Space is Time: Einstein’s Solution to the Origin of Consciousness and Intelligence

Speaker: Katsushi Arisaka, Distinguished Professor of Physics & Astronomy, UCLA

When we open our eyes, we immediately and effortlessly observe external 3D space. Remarkably, this 3D space is stable regardless of our constant eye or head movements. How do we construct a conscious, stable 3D vision from ever-changing, shaky 2D retinotopic images? The solution was given by Einstein a century ago; the distance between two points must be measured by the time required for a signal to travel from one point to the other.

In other words, "space is time"; thus, space is an illusion. Our visual perception is no exception. We reconstruct the external 3D space in our brain by assigning three absolute times through brainwaves, which generates conscious awareness. Thanks to this space-to-time conversion, our brain developed a new strategy to navigate the “hyper-space” of language in the time domain, which has expanded our intelligence. Together with > 200 undergraduate students, we have recently proved this concept.

Katsushi Arisaka is a distinguished professor of Physics & Astronomy at UCLA. As a particle physicist since 1984, he contributed to the discoveries of neutrino mass (by Kamiokande), CP-violation (by KTeV), Higgs particle (by LHC), and dark matter research (by XENON). Since 2013, he has switched his research direction to neurophysics based on his expertise in particle physics. He is also active in undergrad physics education based on hands-on lab experience.

This talk will be offered in person and over Zoom. Light refreshments will be served.

Reservations are requested to MarschakArisaka.eventbrite.com(opens in a new tab)