This episode is brought to you by MyProtein. They are the number one sports supplement company on the planet, and it makes sense. I've fallen in love with their Clearway protein. If you're looking for a new protein powder, this is the place to begin. It's light and fruity. It looks and tastes like juice. You could have it and sip it during a workout, but it's got more protein in than a normal protein shake. So if you've been feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied with your current protein powder, this is a fantastic change. Also, they've got an unlimited number of sports supplements. If you need creatine, multivitamins, whatever it is that you're after, from accessories to clothing, they have absolutely everything with global shipping, and you can get the maximum discount that they offer sitewide by going to bit.ly slash proteinwisdom and using the code MODERNWISDOM at checkout for a minimum of 37% or greater off everything. That's bit.ly slash proteinwisdom and MODERNWISDOM at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Whoop. I've won Whoop for over four years now, since way before they were a partner on the show, and it is the only wearable I have ever stuck with because it's the best. It is so innocuous. You do not remember that you've got it on, and yet, it tracks absolutely everything 24-7 via something from your wrist. It tracks your heart rate, it tracks your sleep, your recovery, all of your workouts, your resting heart rate, your heart rate variability, how much you're breathing throughout the night. It puts all of this into an app and spits out very simple, easy to understand and fantastically usable data. It's phenomenal. I am a massive, massive fan of Whoop, and that is why it's the only wearable that I've ever stuck with. You can join for free, pay nothing for the brand new Whoop 4 strap, plus you get your first month for free, and there's a 30-day money back guarantee. So you can buy it for free, try it for free, and if you do not like it, after 29 days, they will give you your money back. Head to join.whoop.com/modernwisdom. That's join.whoop.com/modernwisdom. This episode is brought to you by House Of Macadamias. House Of Macadamias, ready salted, macadamia nuts are unbelievably good. I didn't think that I was a nut lover and these things are kind of like tiny little balls of crack. So if you're a nut lover or if you know someone that is, you need to try these. Macadamias are the lowest carb of any popular nut. There's 33% less than almonds. They've got the best fat profile, like an avocado on steroids, more heart healthy, mono unsaturated fat than any other nut, and the only nut rich in rare omega-7 fatty acids. This is why Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan and myself are all massive fans, plus obviously they taste phenomenal. You can get a 20% discount site-wide, plus a free box with your first purchase if you go to houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and use the code MW20 at checkout. That's houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and MW20 at checkout. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Avi Loeb.
What do you think is the chance that our universe was created by aliens in a lab?

**Avi Loeb** (4:37)
It's a possibility. We don't understand how the Big Bang came to exist. And it's really troubling that there was a beginning in time. And it's, in a way, it shows the shortcoming of Einstein's theory of general relativity, which has singularities. And the Big Bang is one of them. It's a time singularity. If we go back in time, there was a point in time when space and time had the very extreme conditions, and we can't go beyond that point. And clearly, the reason for that is that there is no quantum mechanical theory of gravity that is predictive. For the past few decades, there were attempts to put these two theories together, of general activity and quantum mechanics. And I must say that despite the claims made by string theories, they don't make any predictions about the Big Bang. They don't even make predictions about what happens inside a black hole. So as far as I'm concerned, if you're a plumber, and I ask you, can you fix my toilet? And you say, no, that's too difficult.