Physics says 'now' isn't real... so do your choices even matter? | Jo Marchant
Do your choices actually matter? According to the dominant model in physics - the "block universe" - the answer may be no: past, present and future are all equally fixed, and free will is an illusion. But some physicists think that model is incomplete, and that quantum mechanics might leave real room for choice after all.Award-winning science writer Jo Marchant takes us on a tour of cosmology, quantum mechanics, psychology and neuroscience to explore what "now" really is, whether the present moment exists at all, and why the answer matters for how we live.
This talk was filmed at The Royal Institution on Monday 22nd June 2026.
Jo Marchant is the New York Times bestselling author of Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body and The Human Cosmos (winner of the 2023 History of Science Society book prize). Her latest book, In Search of Now: The Science and Mystery of the Present Moment, is out now: https://geni.us/dBBrV4
She has worked as a senior editor at New Scientist and Nature, and writes for The Guardian, The Economist and Smithsonian, among others.
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Chapters:
00:00 What Is "Now"? Introducing the Mystery
01:22 The Outer World vs Your Inner Experience
04:23 A Live Experiment: Notice Your Own "Now"
07:06 Philosophers on Time: Heraclitus to William James
08:37 How Different Cultures Picture Time
13:07 Physics and the Block Universe: Does "Now" Exist?
18:46 Why Your Brain Predicts "Now" Instead of Sensing It
23:07 The Federer Illusion: Seeing the Future Before It Happens
28:32 How Long Does a Moment Actually Last?
40:52 Free Will, Quantum Physics, and the Illusion of Choice
48:01 QBism: A Universe With No Pre-Written Script
52:25 How to Live Better in the Present Moment
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