Brian Greene

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2021

⏱️ 38 minutes

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Summary

Brian Greene is a theoretical physicist, mathematician and writer, whose area of research is string theory. His books and broadcasts distil the complexities of science for a general audience, leading one critic to say appreciatively “he speaks maths, physics and human.” Born in New York City, his father taught him the basics of arithmetic when he was a toddler and by the time he was five Brian was multiplying 30-digit numbers by 30-digit numbers - just for the pure joy of working things out by himself. At 11 Brian had exhausted everything his maths teacher could teach him but, thanks to his teacher’s resourcefulness, he managed to get extra tuition from a graduate student at Columbia University. After graduating from Harvard in 1984, Brian won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University to study gravity and quantum mechanics. At Oxford he became captivated by the idea of string theory which was causing much excitement among the physics community at the time. String theory was seen as having the potential to answer life’s big questions about space, time and the universe. Over the years Brian has been at the forefront of scientific discoveries including mirror symmetry and later proving that tears could happen in the fabric of space. Brian is currently professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University. DISC ONE: An extract from Icarus At the Edge of Time. Composed by Philip Glass, performed by the Orchestra of St Lukes, conducted by Brad Lubman, narrated by John Lithgow DISC TWO: Rockin’ in the Rockies by The Cappy Barra Boys Harmonica Quartet DISC THREE: Turn Around by Harry Belafonte DISC FOUR: An extract from Light Falls, composed by Jeff Beal, performed by Hollywood Chamber Orchestra DISC FIVE: Brahms Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79 no 2, performed by Martha Argerich DISC SIX: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland with the Victor Young Orchestra DISC SEVEN: A Million Dreams by Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams DISC EIGHT: The Sound of Silence by Disturbed BOOK CHOICE: Philosophical Explanations by Robert Nozick LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered particle collider CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Turn Around by Harry Belafonte Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.7	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.4	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them
0:13.6	if they were cast away to a desert island. For right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.2	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:41.2	My cast away this week is the scientist and author Brian Green.
0:45.3	He's professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University in New York and has spent his career in
0:51.3	search of Einstein's dream, a unified theory of physics tying the four fundamental forces that
0:57.0	govern the universe together in a single framework. If you're already blinded by the science, don't worry.
1:03.4	His bestselling books, broadcasts and lectures on string theory have brought the mind-bending
1:08.5	possibilities of theoretical physics to life in the public imagination. As one journalist put it,
1:14.4	he speaks maths, physics and human. Great news for us today. The path that led him to contemplate
1:20.8	the mysteries of the cosmic symphony was more direct than you might imagine. He grew up in New York City
1:26.4	across the road from the Hayden Planetarium. On rainy days his parents would send him over there
1:31.2	to entertain himself. Wondering the corridors of what he calls the cavernous,
1:35.6	labyrinthine exploratorium he was captivated and has been ever since. As for whether he'll
1:42.0	live to see proof of the central thesis of string theory, he says, he can find yourself momentarily
1:48.4	gripped with fear that you're spending a working lifetime on something and in the end still couldn't
1:53.3	know if it's right or wrong, but there's never been a theory in physics that has got remotely as far
1:57.9	as this one. That's turned out to be wrong. Professor Brian Green welcomed to desert island discs.
2:03.7	Thank you. So as I understand it, there's no experimental evidence to prove that string theories
2:08.8	are right, simply because the theory is so far ahead of our technology we just can't test it.
	...

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