Mr. Epstein was not only a world-class child abuser, he was a big fan of theoretical high-energy physics and of theoretical physicists. Some of my colleagues, unfortunately, got to know him. A number who were famous and/or had John Brockman as a book agent were even invited to a physics conference on Epstein’s private island, well before he was first arrested. This was no secret; as I recall, a lot of us heard about the existence of this conference/trip, but we hadn’t heard Epstein’s name before and didn’t pay much attention (ho hum, just another weird billionaire).
(more…)Category: Public Outreach
Next Monday, November 17th at 7pm, I’ll be at the Harvard Bookstore with particle physicist and author Daniel Whiteson. Professor Whiteson and his co-author Andy Warner have a nice new book, for the general science-aware reader, exploring an age-old and unanswered question: how universal is the knowledge and understanding that we call “physics”? How much of modern physics is actually telling us about the universe, and how much of it is created by, or an accident of, the humans who have helped bring it about?
For instance, if we started all over again and reran history from scratch, would the physics (and science more generally) of this re-run culture look much like our own, or might it turn out very differently? If another culture on Earth had had time to develop highly mature science (or something like it) in its own direction, independent of Western Europe’s influence, how different might that science be? (Indeed, would our word “science” even be translatable into their worldview?) Or if we encountered aliens with far greater understanding of the universe than we have, would we be able to recognize, parse, grok, appreciate, comprehend, and/or otherwise make sense of their notions of scientific knowledge?
Whiteson and his co-author, wanting to write a popular book rather than a scholarly one, and desiring nevertheless to take on these serious and challenging intellectual questions, have set their focus mostly on the aliens, accompanied by amusing cartoons and a generous helping of dad jokes (hey, some dad jokes are actually very funny.) They’re looking for a broad audience, and hopefully they will get it. But don’t let the light-hearted title (“Do Aliens Speak Physics?“) or the charmingly goofy cover fool you: this book might well make you laugh, but I guarantee it will make you think. Whether you’re just curious about science or you’ve been doing science yourself for years, I suspect that, within the vast array of problems and issues that are raised in this broad-minded book, there will be some you’ve never thought of.
Among scientists and philosophers, there are some who believe that any aliens with the capacity to reach the Earth will obviously “speak physics” — that math and physics float above contingencies of culture and species, and will easily be translated from any intelligent creature to any other. But are they perhaps flying too high? It’s clear that Whiteson and Warner are aiming to poke some holes — lots of holes —- in their hot-air balloon, and to do so in a way that a wide variety of readers can appreciate and enjoy.
I tend to agree with Whiteson on a lot of these issues, but that won’t stop me from asking him some tough questions. You can ask him some tough questions too, if you like — just come to the Harvard Bookstore at 7:00 on Monday and join the conversation!
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON November 14, 2025
If you’re of a certain age, you know Alan Alda from his wonderful acting in television shows and in movies. But you may not know of his long-standing interest in science communication and his podcast Clear and Vivid (named for the characteristics that he feels all communication should have.)
Alda and I had a great conversation about the idea that we are made of waves, and what it means for our relationship to the universe. A slimmed-down version of that discussion is now available on his podcast. I hope you enjoy it!
Separately, as promised: to my last post, which covered various ways of depicting and interpreting wave functions, I’ve added explanations of the two quantum wave functions that I placed at the end. Tomorrow I’ll take a step back and consider wave functions from a larger point of view, taking a brief look at what they are (and aren’t), what’s “wavy” (and not) about them, and at their roles in contexts ranging from pre-quantum physics of the 19th century to quantum field theory of the 21st.
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON February 18, 2025
Dylan Curious is an bright and enthusiastic fellow, and he has a great YouTube channel focused on what is happening in AI around the world. But Dylan’s curiosity doesn’t stop there. Having read and enjoyed Waves in an Impossible Sea (twice!), he wanted to learn more… so he and I had a great conversation about humans and the universe for about 90 minutes. Don’t let the slightly odd title deter you; we covered a broad set of interesting topics of relevance to 21st century life, including
- In what sense is all motion relative?
- Why haven’t we already encountered intelligent life from other stars?
- Might we live in a simulation?
- Could the universe have glitches akin to what happens in computer games?
- Should the language of science be reconsidered?
- Are the particles we’re made of really waves?
Dylan is fun to talk to and I’m sure you’ll enjoy our discussion. And follow him, as I do, as a way of keeping up with the fast-changing AI landscape!
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON February 3, 2025
Well, gosh… what nice news as 2024 comes to a close… My book has received a ringing endorsement from Ethan Siegel, the science writer and Ph.D. astrophysicist who hosts the well-known, award-winning blog “Starts with a Bang“. Siegel’s one of the most reliable and prolific science writers around — he writes for BigThink and has published in Forbes, among others — and it’s a real honor to read what he’s written about Waves in an Impossible Sea.
His brief review serves as an introduction to an interview that he conducted with me recently, which I think many of you will enjoy. We discussed science — the nature of particles/wavicles, the Higgs force, the fabric (if there is one) of the universe, and the staying power of the idea of supersymmetry among many theoretical physicists — and science writing, including novel approaches to science communication that I used in the book.
If you’re a fan of this blog or of the book, please consider sharing his review on social media (as well as the Wall Street Journal’s opinion.) The book has sold well this year, but I am hoping that in 2025 it will reach an even broader range of people who seek a better understanding of the cosmos, both in the large and in the small.
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON December 17, 2024
This week I’ll be at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and I’ll be giving a public talk for a general audience at 4 pm on Thursday, December 5th. If you are in the area, please attend! And if you know someone at the University of Michigan or in the Ann Arbor area who might be interested, please let them know. (For physicists: I’ll also be giving an expert-level seminar at the Physics Department the following day.)
Here are the logistical details:
The Quantum Cosmos and Our Place Within It
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 4:00-5:00 PM ; Rackham Graduate School , 4th Floor Amphitheatre
When we step outside to contemplate the night sky, we often imagine ourselves isolated and adrift in a vast cavern of empty space—but is it so? Modern physics views the universe as more full than empty. Over the past century, this unfamiliar idea has emerged from a surprising partnership of exotic concepts: quantum physics and Einstein’s relativity. In this talk I’ll illustrate how this partnership provides the foundation for every aspect of human experience, including the existence of subatomic particles (and the effect of the so-called “Higgs field”), the peaceful nature of our journey through the cosmos, and the solidity of the ground beneath our feet.
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON December 2, 2024
Just a brief note, in a very busy period, to alert those in the Providence, RI area that I’ll be giving a colloquium talk at the Brown University Physics Department on Monday November 18th at 4pm. Such talks are open to the public, but are geared toward people who’ve had at least one full year of physics somewhere in their education. The title is “Exploring The Foundations of our Quantum Cosmos”. Here’s a summary of what I intend to talk about:
The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 marked a major milestone in our understanding of the universe, and a watershed for particle physics as a discipline. What’s known about particles and fields now forms a nearly complete short story, an astonishing, counterintuitive tale of relativity and quantum physics. But it sits within a larger narrative that is riddled with unanswered questions, suggesting numerous avenues of future research into the nature of spacetime and its many fields. I’ll discuss both the science and the challenges of accurately conveying its lessons to other scientists, to students, and to the wider public.
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON November 15, 2024
My hour-long conversation with UCSD Professor Brian Keating, on his Into the Impossible podcast, has just come out on YouTube; click here to listen.
We covered several topics from my book, including what particles really are and how the Higgs field gives them mass, along with others ranging from renormalization to the nature of the book’s cover.
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POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON September 30, 2024
Things have been extremely busy! I have
- written a new article for New Scientist about the familiar-sounding words that we use in physics (such as “particle”) and how they can easily mislead the unwary;
- appeared in an extended Know Time podcast, hosted by a non-scientist, in which we discuss fields, particles and the Higgs boson — core material of my book Waves in an Impossible Sea; and
- learned that the audiobook version of the book is now available for pre-order; it comes out September 24th.
If any of these might interest you, here are the details!
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POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON September 20, 2024
I’m delighted to tell you that Quanta Magazine has published an essay I have written on the *real* story of how the Higgs field gives mass to particles — avoiding those famous false analogies. There’s a musical connection, too. I hope you enjoy it! https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-higgs-field-actually-gives-mass-to-elementary-particles-20240903/
If you are curious to learn more about the main points of the essay, feel free to ask me questions about it in the comments below or at Quanta Magazine. (I also go into more detail about these subjects in my book.)
POSTED BY Matt Strassler
ON September 3, 2024
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