Everything is Connected -- Here's How: | Tom Chi | TEDxTaipei

Summary

Tom Chi's talk explores the tangible connections that bind us to the universe, starting from the iron in our hearts forged in supernovas to the oxygen-rich atmosphere shaped by cyanobacteria, enabling complex life. He illustrates the profound impact of human invention, like the piano, on our cognitive landscape, advocating for a deeper appreciation of our inherent interconnectedness, which shapes our potential to influence and innovate within the vast canvas of existence.

Takeaways

• 🌌 Tom Chi's fascination with the universe led him to a career in astrophysics and later to exploring the complexities of human connection.
• 🧠 The concept of 'everything is connected' is not just a spiritual notion but a tangible reality that can be understood through scientific examples.
• ❤️ The iron in our hemoglobin, essential for carrying oxygen in our bodies, originates from supernovas and supermassive stars, illustrating the cosmic connection within us.
• 💥 Galactic collisions are a driving force behind star formation, which in turn are necessary for the creation of elements like iron, showing a universe-wide interconnectedness.
• 🌌 The gravitational dance of 100,000 galaxies in our supercluster, Laniakea, influences the formation of stars and the elements that make up our bodies.
• 🌿 The Earth's atmosphere was once inhospitable, but cyanobacteria through photosynthesis transformed it, enabling the evolution of complex life forms, including humans.
• 🍃 The oxygen we breathe is a direct result of cyanobacteria's photosynthetic process, highlighting the deep connection between our breaths and the plants around us.
• 🎹 The piano is a tool that exemplifies the connection of the mind, showing how human invention and mastery can be represented in the brain's structure.
• 🎨 The 'Palette of Being' is a concept that represents the sum of human experiences and knowledge, which each individual can use to create a unique contribution to society.
• 🌱 Each innovation or creation expands the Palette of Being, offering new possibilities for future generations to explore and express themselves.
• 🌟 Our consciousness allows us to understand our profound connection to the universe, and with this knowledge, we have the power to shape our societies and lives.

Q & A

What was Tom Chi's first job and how old was he when he started it?

Tom Chi's first job was doing astrophysical research with the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory at the age of 15.

How does Tom Chi describe the transition from being a scientist to entering the world of people?

Tom Chi describes the transition as a maturation process, moving from understanding the universe to understanding people, which he found to be more complex.

What is the central concept Tom Chi wants to convey in his talk?

The central concept Tom Chi wants to convey is that everything is connected, not in an abstract way, but in a concrete, direct, and understandable manner.

What are the three stories Tom Chi uses to illustrate the concept of everything being connected?

The three stories are a story of the heart, a story of the breath, and a story of the mind.

Why is iron in hemoglobin essential for our bodies?

Iron in hemoglobin is essential because it allows us to bind oxygen and move it through our circulatory system.

How is the iron in our bodies created in the universe?

The iron in our bodies is created in the universe through supernovas and supermassive stars.

What process is responsible for the formation of new stars after a supernova?

Galactic collisions are one of the most robust processes responsible for the formation of new stars after a supernova.

What is the significance of the ozone layer in the history of life on Earth?

The ozone layer, formed about 600 million years ago, allowed the Earth to sustain complex multicellular life, leading to the Cambrian explosion of life in the seas.

How did cyanobacteria contribute to the development of life on Earth?

Cyanobacteria contributed by performing photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen over billions of years, which transformed the Earth's atmosphere and allowed for the emergence of complex life.

What is the 'Palette of Being' concept introduced by Tom Chi?

The 'Palette of Being' is the concept that we are born with the experiences and patterns of thought of humanity available to us, and we can both use these to create our unique life's work and contribute new ways of being to the Palette for future generations.

How does Tom Chi connect the concept of 'we are all connected' to both spiritual traditions and scientific understanding?

Tom Chi connects the concept by showing that 'we are all connected' is not only a spiritual idea but also a literal truth of the physical universe, observable at every level of organization and manifestation of matter, energy, and life.

Outlines

00:00

🌌 The Cosmic Connection of the Heart

Tom Chi introduces his lifelong curiosity about the universe and its intricacies. He shares his journey from astrophysicist to technologist, highlighting the complexity of understanding human nature. Chi then delves into the concept of connectivity, emphasizing its tangible reality rather than an abstract notion. He illustrates this with the example of hemoglobin and heme B, explaining how the iron within these molecules, forged in supernovas, is central to life on Earth. He further explores the cosmic origins of iron through the process of galactic collisions, which are fundamental to star formation and, by extension, the creation of elements like iron.

05:02

🌿 The Breath of Life: A Journey Through Time

This paragraph explores the evolution of Earth's atmosphere and the critical role of cyanobacteria in transforming it. Initially, Earth's atmosphere lacked oxygen, making it inhospitable for complex life. Chi describes how cyanobacteria, through photosynthesis, converted carbon dioxide into oxygen over billions of years, leading to the formation of the ozone layer approximately 600 million years ago. This development allowed for the emergence of complex, multicellular life during the Cambrian explosion. The narrative then connects to the present, explaining how the descendants of cyanobacteria, now as chloroplasts within plant cells, continue to contribute to the oxygen we breathe, thus illustrating the deep unity between our breaths and the plants'.

10:04

🎹 The Mind's Symphony: The Piano and Human Creativity

Tom Chi shifts the focus to the human mind and its capacity for creativity and learning, using the piano as a metaphor. He discusses the complexity of the piano and the dedication of professional pianists to mastering it. Chi then explains how the brain of a concert pianist has developed specific patterns and structures to accommodate the skills required to play the instrument. He points out that such neural patterns did not exist before the invention of the piano in 1700. The paragraph concludes with the introduction of 'The Palette of Being,' a concept that represents the sum of human experiences and knowledge available to each individual, which they can use to create a unique personal expression and contribute to the collective human experience.

15:04

🌐 The Palette of Being: Our Impact on the Universe

In the final paragraph, Chi discusses the interconnectedness of all aspects of existence, from the individual to the universe. He challenges the traditional view of our place in the universe as insignificant, instead arguing that our actions, no matter how small, can have profound effects. Chi emphasizes the importance of our consciousness in understanding this connectedness and the responsibility it brings. He calls for a recognition of our ability to shape our societies and lives based on this truth, inspired by the idea that societies embracing interconnectedness tend to be more considerate, expressive, and understanding. The talk concludes with a call to live in accordance with this understanding of our place in the universe.

Keywords

💡Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physical properties and behavior of celestial objects and phenomena. In the video, Tom Chi's first job at the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory involved astrophysical research, specifically in active galactic nuclei, illustrating the theme of exploring the universe's fundamental workings.

💡Supernova

A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star, which results in the release of vast amounts of energy and matter into space. The script explains that iron, a key component of hemoglobin in human blood, is created through supernovas and supermassive stars, linking the human body to the cosmos.

💡Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is an iron-containing molecule in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs. The video emphasizes the role of hemoglobin and its iron atom in connecting humans to the universe's elemental origins.

💡Galactic Collisions

Galactic collisions refer to the interaction between galaxies, which can lead to the mixing of interstellar gases and trigger new star formations. The script uses galactic collisions to illustrate the ongoing process of star formation, which is essential for the creation of elements like iron.

💡Laniakea

Laniakea, meaning 'immeasurable heaven' in Hawaiian, is a vast gravitational structure that contains our galaxy and many others. The video describes Laniakea as part of the gravitational dance of galaxies, which influences the formation and collision of galaxies, thereby connecting to the creation of elements within stars.

💡Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that played a crucial role in Earth's history by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen through photosynthesis. The script highlights cyanobacteria's contribution to the formation of Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere, which enabled complex life forms, including humans.

💡Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, algae, and certain bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy, storing it in the form of glucose or other sugars while releasing oxygen as a byproduct. The video explains how photosynthesis by cyanobacteria gradually transformed Earth's atmosphere, allowing for the evolution of complex life.

💡Ozone Layer

The ozone layer is a region of Earth's stratosphere that contains a high concentration of ozone molecules, which protect life on Earth by absorbing the majority of the Sun's ultraviolet light. The script points out the formation of the ozone layer as a critical event that allowed for the emergence of complex, multicellular life.

💡Chloroplasts

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and some algae, responsible for photosynthesis. The video describes how chloroplasts are the direct descendants of cyanobacteria that were captured by plants, continuing to perform photosynthesis and thus connecting the breathing cycles of plants and humans.

💡Piano

The piano is a musical instrument with a wide range of pitches, played using a keyboard which is a row of keys that the performer presses to produce sound. The script uses the piano to illustrate the concept of 'The Palette of Being,' showing how the invention and mastery of the piano represent a new way of being and thinking that has expanded human expression.

💡The Palette of Being

The Palette of Being is a concept introduced in the video that refers to the range of experiences, skills, and ways of thinking available to individuals throughout human history. The script explains that each person has the opportunity to use the 'colors' of the Palette of Being to create a unique life and potentially add new 'colors' through invention and creativity.

Highlights

Tom Chi's lifelong fascination with understanding the universe led him to a career in astrophysics and later, exploring human connections.

Iron, a key component of hemoglobin in our blood, is created in the universe solely through supernovas and supermassive stars.

The process of galactic collisions drives star formation, which in turn creates the iron found in our bodies.

The concept of Laniakea, a gravitational structure of 100,000 galaxies, shows how cosmic events influence each other.

Cyanobacteria, through photosynthesis, transformed Earth's atmosphere from high carbon dioxide to oxygen-rich, enabling complex life.

The formation of the ozone layer about 600 million years ago allowed for the emergence of complex multicellular life on Earth.

Chloroplasts, found in plant cells, are direct descendants of cyanobacteria and continue to perform photosynthesis.

The interconnectedness of our breath with plants reflects a deep biological unity between humans and nature.

The piano, a complex instrument invented in 1700, exemplifies how human-made objects can shape our cognitive abilities.

The brain's capacity to master the piano demonstrates the impact of human invention on neural development.

Tom Chi introduces 'The Palette of Being', a concept that frames human experiences and potential for creativity.

The concept suggests that our actions can influence future generations' range of experiences and possibilities.

Every new invention or creation adds a 'new color' to the Palette of Being, expanding human potential.

The interconnectedness of all life is not just a spiritual concept but a fundamental truth of the universe.

Our understanding of connectedness should guide us in building societies and shaping our lives with consideration for all.

The talk concludes with a call to embrace our connectedness and use it to challenge ourselves to live meaningfully.

Transcripts

Translator: Queenie Lee Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs

Hello.

(Audience) Hello.

My name is Tom Chi,

and ever since I was a young child,

I was determined to understand how the entire universe worked,

and that fascination led me to my first job, at age 15 -

I did astrophysical research with the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory

in active galactic nuclei.

Now, years after being a scientist and astrophysicist,

I slowly kind of matured out of that and entered the world of people.

It actually turns out that the world of people

is way harder to understand than the entire universe.

But I stayed with it,

and in the process of being a technologist,

an inventor, and an entrepreneur,

I've learned a lot about people.

What I'm going to talk to you today is a little bit of what I've learned.

Because as I learn about people,

I get very interested in the gaps that still remain

for us as human beings and us as a civilization,

relative to the challenges that are in front of us.

And one of those gaps that I've seen is around this concept,

and the concept is a really simple one.

It's the concept that everything is connected.

You've probably heard this many, many times, in fact.

It's an element of almost every spiritual tradition of humankind

throughout all of history.

But whenever I hear people talk and mention this phrase

that "we are all connected,"

they do so in a way

where it's something they wish that they could believe was true,

that it's something that's abstract;

that it's esoteric;

that it's a thing that is unprovable,

but they just really wish the universe was like that.

And today I'm here to describe that everything really is connected,

and not in some abstract, esoteric way

but in a very concrete, direct, understandable way.

And I am going to do that with three different stories:

a story of the heart,

a story of the breath,

and a story of the mind.

So let's begin.

So all of you in this audience today,

your hearts are beating right at this moment.

And the reason that your hearts beat

is because you need to move this molecule through your blood called hemoglobin.

And hemoglobin carries this smaller molecule

that's called heme B,

which is what we see over here.

Now, at the heart of heme B is a single atom of iron,

so in a way, at the heart of our heart is this little iron atom.

And this is actually really a central part of the hemoglobin molecule

because this is the thing that allows us to bind oxygen

and move that through our circulatory system.

But one thing that you may not know

is that the only way that iron is created in the universe,

is through supernovas and through supermassive stars.

So the universe started with basically no iron at all.

Hydrogen. Helium -

And only through the process of these stars forming, exploding,

forming and exploding,

was iron able to be created

that now courses through each one of our veins.

But the story doesn't really end there.

Because - why do stars keep forming?

Actually, after a supernova happens,

it may be a long time before those gases come back together to form a star.

So in order to understand how this works,

we need to understand why stars would form.

Even though there's a couple different ways that stars form,

one of the most robust is this process:

galactic collisions.

And these are images from the Hubble Space Telescope,

and they show through a series of panels - which are actually different galaxies

because this process takes, like, a half billion to a billion years -

different galaxies what the process of a galactic collision would look like.

So across the top, you get the galaxies slowly coming together,

and in the bottom three frames,

you see them smashing into each other, and their interstellar gases mixing,

and in the process of doing that,

they set on fire with new star formation across the entire galaxy,

and whatever remains after the collision.

Now, even here is not the end of the story.

Because why in the world would galaxies collide?

This doesn't seem like a thing that should just happen for no reason.

So, to understand this,

we're going to need to scoot back way, way more.

And here we're at the level of seeing about 100,000 galaxies.

So last slide, two galaxies.

This slide, 100,000 galaxies.

Every one of these dots here is a galaxy that is in our supercluster.

And we're that red dot over here, where it says, "You are here."

And these glowing lines are not galaxies.

These glowing lines are the trajectories

that these galaxies are going to take through gravity

over the coming billions of years

in this beautiful gravitational dance of all these galaxies swirling together

in a gravitational structure that we call Laniakea,

which in Hawaiian means the immeasurable heaven.

And it's this process,

the gravitational dance of 100,000 galaxies swirling together,

which drive the process of galaxies colliding,

which drive massive star formation,

which drive the process of creating the iron

that courses through each one of our veins with every heartbeat.

And in this way,

every one of our heartbeats is connected.

Now we're going to move to a second story.

And this story is about breath.

Taking a deep breath is one of the most simple ways

to connect with our own bodies -

a deeply grounded, calming breath.

But taking a deep breath was not something that was possible on this earth

three billion years ago.

On this slide, we have the composition of the atmosphere of the earth

during that time period.

We had about the same amount of nitrogen,

but we had almost no oxygen at all.

So you would be taking a breath in vain three billion years ago.

And we actually had a huge amount of carbon dioxide.

And the net effect was an almost inhabitable planet.

The only organisms that could exist that time

were single-celled organisms

inside of stromatolites and other closed spaces.

Now, luckily for us,

one of those organisms that was alive at this time

was something called a cyanobacteria.

That's a picture of it in the background.

And this organism has the special trick that we call "photosynthesis,"

the ability to go take energy from the sun

and transform carbon dioxide into oxygen.

And over the course of billions of years,

so starting from two and a half billion years ago,

little by little these bacteria spread across the planet

and converted all that carbon dioxide in the air

into the oxygen that we now have.

And it was a very slow process.

First, they had to saturate the seas,

then they had to saturate the oxygen that the earth would absorb,

and only then, finally,

could oxygen begin to build up in the atmosphere.

So you see, just after about 900 million years ago,

oxygen starts to build up in the atmosphere.

And about 600 million years ago, something really amazing happens.

The ozone layer forms from the oxygen that has been released in the atmosphere.

And it sounds like a small deal,

like we talked about the ozone a couple decades ago,

but it actually turns out that before the ozone layer existed,

earth was not really able to sustain complex, multicellular life.

We had single-celled organisms,

we had a couple of simple, multicellular organisms,

but we didn't really have anything like you or me.

And shortly after the ozone layer came into place,

the earth was able to sustain complex multicellular life.

There was a Cambrian explosion of life in the seas.

And the first plants got onto land.

In fact, there was actually no life on land ahead of that.

Another way to see this is,

this is kind of a chart of pretty much most of the animals

that you guys are familiar with.

And right at the bottom in time is the formation of the ozone layer.

Like nothing that you are familiar with today

could exist without the contributions of these tiny organisms

over those billions of years.

And where are they now?

Well actually, they never really left us.

The direct descendants of the cyanobacteria

were eventually captured by plants.

And they're now called chloroplasts.

So this is a zoom-in of a plant leaf -

and we probably ate some of these guys today -

where tons of little chloroplasts

are still trapped - contributing photosynthesis

and making energy for the plants

that continue to be the other half of our lungs on earth.

And in this way, our breaths are very deeply united.

Every out-breath is mirrored by the in-breath of a plant,

and their out-breath is mirrored by our in-breath.

I'm going to take a little aside here for a moment with this story.

Because imagine for a moment - and this is a thought experiment -

imagine you were one of these little organisms

two billions year ago.

You might be born.

You live a couple weeks.

You die.

And you kind of feel like, well, nothing really changed.

I mean, I had no purpose in this life.

Like, the world I came to is exactly the same as the world that I left.

But what you wouldn't have understood is that every breath that you took

contributed to the possibility of countless lives after you -

lives that you would never see,

lives that we are all a part of today.

And it's worth thinking that maybe the meaning of our lives

are actually not even within the scope of our understanding.

Because it's true of every one of these organisms,

and it may also be true of us.

Last story of connection is the story of the mind.

This is not "our minds are all connected in some psychic way

or some scientifically unexplainable way,"

I'm going to explain the connection of the mind

through the simple story of this instrument.

This is a piano.

And I have actually a good relationship with pianos.

Thanks, mom.

She gave me piano lessons very early.

I think you have to if you're Asian.

But -

(Laughter)

a beautiful thing about this instrument is

it is so nuanced and so textured and so complex,

and so much beauty can be created from it that people can make an entire career,

they can make an entire lifetime out of playing this instrument.

Professional musicians, concert pianists

get to know this instrument deeply, intimately.

And through it, they're able to create with sound

in a way that just dazzles us, and challenges us, and deepens us.

But if you were to look into the mind of a concert pianist,

and you used all the modern ways of imaging it,

an interesting thing that you would see

is how much of their brain is actually dedicated to this instrument.

The ability to coordinate ten fingers.

The ability to work the pedal.

The feeling of the sound.

The understanding of music theory.

All these things are represented

as different patterns and structures in the brain.

And now that you have that thought in your mind,

recognize that this beautiful pattern and structure of thought in the brain

was not possible even just a couple hundred years ago.

Because the piano was not invented until the year 1700.

This beautiful pattern of thought in the brain didn't exist 5,000 years ago.

And in this way, the skill of the piano, the relationship to the piano,

the beauty that comes from it

was not a thinkable thought until very, very recently in human history.

And the invention of the piano itself was not an independent thought.

It required a depth of mechanical engineering.

It required the history of stringed instruments.

It required so many patterns and structures of thought

that led to the possibility of its invention

and then the possibility of the mastery of its play.

And it leads me to a concept

I'd like to share with you guys, which I call "The Palette of Being."

Because all of us are born into this life

having available to us the experiences of humanity

that has come so far.

We typically are only able to paint with the patterns of thoughts

and the ways of being that existed before.

So if the piano and the way of playing it is a way of being,

this is a way of being that didn't exist for people 5,000 years ago.

It was a color in the Palette of Being that you couldn't paint with.

Nowadays if you are born, you can actually learn the skill;

you can learn to be a computer scientist,

another color that was not available just a couple hundred years ago.

And our lives are really beautiful for the following reason.

We're born into this life.

We have the ability to go make this unique painting

with the colors of being

that are around us at the point of our birth.

But in the process of life,

we also have the unique opportunity to create a new color.

And that might come from the invention of a new thing.

A self-driving car.

A piano.

A computer.

It might come from the way

that you express yourself as a human being.

It might come from a piece of artwork that you create.

Each one of these ways of being,

these things that we put out into the world

through the creative process of mixing together

all the other things that existed at the point that we were born,

allow us to expand the Palette of Being for all of society after us.

And this leads me to a very simple way to go frame

everything that we've talked about today.

Because I think a lot of us understand

that we exist in this kind of the marvelous universe,

but we think about this universe as we're this tiny, unimportant thing,

there's this massive physical universe, and inside of it, there's the biosphere,

and inside of that, that's society,

and inside of us, we're just one person out of seven billion people,

and how can we matter?

And we think about this as like a container relationship,

where all the goodness comes from the outside to the inside,

and there's nothing really special about us.

But the Palette of Being says the opposite.

It says that the way that we are in our lives,

the way that we affect our friends and our family,

begin to change the way that they are able to paint in the future,

begins to change the way that communities then affect society,

the way that society could then affect its relationship to the biosphere,

and the way that the biosphere could then affect the physical planet

and the universe itself.

And if it's a possible thing for cyanobacteria

to completely transform the physical environment of our planet,

it is absolutely a possible thing for us to do the same thing.

And it leads to a really important question

for the way that we're going to do that,

the manner in which we're going to do that.

Because we've been given this amazing gift of consciousness.

And because of this gift,

we have the ability to deeply understand our connectedness,

in the way we haven't seen other animals having the opportunity to do so.

And because we can deeply understand our connectedness,

we're the ones that have the decision

on how we're going to go use that knowledge,

how we're going to go use it to build our societies and to shape our lives.

I think the reason that all the spiritual traditions

have got this concept of "we are all connected inside of it"

is because the societies that actually deeply adopt this idea

are the ones that over time

deepen their level of consideration,

deepen their level of expression,

deepen their level of understanding for each other.

This is the reason that this idea pops up over and over

at the core of spiritual traditions.

And I hope through this talk you see that the reason

that it appears at the core of science

is it's actually something that is just literally true of the physical universe

at every single level of organization

and every single manifestation of matter, energy, and life.

So I'd like us all to come together with this knowledge

and understand this truth

about how the universe is,

that because our hearts,

our breath,

and our mind are connected in this way,

we need to challenge ourselves to understand

what it means to live from this truth.

Thank you.

(Applause)