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Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7 Leonard Susskind is Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Among other accomplishments, he is among the fathers of such revolutionary concepts in physics as string theory, black hole complementarity, the holographic principle, and the string-theoretic landscape. It is this last concept that Robinson and Leonard discuss in this episode. More particularly, they address the fine-tuning problem—that so many of the constants in physics, such as the cosmological constant—appear to have been selected precisely to allow for human life, as if they were substantially different we would not exist. In answering this question they talk about string theory, dark energy, the Higgs boson, god and supernatural explanations, eternal inflation, the multiverse, the interpretations of quantum mechanics, the anthropic principle, alternative answers to the problem, and the future of research in the area. For more detail, read Leonard's book on the topic, The Cosmic Landscape. The Cosmic Landscape: https://a.co/d/j2njH7h The Theoretical Minimum: https://theoreticalminimum.com OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 04:03 A Parable About the Fine-Tuning Problem 09:58 String Theory and the Fine-Tuning Problem 18:04 The Problem of Dark Energy 25:05 Could Dark Energy Rip the Universe Apart? 33:11 God, String Theory, and the Illusion of Intelligent Design 42:51 On the String-Theoretic Landscape 48:54 The Eternal Inflation of the Universe 55:07 What Determines the Physics of the Multiverse? 01:02:09 On the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics 01:05:50 On the Future of String Theory and Fine-Tuning Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
For decades now physicists have been struggling to reconcile two great ideas from a century ago: general relativity and quantum mechanics. We don’t yet know the final answer, but the journey has taken us to some amazing places. A leader in this quest has been Leonard Susskind, who has helped illuminate some of the most mind-blowing ideas in quantum gravity: the holographic principle, the string theory landscape, black-hole complementarity, and others. He has also become celebrated as a writer, speaker, and expositor of mind-blowing ideas. We talk about black holes, quantum mechanics, and the most exciting new directions in quantum gravity. Support Mindscape on Patreon or Paypal. Leonard Susskind received his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University. He is currently the Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. He has made important contributions to numerous ideas in theoretical physics, including string theory, lattice gauge theory, dynamical symmetry breaking, the holographic principle, black hole complementarity, matrix theory, the cosmological multiverse, and quantum information. He is the author of several books, including a series of pedagogical physics texts called The Theoretical Minimum. Among his numerous awards are the J.J. Sakurai Prize and the Oskar Klein Medal. Web page Theoretical Minimum page Susskind Lectures on YouTube TED Talk about Richard Feynman Publications at Inspire Amazon author page Wikipedia
Felix Bloch Professor in Physics Leonard Susskind discusses the central concepts of astrophysics, cosmology and relativity. (March 9, 2009)
Felix Bloch Professor in Physics Leonard Susskind discusses the central concepts of astrophysics, cosmology and relativity. (March 2, 2009)
Felix Bloch Professor in Physics Leonard Susskind discusses the central concepts of astrophysics, cosmology and relativity. (February 16, 2009)
Felix Bloch Professor in Physics Leonard Susskind discusses the central concepts of astrophysics, cosmology and relativity. (February 2, 2009)
Felix Bloch Professor of Physics Leonard Susskind continues his discussion of Einstein's theory of general relativity. He discusses covariant and contra variant indices, tensor arithmetic and calculus. (October 20, 2008)