Show notes
As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toeIn today’s episode of Theories of Everything, Curt Jaimungal is joined by renowned physicists Peter Woit and Joseph Conlon to delve into the complexities of String Theory. Together, they explore its potential as a unified framework for understanding the fundamental forces of the universe, discussing both its strengths and the criticisms it faces. Peter Woit is a renowned mathematical physicist and outspoken critic of string theory, and Joseph Conlon is a distinguished theoretical physicist and strong proponent of string theory.NOTE: The video of Brian Greene in the introduction was intended to serve as a visual representation related to string theory as a general subject. It wasn’t meant to imply his support or opposition to string theory without understanding the details of it. I love Brian Greene. I even spoke to him here for the podcast. https://youtu.be/O2EtTE9Czzo. - CurtNew Substack! Follow my personal writings and EARLY ACCESS episodes here: https://curtjaimungal.substack.comTimestamps:00:00 Introduction03:10 What Wrong with the Standard Model?10:27 The Axion and Experimental Hope15:01 Critiques of String Theory17:25 Evaluating String Theory's Validity20:44 The Sociological Landscape of Physics25:20 Holography and Its Implications29:03 The Complexities of ADS-CFT32:59 Witten's Influence and Controversies36:32 The Balance of Arrogance and Humility40:37 Structural Issues in Theoretical Physics44:20 The Diminishing Returns of Mathematical Physics48:55 Young Researchers and Career Concerns52:42 The Disconnect from Experimental Data56:24 The Evolution of Theoretical Physics59:48 Challenges Facing the Field Today01:02:28 Future Directions01:35:36 The State of Fundamental Physics01:47:07 Exploring Time Dimensions02:07:40 AI Recap 02:20:50 OutroLinks:• Why String Theory? (Joseph’s book): https://amzn.to/4gSJr42• Origins: The Cosmos in Verse (Joseph’s book): https://amzn.to/3Dz887b• Not Even Wrong (Peter’s book): https://amzn.to/49T1mFn• Quantum Theory (Peter’s book): https://amzn.to/408Jp2h• Peter Woit’s blog: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/• Edward Witten’s recent paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.15549• Strings Conference (2024): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiSDiHgXimR9pHoFPhCDPfDOhreEg8vSp• Istanbul Stringy Meeting (2024): https://istringy.org/ism24/• Physics Today: Edward Witten’s 2015 post: https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/68/11/38/414984/What-every-physicist-should-know-about-string• Peter Woit’s previous appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTSeqsCgxj8• Moduli Redefinitions and Moduli Stabilisation (Conlon’s paper): https://arxiv.org/pdf/1003.0388• Scott Aaronson on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZpGCQoL2Rk• Brian Greene on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2EtTE9Czzo• TOE’s String Theory Iceberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4PdPnQuwjY&t=1749sTOE'S TOP LINKS:- Enjoy TOE on Spotify! https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE- Become a YouTube Member Here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal (early access to ad-free audio episodes!)- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything#science #physics #stringtheory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices