Why Did The Universe Begin?

In "The Joy of Why," Janna Levin and Steve Strogatz explore the origin of the universe with theoretical physicist Thomas Hertog. Hertog, who collaborated with Stephen Hawking, discusses their work on understanding the Big Bang and the fine-tuning of the universe for life. They delve into the concept of the multiverse, Hawking's rejection of the anthropic principle, and the idea of examining the universe's origin from the perspective of observers within it. Hertog introduces the concept of an "epistemic horizon," where the laws of physics disintegrate as one approaches the beginning of the universe, and time itself becomes less reliable. The conversation covers the holographic principle, quantum cosmology, and the possibility of inherent limits to what humans can know about the universe's origins, drawing parallels with Darwinian evolution and biology to rethink the fundamental laws of physics.