Rationally Speaking #101 - Max Tegmark on the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis

Rationally Speaking Podcast

New York City Skeptics

Society & Culture, Skepticism, Science, Philosophy

4.6 • 787 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2014

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Those among us who loathed high school calculus might feel some trepidation at the premise in this week's episode of Rationally Speaking. MIT Physicist Max Tegmark joins us to talk about his book "Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality" in which explains the controversial argument that everything around us is made of math. Max, Massimo and Julia explore the arguments for such a theory, how it could be tested, and what it even means.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Join us this spring for the sixth annual nexus, the Northeast's largest conference dedicated to critical thinking and science education.
0:08.0	It's all going down in New York City the weekend of April 11th through 13th, 2014.
0:13.0	We're excited to feature a keynote by physicist Lawrence Krause, who's authored bestsellers like the Physics of Star Trek,
0:19.0	and who just starred with Richard Dawkins in a new film last year called The Unbelievers.
0:24.2	This is in addition to a great lineup of other speakers like Paul Offutt, expert on vaccines and infectious disease, and Katie Coleman, veteran astronaut for NASA.
0:34.1	Of course, Massimo and I will be there taping a live episode of the rationally speaking podcast,
0:38.3	and so will the cast of The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Get your tickets now at nexus.org. That's
0:44.4	nec-s-s-S-S-org. Registration prices go up after March 20th, so don't wait. Get your tickets today.
0:50.3	Music Get your tickets today.
1:09.0	Rationally speaking is a presentation of New York City skeptptics dedicated to promoting critical thinking,
1:11.6	skeptical inquiry, and science education.
1:14.2	For more information,
1:15.3	please visit us at NYCCEceptics.org.
1:26.5	Welcome to rationally speaking, the podcast where we explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense.
1:31.3	I am your host, Massimo Piliucci, and with me as always is my co-host, Julia Gilliv.
1:36.3	Julia, what are we going to talk about today?
1:39.0	Massimo, I am delighted to announce that today's guest is Professor Max Tegmark, who is a physicist, a cosmologist at MIT.
1:48.9	Max has one widespread respect for his work in mainstream physics on precision cosmology,
1:55.7	but he's also embarked on some more speculative investigations into, for example, the nature of reality,
2:02.6	which he has written about in his book that is hot off the presses and now on bookstore shelves
2:08.0	called Our Mathematical Universe. Max, welcome to the show. Thank you very much, Julia. And
2:14.6	my condolience is to you to be outnumbered by two Maxes, since Max, of course,
	...

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