I came across today an interesting essay by Cosmologist and Astrophysicist, Sir Martin Reese, Royal Society Professor at Cambridge University. His essay titled, In The Matrix, looks at his present and future views on the synthesis between cosmology and physics at a time when our interest in this area is appetized by film and other mediums.
His essay covers a multitude of interesting areas, including the ideas posed by the study of the galaxy by computer simulation, some of the dangers of 21st century science and the possible questions which these areas pose on modern physics.
I am concerned about the threats and opportunities posed by 21st century science, and how to react to them. There are some intractable risks stemming from science, which we have to accept as the downside for our intellectual exhilaration and?even more?for its immense and ever more pervasive societal benefits. I believe there is an expectation of a 50% chance of a really severe setback to civilization by the end of the century.
Reference: Reese M., Brockman J (Ed.) (2003) Edge Foundation, Inc [Online] Available: http://www.edge.org