Episode
#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
2:23:05
Published: Fri Dec 03 2021
Description
Peter Woit is a theoretical physicist, mathematician, critic of string theory, and author of the popular science blog Not Even Wrong. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - The Prisoner Wine Company: https://theprisonerwine.com/lex to get 20% off & free shipping - Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit - Sunbasket: https://sunbasket.com/lex and use code LEX to get $35 off - BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off - SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera EPISODE LINKS: Peter's website: http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/ Peter's blog: https://bit.ly/3xCwm9F Not Even Wrong (book): https://amzn.to/3peDzZs Quantum Theory, Groups, and Representations (book): https://amzn.to/316iAjf Love and Math (book): https://amzn.to/3If7B8m The Second Creation (book): https://amzn.to/3rlWzIu PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:22) - Physics vs mathematics (21:51) - Beauty of mathematics (43:42) - String theory (1:12:15) - Theory of everything (1:32:23) - Twistor theory and spinors (1:48:50) - Nobel Prize likelihood for theory of everything (1:52:36) - Simulating physics (1:56:07) - Sci-Fi, aliens and space (2:05:19) - Responsibility of scientists
Chapters
The speaker promotes Prisoner Wine as their drink of choice.
00:00 - 03:39 (03:39)
Summary
The speaker promotes Prisoner Wine as their drink of choice.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Physicist and author, Edward Frenkel shares his perspective on unification and the misconception of formulating theories in higher dimensions, emphasizing the understanding of structures and objects in four dimensions.
03:39 - 20:49 (17:10)
Summary
Physicist and author, Edward Frenkel shares his perspective on unification and the misconception of formulating theories in higher dimensions, emphasizing the understanding of structures and objects in four dimensions. He discusses the challenge of visualizing complex concepts and building intuition through simple examples, paper and pen, or thought experiments.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The unification of algebra and geometry lies in the realization that every algebraic entity can be treated as a space of functions on a specific geometry, as explained by a physicist turned mathematician.
20:49 - 32:15 (11:25)
Summary
The unification of algebra and geometry lies in the realization that every algebraic entity can be treated as a space of functions on a specific geometry, as explained by a physicist turned mathematician.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The story of beauty in physics is not that of a simple, powerful idea found to be useless, it is more of self-deception in how people fool themselves that an idea is better than it is.
32:15 - 39:51 (07:36)
Summary
The story of beauty in physics is not that of a simple, powerful idea found to be useless, it is more of self-deception in how people fool themselves that an idea is better than it is. Focus should be on self-consistency rather than beauty, especially when trying to develop better theories on morons.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
String theory is a difficult term to define due to its various interpretations, but it originated as a unified theory of particle interactions and gravity using the concept of one-dimensional loops (strings) moving in space-time.
39:51 - 58:25 (18:33)
Summary
String theory is a difficult term to define due to its various interpretations, but it originated as a unified theory of particle interactions and gravity using the concept of one-dimensional loops (strings) moving in space-time. However, it currently faces inconsistencies with certain phenomena like dark energy and dark matter.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The focus on string theory has become more of a tribal denominator than a scientific theory, making it difficult to know what is being argued about.
58:25 - 1:10:12 (11:47)
Summary
The focus on string theory has become more of a tribal denominator than a scientific theory, making it difficult to know what is being argued about. Although it has potential, it has become a starting point for research rather than a central focus.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The theory of everything is purely reductionist and doesn't explain macroscopic objects or emergent behavior.
1:10:15 - 1:20:36 (10:20)
Summary
The theory of everything is purely reductionist and doesn't explain macroscopic objects or emergent behavior. The current understanding of gravity should be able to describe black holes and the challenges that come with it if it includes quantum mechanics.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This episode discusses the idea that cellular automata may be the fundamental level of reality, and how difficult it is to understand them.
1:20:36 - 1:28:56 (08:19)
Summary
This episode discusses the idea that cellular automata may be the fundamental level of reality, and how difficult it is to understand them. It speculates that solving the problem may require post-human or enhanced human intervention, and may have connections to other complex problems.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This episode explores the limitations and fascinating aspects of Twistor theory with Nima Arkani-Hamed, including his thoughts on string theory and the potential benefits of Twistor theory.
1:28:57 - 1:39:42 (10:45)
Summary
This episode explores the limitations and fascinating aspects of Twistor theory with Nima Arkani-Hamed, including his thoughts on string theory and the potential benefits of Twistor theory.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In Twister theory, a point is a two complex dimensional space, which allows you to talk about both usual time and the time times the square root of minus one.
1:39:42 - 1:49:30 (09:47)
Summary
In Twister theory, a point is a two complex dimensional space, which allows you to talk about both usual time and the time times the square root of minus one. The fundamental question in physics is why all fundamental particles are described by pairs of complex numbers.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In the next 20 years, the LHC will still be operational and producing an order of magnitude or more data, but there won't be any higher energy accelerator operating successfully.
1:49:30 - 2:00:38 (11:07)
Summary
In the next 20 years, the LHC will still be operational and producing an order of magnitude or more data, but there won't be any higher energy accelerator operating successfully. From a computational perspective, it's useful to think of our universe as an information processing system and consider the resources required for computation.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The field of physics is in a historically unusual state that has led to problematic ideas being promoted as successes, according to a physicist.
2:00:38 - 2:13:23 (12:45)
Summary
The field of physics is in a historically unusual state that has led to problematic ideas being promoted as successes, according to a physicist. In contrast, the field of mathematics is doing fine.
Episode#246 – Peter Woit: Theories of Everything and Why String Theory is Not Even Wrong
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Physicists are often asked about the meaning of life and write books on the topic, but mathematicians are not.
2:13:23 - 2:22:41 (09:17)
Summary
Physicists are often asked about the meaning of life and write books on the topic, but mathematicians are not. The speaker aims to ensure that the best students in the field have diverse perspectives and are not misled by certain ideas, citing Sabina Hasenfelder's thoughts on the sociology of scientific research.