The String Wars: The Battle for Fundamental Physics (Peter Woit & Joseph Conlon)

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

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In 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. - Curt

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Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:10 What Wrong with the Standard Model?

10:27 The Axion and Experimental Hope

15:01 Critiques of String Theory

17:25 Evaluating String Theory's Validity

20:44 The Sociological Landscape of Physics

25:20 Holography and Its Implications

29:03 The Complexities of ADS-CFT

32:59 Witten's Influence and Controversies

36:32 The Balance of Arrogance and Humility

40:37 Structural Issues in Theoretical Physics

44:20 The Diminishing Returns of Mathematical Physics

48:55 Young Researchers and Career Concerns

52:42 The Disconnect from Experimental Data

56:24 The Evolution of Theoretical Physics

59:48 Challenges Facing the Field Today

01:02:28 Future Directions

01:35:36 The State of Fundamental Physics

01:47:07 Exploring Time Dimensions

02:07:40 AI Recap

02:20:50 Outro

Links:

•⁠ ⁠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=1749s

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#science #physics #stringtheory

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