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>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY, WELCOME BACK. MY NEXT GUEST IS A THEORETICAL
PHYSICIST AND "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLING AUTHOR. HIS NEW BOOK IS "THE GOD
EQUATION: THE QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING." PLEASE WELCOME MICHIO KAKU! MICHIO KAKU, THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR BEING HERE. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK FIZZIBS
WITH YOU. YOU ARE NOT ONLY A THEORETICAL
PHYSICIST, BUT YOU ARE A FUTURIST, WHICH I BELIEVE IS
ANOTHER ME FOR AN ENTHUSIASTABOUT THE FU
SOME ENTHUSIASTIC THINGS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. LOOK AT THAT PHOTO. THAT IS THE HELICOPTER DRONE
THAT PERSEVERANCE HAS DROPPED ON THE SURFACE OF MARS. I GET INCREDIBLY EXCITED SEEING
THAT THERE AND KNOWING THAT WE'RE GOING TO SOON HAVE FLIGHT
ON MARS. DOES THAT EXCITE YOU? >> YES. WE'RE ENTERING A SECOND GOLDEN
ERA IN SPACE EXPLORATION. THE FIRST GOLDEN ERA, WE WENT TO
THE MOON. BUT THAT WAS THE VISION-- BEAT
THE RUSSIANS. BEAT THE RUSSIANS. WELL, WE BEAT THE RUSSIANS AND
THE VISION FELL APART. NOW WE HAVE A NEW VISION. SILICON VALLEY BILLIONAIRES ARE
OPENING THEIR CHECKBOOKS. NEW VISIONS, COSTS ARE DROPPING. WE'RE WITNESSING THE SECOND
GOLDEN ERA IN SPACE EXPLORATION. THAT'S WHAT'S SO EXCITING. >> Stephen: WHEN I WAS A YOUNG
GUY READING A LOT OF GOLDEN AGE SCIENCE FICTION IT WAS ALWAYS
INDUSTRY THAT GOT US TO SPACE. IF MY CHILDHOOD IT WAS THE
GOVERNMENT. NOW THE EARLY VISION HAS BECOME
TRUE. IT'S INDUSTRIALISTS GETTING US
TO SPACE. DO YOU THINK THAT'S THE BEST WAY
TO GO, OR DO YOU THINK THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD STAY INVOLVED? >> I THINK A PARTNERSHIP, A
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IS THE WAY TO GO. BECAUSE PRIVATE INDUSTRY BRINGS
YOU NEW VISION. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BECOMING A
MULTIPLANET SPECIES. THEY'RE OPENING UP THEIR
CHECKBOOKS, AND THEY'RE TAKING RISKS TO CREATE THE REUSABLE
ROCKET. THAT HAS DROPPED THE COST OF
SPACE TRAVEL. THAT'S WHERE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
COMES IN. THEY'RE GAMBLERS. THEY'RE WILLING TO PAY FOR THEIR
GAMBLES BECAUSE THEY WANT, OF COURSE MAKE A PROFIT AT THE END. >> Stephen: YOU HAVE SAID--
YOU PREDICTED WE WILL MAKE CONTACT OF SOME KIND, OR HAVE
AWARENESS OF SOME KIND THAT THERE IS INTELLIGENT ALIEN LIFE
OUT THERE IN THE NEXT CENTURY. DO YOU STILL STAND BY THAT
PREDICTION? AND IF SO, HOW DO YOU THINK WE
WILL STUMBLE ACROSS THEM? >> YEAH, I THINK THAT IN THIS
CENTURY, WE WILL MAKE CONTACT WITH AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL
CIVILIZATION. TO BE HONEST I GET EMAILS FROM
PEOPLE THAT SAY, "YOU'RE WRONG, PROFESSOR. THE ALIENS ARE ALREADY HERE. THEY'RE HERE BECAUSE THEY KNOW--
THEY'VE BEEN IN THE FLYING SAUCERS. THEY HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED. I TELL THEM THE NEXT TIME YOU
ARE KIDNAPPED BY AN ALIEN-FLYING SAUCER, FOR GOD'S SAY, STEAL
SOMETHING. I DON'T CARE WHETHER IT'S A PEN,
A CHIP-- STEAL SOMETHING. BECAUSE THERE'S NO LAW AGAINST
STEALING FROM AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL CIVILIZATION. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO TO JAIL. >> Stephen: WELL, WHAT DO--
WHAT DO-- A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT THERE IS LIFE ALREADY IN
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GOING
TO FIND IT SOON ON MARS? I THINK THEY ALREADY KNOW WHAT'S
OUT THERE, AND THAT THE REST OF US, US SCHLUBS IN THE PUBLIC
AREN'T READY TO KNOW IT. IT'S EITHER IN THE CLOUDS IN
VENUS OR ON MARS OR UNDERNEATH THE ICE ON EUROPA. DO YOU THINK THERE IS ALREADY
LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM GIWOULD LOVE IT IF THERE IS LIFE FORM ON
MARS, MAYBE EVEN MICROBIAL LIFE. BUT THE BEST BETS ARE THE MOONS
OF JUPITER AND SATURN. THEY HAVE LIQUID WATER OCEANS. OCEANS, BILLIONS OF MILES FROM
THE SUN. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT, AND THE
OCEANS, THE VOLUME OF THESE OCEANS IS LARGER THAN THE OCEANS
OF THE PLANET EARTH. SO I THINK THAT EVEN IN OUR OWN
SOLAR SYSTEM THERE'S A CHANCE FOR AQUATIC LIFE TO DEVELOP IN
THE MOONS OF JUPITER AND SATURN UNDERNEATH THE ICE COVER. THAT'S A GAME CHANGER. >> Stephen: CORRECT ME IF I'M
WRONG. HAVE YOU SAID ASKING-- TRYING TO
MAKE CONTACT WITH ALIEN CIVILIZATIONS MAY NOT BE A GREAT
IDEA? >> IT'S A BAD IDEA TO ADVERTISE
OUR EXISTENCE. BECAUSE LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO
CORTEZ AND MONTEZUMA. MONTEZUMA IN MEXICO MADE THE
BIGGEST MISTAKE IN HISTORY. HE ASSUMED THAT CORTEZ WAS A
GOD. CORTEZ WAS A PIRATE, A
BLOOD-THIRSTY PIRATE, CARRYING SMALLPOX, ARMED WITH STEEL, THE
HORSE, THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE, GUNNED POWDER. THE AZTECS WERE A BROWNS AGE
CIVILIZATION WITH NO WRITTEN LANGUAGE, NO STEEL, TOTALLY
VULNERABLE TO SMALLPOX. IT WAS NO CONTEST. SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO
KEEP OUR PRESENCE A SECRET SO THAT THE ALIENS DON'T PUT US IN
THEIR SIGHTS. WHO KNOWS WHAT THE ALIENS
BELIEVE IN? >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A
QUICK BREAK BUT WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE MICHIO KAKU.
