Part 2 of 2. Professor Jim Al-Khalili investigates one of the most important concepts in the world today - information. He discovers how we harnessed the power of symbols, everything from the first alphabet to the electric telegraph through to the modern digital age. But on this journey he learns that information is not just about human communication, it is woven very profoundly into the fabric of reality.

Part 1 of 2. Professor Jim Al-Khalili discovers the intriguing story of how we discovered the rules that drive the universe. Energy is vital to us all, but what exactly is energy? In attempting to answer this question Jim investigates a strange set of laws that link together everything from engines to humans to stars. It turns out that energy, so critical to daily existence, actually helps us make sense of the entire universe.

Jim Al-Khalili takes the viewer on a journey exploring the most important historical developments in electricity and magnetism.

What is life and how did it arise from non-life? Is it as simple as the random organization of complex chemicals on the early Earth? What are the pathways whereby chemicals turned into life? Is life inevitable? Or extremely rare? What’s remarkable is how little we know.

If all that exists—everything imaginable, physical and nonphysical—is 'something'. Why is there 'something' rather than 'nothing'? Wouldn't 'nothing' be simpler than any sort of 'something'? It's a haunting wonderment. It's the biggest possible question. Why is there anything at all?

Sagan's ability to convey his ideas allowed many people to understand the cosmos better—simultaneously emphasizing the value and worthiness of the human race, and the relative insignificance of the Earth in comparison to the Universe.

I've come back to this over and over again. I love this video.

Carl Sagan gives the best speech ever about humanity and how foolishly we behave. Pale Blue Dot is one of the most important and reflective speeches about the human condition and our place in the Universe. The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers away, as part of the solar system Family Portrait series of images.

Richard Feynman - The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

Richard Feynman - Take The World From Another Point Of View