Andrew Berry & Logan McCarty
Gen Ed 1029 | Spring 2026 | Course Listing | Canvas Site
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Are we — wonderful, human us — really nothing more than complex constellations of interacting atoms?
Are humans nothing more than a collection of atoms following the laws of physics? Quantum physics involves uncertainty and randomness, and yet paradoxically it explains the stability of molecules, such as DNA, that encode information and are critical to life. Thermodynamics is about the universe’s ever increasing disorder, and yet living systems remain ordered and intact. This course will examine how these physical laws underpin life and how life itself has diversified since originating 3.5 billion years ago.