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Celebrity physicist Professor Brian Cox might just be the quietly spoken, super-smart scientist with a natural gift for communication the world needs right now.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re talking about the rise of anti-science and conspiracy theories facilitated by social media and cynical enablers such as Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cNature and politics and our civilisation are all complex systems,\u201d says Cox. \u201cOversimplification is a danger because oversimplifying a problem when it\u2019s a big problem is not going to get you to a solution.<\/p>\n
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Professor Brian Cox ahead of his show with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Louise Kennerley<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have very loud, simplistic characters proclaiming they understand how to run a society or how to deal with a global pandemic or climate change or whatever, our responsibility is to give people the tools to understand that they\u2019re talking shit.\u201d<\/p>\n Cox has become a household name through appearances on a huge number of BBC science programs and beyond, as well as from co-presenting the hit podcast and radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage<\/em>. He sees part of his mission as demystifying the scientific process and helping restore faith in scientists.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more people know how we\u2019ve acquired this knowledge about the world, the more well-equipped they are to identify the charlatans,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u2018What does it mean to live a finite, fragile life in an infinite, eternal universe?\u2019<\/p>\n We\u2019re talking in a small rehearsal room at the Sydney Opera House ahead of the first in a series of performances entitled Symphonic Horizons<\/em> with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Benjamin Northey.<\/p>\n The series combines music, including Richard Strauss\u2019 Thus Spoke Zarathustra \u2013 <\/em>best known from its use in Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> \u2013 with words from Cox and stunning back-projected visuals.<\/p>\n Music has always been an important part of Cox\u2019s life. Famously he played keyboards in 1990s pop band D:Ream, best known for their hit Things Can Only Get Better<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cSymphonic Horizons<\/em> is a thing I wanted to do for a long time,\u201d says Cox. \u201cIt\u2019s an experiment in a way. If I\u2019d said that at the start, the Opera House would probably have said, \u2018You\u2019re not doing that on our stage!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAs Ben and I have been developing the graphics and images that go behind the music and the things that I\u2019ll say, different thoughts have emerged in both of our minds that were not present when we started.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll find out on the first night what it\u2019s actually saying. I started by saying there\u2019s only one interesting question in philosophy and it\u2019s kind of a joke. I\u2019m not having a go at philosophy. There are actually loads of interesting questions but I say there\u2019s only one. And that is: what does it mean to live a finite, fragile life in an infinite, eternal universe?\u201d<\/p>\n Not that Cox, as befits a serious scientist, would ever claim to have the definitive answer to such a fundamental question.<\/p>\n Conductor Ben Northey.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I say to audiences, \u2018If I knew the answer to that, I\u2019d charge more for tickets.\u2019 Anyone who thinks they know the answer to that should not be on a stage or in public life. This experiment is an attempt to shed some light on that question.<\/p>\n \u201cScience shines a light, but music shines a light and philosophy shines a light and art shines a light and they all cast different shadows,\u201d he says. \u201cThe idea is to piece a lot of those shadows together and see if we can gain more insight into the thing that has cast the shadow.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Brian Cox: Symphonic Horizons, Opera House Concert Hall, November 30 to December 2.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. <\/i><\/b>Get it delivered every Friday<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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