Genius by Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking and Neil Turok introduce us to Einstein’s idea of a static universe. The volunteers arrive at a drag strip with an electric car ready to go. They must use the sound of the siren, a microphone and laptop to determine the speed and direction of the car. How fast will the car go and what can it tell them about our universe?

The volunteers need to think like scientists to make the perfect cocktail. They are presented with a cocktail glass on a pedestal and they must use a pendulum to complete the cocktail with an single olive without touching the glass.

The volunteers gather in front of the castle and one places EEG equipment on his head. His brain signals can be seen projected onto the side of the castle. The EEG specialist explains how they change when a decision is made and how they can complete the Libet Experiment. What do they see when they press the red button and what will it tell them about the brain when they make a decision?

The volunteers enter a dining room to see floating plates of food in front of them. The plates are floating above the table with no means of support that can be seen. Can they work out why and how the plates of food are magically floating?

Have we actively chosen the outcomes of our lives or have they been pre-determined? The volunteers are joined by their doppelgangers to help them demonstrate that the realms of possible realities is vast.

Join Professor Hawking as he challenges three ordinary people to work out the likelihood of alien life out there in the universe. See why the team has their minds blown in a way they were never expecting.

In each of six episodes, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking presents three ordinary people with a series of physical and mental challenges to show them how to think like a genius. Premieres May 18 9/8c.

The volunteers are given a spoon of sand with 50,000 grains. Each grain of sand represents a single star. They try to guess how many stars there are in the galaxy and then use the spoon of sand to create a pile of stars with their estimate. How big will the pile of sand be and how close will it be to the actual number of stars in our galaxy?

Stephen Hawking explains that he believes that we’ll encounter aliens in our lifetime and that the mathematics predicts it. He sends the three volunteers to see one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. It can be used to listen for signs of life in the universe.

Using an equalizer and megaphone alone, the volunteers must work out how to simulate a message from deep space. With the loud static blasting through the speakers, they must work out how isolate only the channel which is broadcasting the message from intelligent life.

The volunteers arrive on Arizona University campus to find a wooden trunk and eight clocks. They set up the black hole challenge. They notice that the clocks closest to the black sphere run slower than those further away. They realize that the inflatable is their black hole, and they must work out how they can use it to travel forward in time.

Stephen Hawking appears on screen in Times Square with a special message for the volunteers. He gives them three special numbers for their first challenge. Can they discover the location of his party with these three numbers? Their first thoughts are to follow the numbered streets of Manhattan.