The search for a unified theory that includes gravity and black holes continues, with the assumption that some physical ideas or mathematical tools are still missing for a proper understanding and formulation of the problem to find a solution that resembles the real world. Including black holes in the theory is crucial to make predictions about certain phenomena, but the inclusion of quantum mechanics leads to paradoxes that further complicate the search.
The FedEx driver tries to turn around in a cul-de-sac, but instead gets stuck in an old, dried-up canal ditch.
In higher dimensions, mathematicians use surgery to maneuver dimensions, but in four dimensions, they can't be moved as easily, which is why it's so complicated. This may explain why string theory posits three extra dimensions instead of four.
In the 70s, computer science journals saw a surge of articles about combinatorial methods aimed at solving cryptography and graph theory problems. The upcoming book by the speaker will include new methods not covered in any other book.
This episode discusses using the A star algorithm to navigate ideas and backtracking to show sets of ideas in a paper.