Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein's Unfinished Revolution

Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein's Unfinished Revolution | Lex Fridman Podcast #79 141,771 viewsMar 7, 2020 3.5K DISLIKE SHARE DOWNLOAD THANKS CLIP SAVE Lex Fridman 1.7M subscribers Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist, co-inventor of loop quantum gravity, and a contributor of many interesting ideas to cosmology, quantum field theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, theoretical biology, and the philosophy of science. He is the author of several books including one that critiques the state of physics and string theory called The Trouble with Physics, and his latest book, Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it & use code "LexPodcast": Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... EPISODE LINKS: Books mentioned: - Einstein's Unfinished Revolution by Lee Smolin: https://amzn.to/2TsF5c3 - The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin: https://amzn.to/2v1FMzy - Against Method by Paul Feyerabend: https://amzn.to/2VOPXCD OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 3:03 - What is real? 5:03 - Scientific method and scientific progress 24:57 - Eric Weinstein and radical ideas in science 29:32 - Quantum mechanics and general relativity 47:24 - Sean Carroll and many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics 55:33 - Principles in science 57:24 - String theory CONNECT: - Subscribe to this YouTube channel - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LexFridmanPage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman Chapters Introduction 0:00 What is real? 3:03 Scientific method and scientific progress 5:03 Eric Weinstein and radical ideas in science 24:57 Quantum mechanics and general relativity 29:32 Sean Carroll and many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics 47:24 316 Comments rongmaw lin Add a comment... Lex Fridman Pinned by Lex Fridman Lex Fridman 2 years ago I really enjoyed this conversation with Lee. Here's the outline: 0:00 - Introduction 3:03 - What is real? 5:03 - Scientific method and scientific progress 24:57 - Eric Weinstein and radical ideas in science 29:32 - Quantum mechanics and general relativity 47:24 - Sean Carroll and many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics 55:33 - Principles in science 57:24 - String theory 103 Dustin Soodak Dustin Soodak 2 years ago He has a really clear categorization of his beliefs, assumptions, and level of expertise. It is refreshing to hear statements like "I haven't studied that theory sufficiently to comment on it". 4 R C R C 2 years ago This conversation is so good, I am enjoying listening to it multiple times. Lots of great insights to unpack in every listening. Thanks Lex! 13 ailblentyn ailblentyn 2 months ago I think when Smolin speaks of there being no “scientific method”, he has in mind an old dream that you could define an algorithm for scientific progress. And I think he’s right that that is impossible. 1 Shamut Shamut 1 year ago Lex had harf time connecting but I hope he gives it a 2nd listen one day and get the WOW I got fron this podcast. Lee has some very good 1st principles ideas here❤️ 4 martifingers martifingers 1 year ago So great to see Feyerabend taken seriously by such a brilliant mind as Professor Smolin. Feyerabend is not universally admired I think it's fair to say but his arguments are very important to take on board. 4 shagablabas shagablabas 2 years ago Blessing us with great content Lex 25 Egor Panfilov Egor Panfilov 2 years ago Already looking forward to seeing the second appearance of Lee on your podcast. Great interview! 6 Sean Rockwell Sean Rockwell 2 years ago Thank you so much for having Dr. Smolin on. One of my favorite lecturers and writers on physics. 9 chadc73 chadc73 2 months ago Lex Fridman, thank you so much for the most informative and emotional podcasts I've ever listened to. You along with Jocko Willink, Joe Rogan, and Hardcore History make some of the most transformative and special videos ever. Much love Cage Fury Cage Fury 2 years ago As a layman, Lee Smolin is one of my favorite physicists. I've heard some of his lectures before, and his ideas are extremely refreshing in regards to the nature of reality, time, and philosophy of science. I only wish he was younger so he had more time to really follow through with them. 20 oliver oliver 2 years ago Love this podcast. I like your inclusion of philosophy. 5 thewiseturtle thewiseturtle 2 years ago Smolin's idea of evolution of universes was a big inspiration for my theory of entropy being literally evolution, with the two part process of natural selection being a contraction process of reality (space?) fitting together like neighboring puzzle pieces, and random mutation, the expansion process of those two puzzle pieces procreating an entirely new "baby" puzzle piece from the combination. Natural selection is what we observe as matter, and random mutation is what we observe as energy (change). If reality repeats this process in a family tree genealogy process that looks a bit like Pascal's triangle (but more dimensional in the detailed branches), or Quincunx/Galton Board, we end up with all possible patterns of matter and energy, for a complete puzzle of all possible realities. This is both the single universe as seen from all different perspectives, or just "the multiverse". (They are the same thing, essentially.) 2 Tim Bob Tim Bob 1 month ago I love how this guy doesn't take anything as certain forever, even if it seems so as proven here and now, doesn't mean it won't change later. I also wonder if some of our 'constants' change depending on place in the universe, not just time. So much we don't know and many so called scientists ought to make sure they remember that every day. Aaron Frank Aaron Frank 3 weeks ago What a great and accurate description of the ethics and training required to be a good scientist. alexwhb122 alexwhb122 2 years ago Yet another fascinating talk. Thank you for the great content! Cary Cary 6 months ago Just found you Lex and want to say thanks for making this content from all my heroes in Physics easily accessible. KUDOS 1 falsepriestfancier109 falsepriestfancier109 3 months ago amazing. been a fan of Lee's for years. never knew what he looked like though. great conversation. enjoyed myself immensely. ty Marshall Curtis Marshall Curtis 6 months ago Smolin:"What we experience is constructed by our brains." Therefore does that mean everything we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel, including our own bodies (which include our brains) is literally a figment of our imagination? 1 Guy Simple Guy Simple 2 years ago I like how his ideas emerges in popular literature, for example in Peter Watts books. By the way, it would be wonderful if Lex could invite him to this podcast. 2 SuperSaiyan Dreams SuperSaiyan Dreams 3 months ago I'm so thankful to have been able to watch this. Even though I do not understand it 100% quantum gravity and the like are very interesting! username username 2 months ago Listening to these podcasts is like a great book. Reading it just once and thinking you caught everything is not logical. Victor Savona Victor Savona 2 years ago This is a very good podcast in general. Lex raises the level of difficulty understanding the material, but still unwraps it into form for someone who wants to know more about a subject, but still lacks the technical understanding one would gain from studying the subject. 2 Panagiotis Panagiotis 1 year ago Year ago, clicked in my thought, that in special relativity the only not transormable parameter is spacetime interval between events. It came in my mind that world is a structure of events. Not points. Here come Lee Smolin, with this idea which is already developed long ago. Fascinating!! Bob Saget Bob Saget 3 months ago Lee's idea of each type of particle or molecule having its own "view" of the universe, and thus linking every single one of these particles with one another of the same type, and differentiates them from other particles with other "views", because they have different properties. And creates a kind of cosmic web of objects of the same type with one another, which could possibly explain things such as quantum entanglement and instantaneous action at a distance, is really fascinating. Shamut Shamut 1 year ago Lee’s final statement beautifully expresses a general principle of science world being able to reorganise and see beyond some of the impactless divisions. Huy Do Huy Do 2 years ago Wonderful Lex! And thanks so much Prof Lee! Theoretical and Practical Approach at the same time, and let the Nature open the secret. Hope we, Homosapiens could pass the very now challenges peacefully, wisely... 1 trax9987 trax9987 1 year ago (edited) One of the most beautiful people and one of the most beautiful podcasts ever made Lex. He has a fantastic mind. It's absolutely fantastic you found him and were able to get him. John Ford John Ford 2 years ago Lex is the perfect AI podcaster. Joe Rogan regular, cool, actually teaches and works on AI. Adam Pitas Adam Pitas 2 years ago Amazing interview, Lex. Thanks! 1 Brian Bielawne Brian Bielawne 2 years ago Keep up the great work lex! 👍🏻 1 Sean Rockwell Sean Rockwell 2 years ago I’d also very much love to hear Dr. Smolin discuss his ideas in depth with Sean Carroll on Sean’s podcast. I’ve said the same to Sean online. 24 H3R3T1C H3R3T1C 2 years ago (edited) Far as I'm concerned, Smolin isn't just a quantum theorist. He's the quantum theorist. What he was not blessed with in terms of physicality has more than been made up for by his truly impressive mind. 1 Guitarnut Bolinuli Guitarnut Bolinuli 2 years ago Great conversation; I love it. Thanks Lex. 2 Siri Landgren Siri Landgren 2 years ago Lee is such a valuable influence to the physics community! ❤️ 4 tubbyoneness tubbyoneness 2 years ago “...the theoretical physics community. This community has its respected academics,its naked emperors, it’s outcasts and its revolutionaries, it’s madmen and it’s dreamers.” — What a beautiful description! Shawn Harris Shawn Harris 1 month ago I think it's available right here and now to experience the absolute reality. Meditators have done it for thousands of years. Da Ren Jiang Da Ren Jiang 1 year ago Watching Lee Smolin talking beautiful physics just made me realized he was repping OVO this whole time 🤯 2 Trapezoider Trapezoider 2 years ago Love you Lex! Keep it up 11 Ian Seda Ian Seda 6 months ago Lex we need a second part with Lee!! oledilep oledilep 8 months ago not only the guest is important, the questions and bouncing of ideas is aswell. you do it very well. CACBCCCU CACBCCCU 1 month ago It's clever to find a reason to discourage a universal time standard, for supposing a reality of growing time divergences, especially with gravity as the only excuse. Keeping wavelength constant, together with constant time and space metrics, while letting frequency vary, means initially redshifted light realistically must be light initially slowed by decreased gravity. Same with a passing rumble-strip effect. Light frequency is independent of photon rate, meaning a constant-rate countable photon (or light pulse) source gives the only reliable light-based indicator for time rate. Heisenberg's uncertainty applied to light says a perfectly tight frequency source is a perfectly random phase timing source, so atomic clock frequency means basically nothing about the only good time rate measure, namely photon rate. Diana Budzik Diana Budzik 2 years ago Lex-please ask a theoretical physicist, such as Lee Smolin, more interesting and in-depth physics questions-so we can learn much more about physics F aithful F aithful 1 year ago was hoping for discussion of Smolin's concept of cosmological natural selection 3 Jack Royal Jack Royal 2 months ago Does a thought in your head fall under the definition of an "event?" I would guess so since he talks of particles intersecting one another which as I understand it, is the definition of brain activity. nozfirat nozfirat 2 years ago Thanks, for being a bridge, between us and those leading brightest people. 22 George Gray George Gray 2 years ago Fully agree with the definition of science! I check the shizz out of my results, in preparation for colleagues to find holes in my reasoning. 2 Aaron Frank Aaron Frank 3 weeks ago What a kind man. I’m very impressed. Travis Fitzwater Travis Fitzwater 2 months ago Lee is among my top 5 favorite thinkers. I am not inclined to quarrel with him. Andrew Kelley Andrew Kelley 2 years ago As I watch this one morning it brings an old question in my mind. Something that I can only describe as crystilazation. Is there some force arriving from a quantum level. That sort of makes one point in space the same as that which is around it. Like if you had a ton of sticks on a plane all formed in the shape of a plus all about a foot long. If there is one set of sticks in the shape of a v that will snap to a plus given a big enough plane? I mean it may not work like that but I have always wondered if it happens and under what conditions it would occur. nagualdesign nagualdesign 2 years ago 299K subscribers, 36K views, 1.2K likes. 😕 Well, I for one thought it was a brilliant interview. I've been a fan of Lee Smolin for years, Lex is one of my favourite interviewers. What more could you ask for? Maybe people just want to watch you get stoned with Elon Musk. 2 ericjane747 ericjane747 2 years ago Very much enjoyed this conversation. Makes me feel normal. 2 Buddha's archive Buddha's archive 3 months ago really enjoyed listening to Lee Smolin Aaron Frank Aaron Frank 3 weeks ago I really admire Mr. Smolin. George Mccaffery George Mccaffery 2 years ago Wow, another big name, Lex. Please keep 'em coming! 2 Hans Machado Hans Machado 9 months ago Thank you, Lex, again and again and again, for doing THIS! Evan Willenson Evan Willenson 2 years ago haven't even gotten into the interview yet but DAMN great intro Lex.! 1 Honestmicky Honestmicky 2 years ago Excellent podcast Lex, you da man. A+ 3 Monte Monte 2 years ago Wow great conversation! It would be cool if you could get a couple people from varying fields to converse together. 3 David Field David Field 2 years ago What an ambitious interview 1 Thedudeabides803 Thedudeabides803 2 years ago I’m intently listening at the gun trying to understand what this incredible geek knows🤓 1 Curios Guy Curios Guy 2 years ago It would be awesome if you could get Terence Tao or Ed Witten!! 186 J. Anthony Lopez J. Anthony Lopez 1 year ago Daaaaaaannng! Lee Smolin is OUT THERE! I've seen interviews of him before. His idea's are pretty abstract, but this shows and says it all! He's really just saying, we're a bunch of monkey's whos feeble senses really don't know anything about the actual physical world in which we reside! Cray, cray! Not Smolin... Just the fact that we really don't know anything... But we try, right??? D M D M 2 years ago Such a good discussion Bright Sunshine Bright Sunshine 1 year ago Wonderful conversation 👍👌 Theaveragehunter Theaveragehunter 2 years ago Would love to se Ed Witten on the podcast! 1 Kyle Gushue Kyle Gushue 2 years ago Just like Eric, Lee uses "I don't know what's right, but know they're wrong" argument. 1 Pady Pady 1 year ago (edited) I like the idea of self organizing universe 👏 Now it is the time to put right brains together, mix fresh ideas with skilled double checkers. Photon might be a temporary deviation of emg field ie temporary change causing another temporary change next door like domino cubes wave. Must be distinguished between truth and often spoken guesses. World is a puzzle, some pieces are visible like our visible world, some not - and those are (hidden) outside our 3 macro dimensions. Our current formulas describe just visible world. Btw, 1 metre is longer on earth than in space? 1/c of a second causes different count of wavelengths, right? Mis Mass Mis Mass 1 year ago (edited) Without the augmented reality our brains create for us, reality would just be a soup of particles and we wouldn’t be able to make a difference between land and water and a rock wall, everything would just be part of the same particle soup, impossible to navigate. Thanks brain for turning certain frequencies into different colours and surfaces! Evangelos Spyromilios Evangelos Spyromilios 2 years ago AI Podcast is ideal to watch at night after completing tutorial on programming 3 Carlos Rivera Carlos Rivera 7 months ago This fine gentleman is a hero. Physics should listen to the man. HK HK 2 years ago Way to go Lex, thanks 1 Caleigh Fisher Caleigh Fisher 10 months ago Quantum gravity happens in neutrons and protons only because only they have the neutralized charge pair core. These form a standing wave over a Planck. A highest frequency photon that goes nowhere. william ramseyer william ramseyer 1 year ago Lex Fridman interview with Lee Smolin #79, WLR comment posted 1/5/20 Mind stretching interview. Thank you. Perhaps Lee Smolin is right that space is an emergent phenomenon, as I feel very spaced out trying to think about this. My comments: 1. I call the real world the “Dirt World” to distinguish it from all imagined or virtual worlds. 2. Some of the code of science is very similar to the oath that a witness takes: “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” We do not use the same standard for advertising, marketing, sales, romance or many other human activities. Why not? 3. (bad joke warning). If scientists on one hill believe in mater and realism and scientists on another hill believe in anti-matter and anti-realism then what do the peasants down in the valley believe in? Answer: It reallydoesn’tmatterism. Thank you. William L. Ramseyer Pady Pady 1 year ago 1.) length is not changing, 1 meter is certain amount of wavelengths, just the rulers are moving. 1 metre should be measured using cesium clock in free fall and that amount of wavelengths helps us in turn to get proper time when moving 2.) everything visible (to us) is in 3 dims, it is moving (change in arrangement) ie causality and "time"; everything visible emerges from places ("extra" dims) which were not visible and these contains something what is able to be visible. That is the same place where first is nothing visible, it changes and there is something visible. Like moving photon ie "moving" ripple and these ripples are just like falling pieces of domino, one by one. So "extra" dims are everywhere filling all space - in vacuum in the same place can something not visible change into something visible . And that can change back to vacuum (not visible state). There are actually only 3 dims but there are places we "see" and places we dont. We have theories about visibles but we know little if something about what is happening with that not visible. We have to figure it out ie we should thing like creator - how could we create the world. We have some pieces of big puzzle already. Turns out that not visible state is fundamental and visible state needs extra energy (movement). Like moving with electron causes that something not visible to change into visible. And that first hit hits something not visible what turns into visible, it its next door not visible neighbor and that forst neighbor by this hitting turns back to invisible state, that already visible neighbor makes the same and so on. This transition between neighbors last and thats why speed of causality/light is that constant maximum. And atom means that some visibles are trapped in certain space structure. And gravity is just influence of that something not visible on our visible world. And maybe in the not visible world there is no speed limit (no transition needed), maybe this allows "spooky action at the distance" or thats why gravity is large distance "force" (influences that visible on large distances). CACBCCCU CACBCCCU 1 month ago Dr. Thomas Charles Van Flandern, an expert in cosmology and celestial mechanics, once said something along the lines of "higher frequencies are due to faster light," and at the time it made no sense to me because I took it to mean he was saying there were different light speeds sharing the same point on space. The context didn't make it clear that variable gravity was involved, but maybe I should have noted that variable gravity must be the default in cosmology. Eventually it became apparent to me that lightspeed could be gravity sensitive, that it gravitationally speeds up to gravitationally blueshift. After that, what Van Flandern said made perfect sense to me, he was talking about the same photon under different gravities. The only argument against variable light speed involves a braindead flatworm creation of bent-space fans, a theoretical light decay, as if light and gravity cannot exchange energies directly. Peter Peter 1 year ago Hey Lex, love the channel, but there are some things I noticed in general that were especially apparent in this interview. This is meant as constructive criticism. If it sounds harsh or too negative it's because I'm not a native speaker and German. 1) Asking three vague/fundamental questions, then letting your guest answer half of the first question before you jump in and go into another random direction is not only annoying it leads nowhere and leaves the interview void of actual substantial answers/content. Let your guests talk if they're eager to talk. 2) You obviously know about GR, QM and many other concepts and so do, I'd wager a guess, most of your viewers. I know feigning ignorance is often done as a benefit to the viewer, but I'd say you've gone further than necessary for your audience and wasted a lot of time. You're not Joe Rogan and not every guest is Eric Weinstein. 3) Maybe less objectively, I'd say at least tone it down with the "what is real" level dialogue. I'd love to have simply heard something from Lee about how space being emergent and non-locality directly connects to entanglement, for example. Is entanglement part of and sufficiently explained by his theories? Etc. I know it's easier said than done, and it's even easier to criticize, but I think there's lots of potential here if you just own your niche and I'd love to see that! 1 Aesir Vanir Aesir Vanir 2 years ago Mein Gott, this is fantastic! Guest suggestions: Grigori Perelman; Edward Witten; Douglas Hofstadter; Cosma Rohilla Shalizi. 38 Younghyun Oh Younghyun Oh 2 years ago It'd be super nice if Lex can get to talk with Donald Hoffman!! 3 Kosh Naranek Kosh Naranek 2 years ago the luggage thing got me rolling on the floor 18 Quaid Carlo Bulloch Quaid Carlo Bulloch 2 years ago Lex I’ve been working on my own theory around causality. I described an event as change, and causality as change changing change. How time get mixed into this combination of semantics is a mystery to me. 2 Canard Canard 6 months ago If space isn't fundamental, how do we make sense of Lee's fingers bending backwards when he speaks? Also, noticed that Lex uses the phrase "closer to truth" a few times. Funny because the last program I saw Lee Smolin speak on was "Closer to Truth" with Robert Lawrence. Little subconscious action going on, or God's playing tricks again. Stosh James Peterson Stosh James Peterson 2 years ago One of the most brilliant minds I’ve listen to in 2020,Thank you for this podcast Lex. Conversations like these give me hope for a better tomorrow. Understanding reality is a very beautiful abstraction. Reality itself is a special force that exist with in the universal truth of human nature. Love everything you do, god bless you! 4 Mr. Wizard Mr. Wizard 1 year ago What about the breakthroughs in thermodynamics that took place from the late-18th to the 19th centuries that enabled developments/ applications in chemistry, states of matter, and inventions such as the steam engine? 1 Aaron Williams Aaron Williams 2 years ago By far one of the greatest guests on the show. Thank you so much for this podcast Lex. The nature of time being more fundamental than space and events that cause events within the causality of the speed of light was a major breakthrough to me. The notion that the order of causality being a non-spatial property of time is revolutionary. Lee Smolin is an absolute genius. 12 D. Kaan Er D. Kaan Er 6 months ago His description of time reminds me the ontology of Descartes where universe is continuously recreated by God at each moment, and the centrality of it sounds like Heidegger. Chau Sung Chau Sung 2 years ago It just seems Lex can get all the big daddies on his broadcast. Here is the challenge, Shinichi Mochizuki. 11 Question Everything Question Everything 1 year ago The energy, which is being applied from within the planet's core, is what creates gravity and not because of the size of the planet, its mass, or by space-time curvature. ~Guadalupe Guerra 1 vajrapromise vajrapromise 1 year ago The energy packets or quanta exist in that form because of the "pressure" of dark energy. Dark energy also keeps lights speed a constant....in my view. TE'KANNON TE'KANNON 2 years ago Dear Mr Fridman and Professor Smollin, Thanks to you Mr Fridman, you offer a platform for global debate. Professor Smollin has stimulated my thinking into realizing (rightly or wrongly) that what time is basically is the ‘consciousness’ of the universe. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that time allows the mind to comprehend the series of events that follow one after into what we call the past. The present is time showing us its face in fleeting images of unfolding events. Nature has evolved what we call time as simply the way one can put cascading events into a pattern. Time allows events to be categorized. Because it is invisible, we have trouble defining it, but it is really the tool that nature has devised to show the continuum of existence. Professor Smollin may be correct in saying the future has not been mapped out. My theoretical ideas are what comes out of my brain when I pose the question of what time is. Whether or not it is relevant, only time will tell! 3 RAJESH PRAJAPATI RAJESH PRAJAPATI 1 year ago Thank you so much. Keep up the good work. sugardubz sugardubz 2 years ago Lex, please, interview William Gibson. It is a wish dear to my heart. Thank you for all the hours of ingenious interviews! 5 Peter van den Engel Peter van den Engel 2 years ago Part of realism is that humans (or life in general) have themselves added a new world, which really exists, on top of the other one: matter particles: waves. So when you refer to an underlying real world, what world are you talking about, when a new one emerged which could not have existed before? Diana Budzik Diana Budzik 2 years ago Lex-it would be wonderful if you could get theoretical physicist Neil Turok on Allan Rasmussen Allan Rasmussen 2 years ago It may sound lazy, but it would be nice if you put links in the description to the podcasts you recommend also listening to in the podcast intro. ncuevas ncuevas 1 year ago lex reaction at 18:38 hahaha amazing jorge espinha jorge espinha 2 years ago great podcast Eskimonster Eskimonster 2 years ago (edited) Wonder if you ever could interview Neil Turok, i realy like his views, and thanks for a amazing channel. 1 m baske m baske 2 years ago I take a shot of russian vodka whenever Lex says "linger". 62 acangial1 acangial1 2 years ago Wheels on the luggage. Wow, that statement was so profound! 25 John Marshall John Marshall 1 year ago Smolin's notion of an event seems very close to Whitehead's notion of an actual occasion. Has Smolin ever commented on this similarity? Dmitry Samoilov Dmitry Samoilov 2 years ago (edited) 25:06 About the Luggage: Flat Surfaces are a relatively modern invention. Before that you had bricks and mud and uneven floorboards. So, It wasn't a fact of nobody had thought of it. The fact was that it wasn't practical back then. Expanding this idea to thoughts, it also may be the case that: It simply is not practical to think in a more "correct" way until certain "surfaces" of thought have been "flattened". I don't know what that means, but, meh. Whatever. ! 33 joseph smith joseph smith 2 years ago Language is by far the most important invention followed by writing and saving that writting then math or along w it vajrapromise vajrapromise 1 year ago Time is a choice, it doesn't really exist unless we define one object moving in space towards some end, you decide on. Consciousness is what is happening and exists in time when we choose something or define ourselves in some way. If we rest in egolessness we are resting as the flow itself, just being present and aware. Consciousness manifests in form when time or object consciousness is introduced. It begins wherever you are at any point in space. Once you define the point, time begins... Trillionaire Studio Trillionaire Studio 2 years ago You are doing grate a lots of great jobs 1 David S David S 3 months ago The definition of “A Cynic”… A Realist LoL wulphstein wulphstein 8 months ago String theory doesn't seem to be a contender for a quantum gravity theory because a quantum gravity theory has to answer the question: what is spacetime made of? Twistor theory is the closest to answering "what is spacetime made of". But it falls short because "twisters" cannot be experimentally detected or isolated. It is the same situation with Loop Quantum Gravity. Those loops cannot be isolated either. But it is worse than that. Neither of those theories are compatible with big bang expansion. You would expect that, whatever spacetime is made of, that such "atoms of spacetime" require an "expansion" parameter because the big bang "expanded" from a point. Someone needs to come up with a quantum gravity theory that answers the question: what is spacetime made of/what are the atoms of spacetime. I would suggest calling it, the Expanding Graviton. The Expanding Graviton has three primary characteristics. 1) Expanding Gravitons are the carriers of the physics constants. 2) Expanding Gravitons are equivalent to wave functions; thus wave functions and their operators are real things; and now they are a manifestation of gravitons. 3) Expanding gravitons expand spherically, at the speed of light, with radius r = ct. Where in physics have we seen something that looks like an expanding sphere? Two places. First, the derivation of time dilation. Second, two slit interference pattern. A proper quantum gravity theory should have an experiment associated with it. I would suggest that quantum entanglements between photons, are (Captured) Gravitons; it's not really an Expanding Graviton if it is captured between two photons whose positions can be controlled with optical fiber, lenses, mirrors, etc. I would also comment that it takes a tiny amount of energy to capture a graviton; if you add up all of the gravitons in the universe, then that number of gravitons multiplied by the capture energy of a graviton should equal DARK ENERGY. More importantly, if a quantum entanglement IS a graviton, then we can do experiments on it. Someone needs to create a quantum gravity theory that looks like the outline above. Bart Mawoussi Bart Mawoussi 2 years ago I like Lee Smolin, but I subscribed because the intro by Lex totally reminds me of Rod Serling. 1 Mike Young Mike Young 2 years ago I don't believe it was necessarily an "a ha!" moment to put wheels on luggage but more just one of either laziness, or weak arms or just one of many many ideas that usually don't catch on (or didn't catch on in the past) that do catch on one day and that guy/gal is praised as a genius when it's really just an accident or a necessity for someone (or laziness). Even at one time that idea would of been ridiculed and therefore those that thought of it just didn't try it. I think it's too easy to look at someone who thought of something as a genius when it might of been simply a borrowed idea or an old idea. Doug G Doug G 2 years ago Einstein asked deep questions but if you ask questions that are too deep you better get over to philosophy if you want a job. Koroglu Rustem Koroglu Rustem 1 year ago Putting wheels under the luggage - beautiful Eric Weinsteinian metaphor for missing things in front of our eyes 1 Alan Glauber Alan Glauber 2 months ago (edited) Our human perception and imagination is real. Therefore everything is real. We perceive reality through our organic structure. That means we don't perceive all of reality but it doesn't mean we 'imagine' or 'create' the outside world in our minds. 302475 302475 1 year ago Omg, i am a layman that loves to listen to this sort of stuff. However the scientific community are still debating time? And what it is as a measurement, what are its parameters? You can’t do this if your building anything in the physical world. We don’t have perfect numbers so we build in tolerance levels instead. So nothing in the physical is perfect, yep that’s true. But to be ta;king about how to measure?.......................more importantly if the measurement method is fit for purpose because we don’t understand how to read it or how it works? I am a layman so I’m sure math works with variables and percentage out comes and so on. But wow people..........wow. House of cards comes to mind. Joseph Bertrand Joseph Bertrand 2 years ago Amazing as usual 😁😁😁😁 1 Daniel Plainview Daniel Plainview 1 year ago (edited) Not one of lex’s best. Moreover: this person may be a great scientist, but he exhibits no passion of any kind about the subjects on which he speaks. Why make such a wonderful platform so unbelievably painfully draw information. viewer viewer 2 years ago Lex has a nice humility about him. 1 db112nl db112nl 1 year ago (edited) When he said there is no future. I tried to get some intuition for that statement . Please indulge me and point me to some other ways of seeing it. Is the "present" the place where the wave function collapses? Is the past then a continuous record of collapsed (and therefore causally related) events/states, and the future doesn't exist because it has not collapsed yet and is just a fuzz of probability? Then what collapses the wave function and what sets the probabilities? Obviously I'm just a layman trying to understand reality, it hurts to imagine these things.