TEDTalk Tuesday: String Theory

[Occulus]

This week's TEDTALKTUESDAY is given by a theoretical physicist who is well-known for his work in string theory. A professor at Columbia University, author of two books, and co-director of the University's Institute for Strings, Cosmology, and Astroparticle Physics (ISCAP), today's speaker seems to have a knack for presenting string theory to the public in a nontechnical and accessible way.

Enjoy!

BRIANGREENE

Talk Title: The universe on a string (video runtime: 19:06)



Brian Greene

wiki bio

About this Talk

In clear, nontechnical language, string theorist Brian Greene explains how our understanding of the universe has evolved from Einstein's notions of gravity and space-time to superstring theory, where minuscule strands of energy vibrating in 11 dimensions create every particle and force in the universe. (This mind-bending theory may soon be put to the test at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.)

[KatyMan]

1. Great talk

and great site. Man, I wish I were smrt!

[Occulus]

2. Kicking because this is just a cool talk

Is it just me, or does he look a bit like David Duchovny?

[truebrit71]

5. Yeah, he's got that Mulder thing goin' on..

..!

[hyphenate]

3. Very cool.

If the Large Hadron Collider is being built in Geneva, I assume that it will be at CERN? I remember when I was doing some research earlier, and on the parallel dimensions/string theory, that CERN scientists had been involved to a degree.

I'm glad I retain enough of my mind to still enjoy science and how, as a science fiction fan, I see things being created and discovered that were once only something SF writers thought about. Let's face it: a Dick Tracy watch-radio is essentially fact, and both parallel dimensions and time travel are just a short distance away. And just think--star travel and transporter beams are even possible with just a little extra effort.

Sorry--I get carried away sometimes. :)

[sammythecat]

4. I'll look forward to watching tonight.

Thanks for the heads-up. TED is a great resource.

[girl gone mad]

6. And for anyone who might be interested in alternative views..

within the scientific community, I highly recommend Peter Woit's Not Even Wrong blog:

http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/