AaS! 115: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 1: Unify This!)

Ask a Spaceman!

Paul M. Sutter

Astrophysics, Science, Cosmos, Holes, Black, Astronomy, Natural Sciences, Universe, Cosmology, Space, Physics

4.8 • 853 Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2019

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter
All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com

Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter
Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter
Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter

Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book
Go on an adventure: http://www.AstroTours.co

Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE!

Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Matthew K, Justin Z, Justin G, Kevin O, Duncan M, Corey D, Barbara K, Neuterdude, Chris C, Robert M, Nate H, Andrew F, Chris L, Jon, Cameron L, Nalia, Aaron S, Tim R, Joe R, Neil P, Tom S, Bryan D, Irene P, Dustin R, Matt C, Iothian53, Steve P, Debra S, Ken L, Alberto M, Ron W, Chris L, Mark R, Alan B, Stephen J, David P, John F, Maureen R, Frank T, Craig B, Jesse A, Steven L, Ulfert B, Dave L, Stace J, S Stark, Richard K, Vladimir Z, Carol S, Stephen M, Grace M, Jeremy K, Russell W, David B, Tamara F, Robert B, Fr Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Nate H, Edward K, Ped, Chuck C, Jose Pablo V, Stephen S, Elizabeth W, Eric F, and Tracy F!

Music by Jason Grady and Nick Bain. Thanks to Cathy Rinella for editing.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist at The Ohio State University, and the one and only Agent to the Stars (http://www.pmsutter.com).

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	AI might be the most important innovation ever. It's storming every industry with literally billions being invested, so buckle up.
0:07.9	The problem is that AI needs the right data and a lot of speed and processing power, so how do you compete without cost spiraling out of control?
0:15.7	Time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure or OCI.
0:21.4	OCI is a single platform for your infrastructure, database and application development, with AI
0:26.4	embedded across it all. And Oracle's offering cloud helps you address your requirements for location,
0:31.4	access and data residency. OCI provides blazing fast speeds for AI's demanding workloads,
0:37.3	and in the cloud when you pay by the minute, speed matters.
0:40.5	And of course, nobody does data better than Oracle.
0:43.9	If you want OCI to help you do more and spend less,
0:46.7	like Uber, the Premier League, and Oracle Red Bull Racing,
0:49.7	take a free test drive at oracle.com slash bandwidth.
0:52.9	That's oracle.com slash bandwidth. That's oracle.com slash bandwidth. Oracle.com
0:56.1	slash bandwidth.
1:00.9	I have a complicated relationship with string theory. And you know what? To be perfectly honest, I haven't
1:14.0	exactly asked everyone, but just the sense I get, maybe I'm just projecting myself, but the
1:18.5	sense I get is that most physicists have a complicated relationship with string theory. And
1:25.5	and I'm pretty sure that most string theorists have a complicated relationship with string theory. And I'm pretty sure that most string theorists have a complicated
1:30.1	relationship with string theory. My complicated relationship with string theory began, as most
1:36.3	complicated relationships do, in high school. I remember in 1999 when Brian Green's elegant universe
1:43.6	came out. And it's a wonderful book. If you haven't read it,
1:46.6	it's still good. It's still relevant. Still packed with tons of cool physics. I remember reading
1:52.8	it in high school. I had been hearing about string theory. I had known vague things about it, but that book
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Paul M. Sutter, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Paul M. Sutter and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.