B. Alan Wallace a world-renowned author and Buddhist scholar trained by the Dalai Lama, and Sean Carroll, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and best-selling author, discuss the nature of reality from both spiritual and scientific viewpoints. Their dialogue is mediated by theoretical physicist and author Marcelo Gleiser, director of Dartmouth’s Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement.
Dr. B. Alan Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation worldwide since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College, as well as a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. With his unique background, Alan brings deep experience and applied skills to the challenge of integrating traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with the modern world.
Sean Carroll is a theoretical physicist who has spent much of his career doing research on cosmology, field of theory, and gravitation– looking at dark matter and energy, modified gravity, topological defects, extra dimensions, and violations of fundamental symmetries. His focus has recently shifted more toward addressing fundamental questions in both quantum mechanics (origin of probability, emergence of space and time) and statistical mechanics (entropy and the arrow of time, dynamics of complexity). He is the author of many books, his most recent being The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself.
Presented in Association with the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth