Marcelo proposes a radical new way to think about the universe and our place in it. Instead of the traditional view that nature's secrets are encoded in a Final Theory, which is at the core of superstring theories and other searches for a unified description of nature, he argues that this age-long search for perfection is misguided; nature is imperfect and the perfection we seek is mostly a reflection of our deeply-ingrained beliefs in a monotheistic power. What we have learned during the past decades is that asymmetry and not symmetry is the creative force behind the emergence of structure, from the cosmos to matter to life itself. This new aesthetic of science has broad-ranging consequences: Marcelo shows that life—and in particular complex, intelligent life—is exceedingly rare. We may not be the only intelligent beings out there, but for all practical purposes we are alone. This makes us very important indeed. Marcelo proposes a "humanocentrism," whereby we take charge of our moral responsibility toward our planet and toward life in general.
