Nothing is fixed in time or space. Everything – from quantum particles to people, planets and galaxies – is in constant motion, and part of a constellation of inextricably interwoven systems. That might seem like a strictly academic observation with little bearing on your day-to-day life, but, as Thomas Nail, a professor of philosophy at the University of Denver, argues in this short video, overlooking this fact can have real-world consequences. Instead of understanding the Universe in terms of inflexible objects, Nail proposes that we view our world in terms of processes subject to constant change. This, he argues, will lead to improvements in science, public policy and even interpersonal relationships.
Director: Thomas Nail
Animator: Ryan Rizzio
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Making
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes
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Animals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
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History
Hags, seductresses, feminist icons – how gender dynamics manifest in witches
13 minutes
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Earth science and climate
Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth
3 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
Leading 1950s thinkers on the search for happiness in trying times
29 minutes
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Biology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
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Engineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes