You’re not a physicist, but want to get your physics fix? Not a problem – Lee Smolin is coming to UBC.
This is cool. Just noticed that Lee Smolin is coming to St. John’s College next week (Oct 10th). He’s a great science writer, who recently published the best seller, The Trouble with Physics. The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next.
In this groundbreaking book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that physics — the basis for all other sciences — has lost its way. For more than two centuries, our understanding of the laws of nature expanded rapidly. But today, despite our best efforts, we know nothing more about these laws than we knew in the 1970s. Why is physics suddenly in trouble?
Anyway, definitely worth checking out if you have time next wednesday (it’s free!!). Full details below the fold.
Title: The Unfinished Revolution: Space, Time and the Quantum
Description: Between 1905 and 1926 Einstein, Bohr and others initiated a scientific revolution by the introduction of quantum mechanics and relativity theory. The revolution is unfortunately still incomplete, because there are major issues unresolved. These include the question of how to combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory of nature as well as unresolved questions about meaning of quantum mechanics and how it can be extended to cosmology, In this talk I describe the present status of research aimed at these questions. We will begin with the most basic questions as to the nature of space and time,and end with some predictions for results of ongoing experiments that some approaches to quantum gravity imply.
Website: pitp.physics.ubc.ca/quant_lect/2008/smolin.html
Time/Locale: 7:30 pm, Wednesday, October 10, 2007. Fairmont Social Lounge, St. John’s College
