tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post3317794397387611426..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Hello from UtrechtSabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-61549470669286505592009-12-13T15:43:41.997-05:002009-12-13T15:43:41.997-05:00Hi Arjen,
” I'm thinking of the historical an...Hi Arjen,<br /><br />” I'm thinking of the historical and philosophical aspects of physics and mathematics”<br /><br />Well you do have a talent for having a fellow feel better, for if there be any areas I’m confident in having a broader understanding of it would be these two. I find both the history and philosophy regarding scientific discovery as to being as important elements to theory asPhil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42868851895703654392009-12-13T15:19:45.771-05:002009-12-13T15:19:45.771-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-37834129503529802842009-12-13T06:34:34.088-05:002009-12-13T06:34:34.088-05:00Hello Phil,
I agree on the fact that the institut...Hello Phil,<br /><br />I agree on the fact that the institutionalisation of science, although it protects and feeds the development of research, has the undesired side effect of hindering comprehension of its benefits by outsiders. Blogs such as Bee's and forums such as FQXi's are good means to bridge the gap.<br /><br />Upon discussing 't Hooft's list, I became aware that there Arjen Dijksmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450431291713605237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-25327709615306287822009-12-11T07:34:09.462-05:002009-12-11T07:34:09.462-05:00Hi Arjen,
It’s nice that you would attempt to let...Hi Arjen,<br /><br />It’s nice that you would attempt to let me of the hook as to what’s required to become a good theorist, however its not necessary since I’ve never had any such delusions in every have being one. As to the dream that I do hold dear that being one day there may be a noble prize awarded to someone never attending a university or a resident of a physical ivory tower, I’m more Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-79465017420782381542009-12-10T17:30:07.598-05:002009-12-10T17:30:07.598-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Arjen Dijksmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450431291713605237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-27145041137184520442009-12-10T17:29:26.995-05:002009-12-10T17:29:26.995-05:00Hello Georg,
I looked those "skylights"...Hello Georg,<br /><br />I looked those "skylights" up in wikipedia. I didn't know they were called <a href="http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovenlicht" rel="nofollow">bovenlicht</a> in Dutch. The British name seems to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanlight" rel="nofollow">fanlight</a> or transom.<br /><br />Dutch people love indeed large windows for the light that sheds Arjen Dijksmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450431291713605237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-39702688466475392542009-12-10T17:07:11.731-05:002009-12-10T17:07:11.731-05:00Hi Phil,
't Hooft's list is indeed labori...Hi Phil,<br /><br />'t Hooft's list is indeed laborious. In fact, I didn't mean to say that a wannabe physicist needs to get through the totality of the stuff, before he may call himself a physicist (I would be nowhere in that case). I quote from a paper from François Ollivier, <i>Jacobi's bound - Transmission and oblivion of a mathematical notion</i> (by the way it is Jacobi'Arjen Dijksmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450431291713605237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-41131881421573966202009-12-09T07:56:32.028-05:002009-12-09T07:56:32.028-05:00It's nice to read all this stuff and comments ...<i>It's nice to read all this stuff and comments about Holland close to groundwater, Utrecht, steep stairs, large living room windows, all things very familiar to me;-)</i><br />Hello Arjen,<br />You did not mention one thing which is <br />very characteristic for the Netherlands, <br />those "skylights" (or what ever <br />the English name may be) on top of the<br />doors and Georghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02538391164351204407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-80044997615950902962009-12-09T05:19:05.872-05:002009-12-09T05:19:05.872-05:00Hi Arjen,
Thanks for that link to Gerard t’Hooft’...Hi Arjen,<br /><br />Thanks for that link to Gerard t’Hooft’s list of required study for it certainly emphasises what I was saying of him being a genuine person, who believes the world would be a better place if more looked at things from a scientific perspective. Too bad I hadn’t had such a list and resource at my disposal more the thirty years ago for by now I might have been half way there:-)Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-22307184400862256292009-12-09T02:37:27.673-05:002009-12-09T02:37:27.673-05:00Hi Phil,
Sorry, the site I linked to seems to be ...Hi Phil,<br /><br />Sorry, the site I linked to seems to be the upcoming seminars. My talk listed there when I looked the last time. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-9936635324065170772009-12-08T17:24:43.534-05:002009-12-08T17:24:43.534-05:00Hi Bee,
It's nice to read all this stuff and c...Hi Bee,<br />It's nice to read all this stuff and comments about Holland close to groundwater, Utrecht, steep stairs, large living room windows, all things very familiar to me;-) The center of all Dutch historical towns close to or below sea level have the same urban pattern (except The Hague): canal + river surrounding a dense grid of ditches and bridges, narrow streets and houses, with one Arjen Dijksmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09450431291713605237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-92179270356116025382009-12-08T10:27:31.614-05:002009-12-08T10:27:31.614-05:00Hi Phil,
I don`t find your name on the list you l...Hi Phil,<br /><br /><i>I don`t find your name on the list you linked to.</i><br /><br />it seems Sabine has given a "<a href="http://www1.phys.uu.nl/wwwitf/Seminars/Grafiti.htm" rel="nofollow">Grafiti</a>" seminar.<br /><br />Cheers, Stefanstefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-68676333699589294522009-12-08T08:27:47.695-05:002009-12-08T08:27:47.695-05:00No-o-o! Loops over Love? Well if he is doing loop ...No-o-o! Loops over Love? Well if he is doing loop calcs, here's hoping he makes an even number of sign change mistakes (and zero is always an option)! :-P<br /><br />I just became turned on to a new arXIv blog, btw. Click <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/" rel="nofollow">here</a> to see it.Steven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-79157004348720446552009-12-08T07:43:08.203-05:002009-12-08T07:43:08.203-05:00Hi Bee,
I`m somewhat confused for I don`t find yo...Hi Bee,<br /><br />I`m somewhat confused for I don`t find your name on the list you linked to. Besides that there is a lecture shown here to be given by someone they only refer to as Grimm, with no first name geing offerred. I was wondering if the Grimm Reaper moonlights as a physicist and hope that when doing so he leaves his sickle at home:-)<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />PhilPhil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-33705975472725179422009-12-08T07:07:47.474-05:002009-12-08T07:07:47.474-05:00Hi Bee,
With the hotel rooms being as small as yo...Hi Bee,<br /><br />With the hotel rooms being as small as you describe it would provide additional incentive for wanting to get out and have a look around. I do however find their tradition of having their large living room windows facing the street quite strange. Yet perhaps it’s as much as to have them able to see the world passing by, with little thought given regarding their own need for Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-14246338971167959862009-12-08T07:02:36.003-05:002009-12-08T07:02:36.003-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-71961342397714477872009-12-08T01:07:31.686-05:002009-12-08T01:07:31.686-05:00Hi Steven,
Yes, I did see Renate Loll. Regarding ...Hi Steven,<br /><br />Yes, I did see Renate Loll. Regarding the love letter, well, there was a guy sitting on a desk, writing something, looking as if he was thinking very hard. It made me wonder what it might have been he was thinking about. At second thought it seemed very unlikely he was calculating some loop diagrams though. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-70942718367453660942009-12-08T00:53:04.911-05:002009-12-08T00:53:04.911-05:00Hi Robert, Pope,
I understand it as part of my jo...Hi Robert, Pope,<br /><br />I understand it as part of my job to communicate my research, inside the community as well as to the public. If I sit around and spend my whole life thinking about Nature nobody but me had anything from it. This would be quite egoistic and not a good investment of public money. I usually give a handful seminars per year. Presently I am giving much more seminars than Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-36668144140662104752009-12-08T00:44:30.860-05:002009-12-08T00:44:30.860-05:00Hi Phil,
Indeed, I was reminded of Paris as well ...Hi Phil,<br /><br />Indeed, I was reminded of Paris as well :-) I didn't pick the hotel or the room, this was organized by the university. The hotel is quite nice otherwise. The average hotel room in North America would be roughly three times as large as this one though. (As you can see however, the wireless works very well). Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-81957823458014896352009-12-08T00:38:25.628-05:002009-12-08T00:38:25.628-05:00That "hotel" stairwell looked pretty cra...That "hotel" stairwell looked pretty crappy. No elevator? How backward! Apparently Utrecht doesn't have much a tourist industryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-24601083246334328252009-12-08T00:13:00.375-05:002009-12-08T00:13:00.375-05:00Hi Arjen,
So you are originally from the Netherla...Hi Arjen,<br /><br />So you are originally from the Netherlands, well that certainly clears up a mystery for me, since Dijksman didn’t seem to be a French moniker. So it seems like me you have an interest in the work of Gerard t’Hooft. I wish I could say to have spoken to him as Bee is able, yet I can boast to have been about thirty feet away from him when he gave a public lecture ate PI. I Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-48505710573700980932009-12-07T23:11:30.500-05:002009-12-07T23:11:30.500-05:00Hi Bee,
Looking at all those stairs you have to c...Hi Bee,<br /><br />Looking at all those stairs you have to climb to reach your hotel room is reminiscent of my reading of living in Paris apartments in the (pre-elevator) nineteenth century, where the lower the floor the more expensive the apartment. So to use similar logic I hope they gave you a discount or did you pick your room intentionally in the interest of higher learning:-) One thing forPhil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-508643028790553572009-12-07T20:30:30.565-05:002009-12-07T20:30:30.565-05:00Maximize free time; tough it out with a grunt job ...Maximize free time; tough it out with a grunt job - that was Einstein's strategy.<br /><br />Of course there are very few purists like him and yourself around these days.<br /><br />In my opinion, nothing trumps the freedom to follow your own intuition. Savor it!<br /><br />;)<br />RLO<br />Pseudo-predictions lead to pseudoscienceRobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-39593091443641391272009-12-07T19:59:34.925-05:002009-12-07T19:59:34.925-05:00RLO asked, and I will answer from my own extremely...RLO asked, and I will answer from my own extremely atypical perspective:<br /><br />"Is being a theoretical physicist sort of like being a motivational speaker these days?"<br /><br />Sadly, the answer is yes.<br /><br />"How many seminars do you give/attend a year?"<br /><br />None. I don't go to seminars because they are unbearably boring, and it would be hypocritical toPope Maledict XVInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-79503313091158154862009-12-07T19:00:15.909-05:002009-12-07T19:00:15.909-05:00Hi Bee, glad to see love letters have priority ove...Hi Bee, glad to see love letters have priority over calculations. Arguable which is sexier though. I call a tie ... well, it depends which calculation, I suppose, but you can never go wrong with Dirac! What a love machine! Hermann and Erwin ain't got nothing on Dirac! Wait a minute ... he used both. :-)<br /><br />Did you see Renate Loll, one of the 3 founders of Buckyspace aka Causal Steven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.com