Bernard Carr is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary University of London. As an undergraduate, he read mathematics at Cambridge University and for his Ph.D. he studied the first second of the Universe, working under Stephen Hawking. He was elected to a Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1975, and in 1980 spent a year traveling around America as a Lindemann Fellow before taking up a Senior Research Fellowship at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge. In 1984 he was awarded the Adams Prize, one of the UK’s most prestigious mathematical awards. In 1985 he moved to Queen Mary and he became a Professor there in 1995. He has also held Visiting Professorships at various institutes in America, Canada, and Japan. His professional area of research is cosmology and astrophysics and includes such topics as the early universe, black holes, dark matter, and the anthropic principle. He is the author of around 300 papers and the books Universe or Multiverse? and Quantum Black Holes. He is also very interested in the role of consciousness as a fundamental rather than incidental feature of the Universe. In particular, he is developing a new psychophysical paradigm linking matter and mind which accommodates normal, paranormal, and mystical experiences. He also has a long-standing interest in the relationship between science and religion, especially Buddhism, having been the coholder of a grant from the Templeton Foundation for a project entitled “Fundamental Physics, Cosmology and the Problem of our Existence". He is President of The Scientific and Medical Network and a former President of the Society for Psychical Research.

Summary and Transcript of this interview

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded July 24, 2022

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump with Rick Archer

00:06:07 - The Three Books that Awakened My Interests

00:11:41 - The Origins of the Anthropic Principle

00:17:09 - Fine Tunings in Physics

00:23:05 - The Number of Fundamental Constants in Physics

00:28:41 - The Fine Tuning and Theology

00:34:21 - The Changing Nature of Science

00:39:47 - The Possibility of Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter

00:44:55 - The Possibility of Life in Different Universes

00:50:31 - The Complexity Principle and the Hierarchy of Complexity

00:56:20 - The Origin of Order in the Universe

01:01:49 - The Existence of a Pre-Big Bang Mind

01:07:31 - God's Presence in the Universe

01:12:42 - The Limits of Physics and Mathematics

01:17:57 - Anomalies in the Standard Big Bang Model

01:23:32 - Indirect Evidence of Fine Tuning and Containment of Superintelligence

01:29:02 - Primordial Black Holes and Astronomical Observations

01:34:07 - Connecting Science, Spirituality, and Psychical Research

01:39:55 - Expanding Physics to Accommodate Consciousness

01:45:51 - Expanding Science for Spirit

01:51:53 - The Possibility of Levitation

01:56:49 - Building a Bridge Between Mind and Spirit

02:01:56 - The Reconciliation of Science and Religion

02:07:34 - The Human Psyche and Probing Reality

02:13:03 - Exploring the Mysteries of Reality

02:18:26 - Extra dimensions and their implications

02:23:55 - Hyperspatial Higher Dimensions and Consciousness

02:29:40 - The Perception of Time and Consciousness

02:34:51 - The Nature of Consciousness and Self-Identity

02:40:09 - The Programmer of the Simulation

02:44:54 - Wrapping up the Topics