Transcript
0:03 Chancellor Thorp graduates members of The Faculty members of the Board of Governors and all El all others here gathered thank you for having me today as your commencement speaker I will be brief good good because it said pause for cheers and
0:34 Applause I'm not going to be so brief as Salvador DOL who once gave the world's shortest speech 6 seconds in duration he said I will be so brief I have already finished and he sat down there was the perfect commencement speaker but I'm not and I'll be reasonably brief nonetheless I promise it to the point I'm going to seize this opportunity to describe the world in a
1:07 way you may not have often if at all heard it expressed even at this great University at least and certainly not widely even at our best universities it is that the 21st century is going to be the century of the environment worldwide and in science it is going to be the century of biology the reason is simply that this is the time that we will either settle
1:38 down or completely wreck the planet this is the time that in order to do that we will have to evolve a better world order than the one we have now which I like to call our Star Wars Civilization by that I mean we we have Stone Age emotions medieval institutions and Godlike technology in the case of the emotions
2:12 they evolved in prehistory over millions of years in the case of our institutions especially within religions and ideologies we are in constant conflict and in the case of our technology we are seeing things going almost beyond the control of our imagination these three stanions of current
2:44 civilization explain why we are constantly in trouble they are dangerous they are they are very serious problem for the rest of life and ultimately with that ourselves and today we are still from even a margining a solution at the base of the problem I would like to suggest lie the
3:15 three still most unanswered mostly unanswered fundamental questions of religion philosophy and science they are where do we come from what are we and where are we going you graduates have dealt with aspects of these questions of the great riddle here at this University in parts and pieces but everywhere our best thinkers
3:45 are confounded by them it is still the case as the French writer John bruer put it during the dark days of the 1930s he said for them as well is for today all of Mankind's problems are due to the fact that we do not know what we are and cannot agree on what we wish to become in one area in particular the environment Humanity urgently has to
4:17 decide what we are and what to become and where we are going and that is especially true the way we relate ourselves to the rest of life and we'd better do it soon the world is fortunately beginning to turn green at least pastel green but I'd like to call your attention to an imbalance in the way we are turning green the emphasis today is on the physical environment that is on climate
4:48 change pollution the decline of fresh water and aable land and the depletion of Irreplaceable natural resources and it's well and good that we focus on those matters but there has been a proportionately much less attention paid to the living environment and especially to the diversity of Life biodiversity which is the totality of the ecosystem such as ponds and rivers and Forest patches and coral reath and then the
5:19 species of plant animals and microorganisms that compose the ecosystem and then the genes that prescribe the traits of the species that compose the ecosystems All In Peril that great hierarchy and resource has taken three and a half billion years to emerge Our Lives depend upon it because we are first and above all things a biological species living in a very special biological World our relation to it can
5:51 be put in a nutshell as follows scientists have found the biosphere that razor thin membrane plastered onto the surface of the Earth to be richer than ever before conceived but due to human activity it is being eroded away at an accelerating rate we estimate those of us who measure such things that the rate of species Extinction is now about a thousand times higher than before when before Humanity entered the scene and
6:22 furthermore if it is left unabated half the species on Earth will be gone or at the edge of Extinction by the end of the century that loss of so much of the rest of life if allowed to continue is going to inflict a heavy price on you and future Generations in wealth security and spirit if on the other hand the problem is solved the benefits in wealth security and spirit
6:56 will become beyond measure so the torch is passed to you here please take the torch in this fundamental problem and the opportunity is provides to understand and to contribute to a solution and now finally a piece of personal advice this University one of the best
7:26 in America has given you the mean means to be flexible to look ahead and that capacity with determination and hard work means you will lead a fulfilling and honorable life if you're planning on Graduate Studies and they feel right then good for you if you've opted out of advanced studies but think that it might have been right consider trying it and find out we need as many determined
7:57 Highly Educated citizens in this faltering country of ours as we can get at Harvard I advis students for decades on these matters and here is what I said to those in particular who are planning to go into for undergraduates medical and law school but we're still a little shaky about the whole thing excuse me there is an enormous buil-in professional flexibility in an MD in addition to the large array of
8:29 specializations and general practice within medicine there is public health there is hospital and Medical Institution ministration and then there is the vast and very rewarding world of medical research for the graduate in law and those going into the law school there are endless Avenues open for practice and application in business in public service in public and private Administration and a wide diversity of venues and for you graduates in science
9:02 and graduating from and graduate degrees in science technology and education the 21st century is indeed one to make a huge individual contribution and for all of you for whatever future you have in mind it's the future is the changes are becoming radically new and different at warp speed our is above all now an exponential world
9:33 changing faster than in any period of History before we are now in the early period of an overwhelmingly technoscientific civilization connected literally personto person the accumulated knowledge of the world is already at the zetabyte level that will be on the exam that's followed by 21 zeros of of bites it's in growing faster and faster by the digital Revolution and
10:05 communication which is changing everything all that we know all that we need to quickly learn all that we need to understand in order to survive as a species the trajectory of History can only be dimly foreseen and it will consist of shocks and surprises this country and the rest of the world needs University trained young people prepared not only by knowledge by itself but by the capacity to find new knowledge in order to respond quickly to unexpected
10:37 needs and crisises challenging all the various professions and in public affairs and in simple everyday daily life and with it all to think upon and understanding the meaning of humanity and yourselves and your life so go forth think save the world but for for now congratulations to you and you're wonderfully justly proud and much reliev
11:07 parents and thank y'all for letting me share this day and there a son of Alabama to become an honorary tarhill