tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post8391468505741668451..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: What should everybody know about the foundations of physics?Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42219468055050007522015-05-11T14:26:00.624-04:002015-05-11T14:26:00.624-04:00Lovely post!
Being myself one of those who attempt...Lovely post!<br />Being myself one of those who attempted to drift away from the shores of pop-science into the depths of technical knowledge, I think this problem really needs a good tackle.<br />You see, I started off really cranky. Imagine that what inspired me to really dive into physics were 3 movies: what the bleep do we know, the secret and mindwalk. Thankfully, I am such a curious person Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04096031865135202685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-63979426506578709362015-05-11T08:34:50.473-04:002015-05-11T08:34:50.473-04:00Good post. I wish there were more math in how phys...Good post. I wish there were more math in how physics is usually presented to the general public, or at least more acknowledgement of the fact that without the math you're at best being presented with a flawed metaphor.<br /><br />Regarding why people spend time reformulating a theory that works perfectly well, perhaps the hope is to do what Einstein did for the Lorentz transformations, that tim314https://www.blogger.com/profile/05239614523964326844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-85218571393269849852015-05-02T19:42:54.609-04:002015-05-02T19:42:54.609-04:00If the man who invented football was alive, l seri...If the man who invented football was alive, l seriously doubt that he'd be the best player.<br /><br />Furthermore, l seriously doubt that the first men to play football were much better than those who came after.<br /><br />Inasmuch, today's modern theorist probably knows more about quantum field theory than Bohr ever did.<br /><br />The point is that the foundations are often less claverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11969722227596214282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-55248035751861894892015-04-30T05:03:18.326-04:002015-04-30T05:03:18.326-04:00Phillip,
I doubt it. Sure, there are the super-po...Phillip,<br /><br />I doubt it. Sure, there are the super-popular exceptions, but you can count them on your fingers. The vast majority, if they can live from it, make extra money with freelancing and public lectures and so on. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-38291074107653247292015-04-30T03:53:40.615-04:002015-04-30T03:53:40.615-04:00"Writing popular science books is not somethi...<i>"Writing popular science books is not something one can live from, sad but true."</i><br /><br />Actually, one can. Not everyone can, of course, but it is possible. Isaac Asimov, for example, made a very good living from it. (He "retired" from his biochemistry professorship after he started making much more by writing.) I'm sure Carl Sagan earned quite a bit. Many Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-48391667196165830732015-04-29T22:39:34.315-04:002015-04-29T22:39:34.315-04:00" . . . movies with sexy women . . ."
H..." . . . movies with sexy women . . ."<br /><br />Hmmmm. For followers of this blog, I'd imagine that one sort of hits home. (Sigh.)DocGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17359004200002936544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57842887276652407962015-04-29T13:45:00.532-04:002015-04-29T13:45:00.532-04:00Hi Sabine,
Thanks for your interesting post. I ag...Hi Sabine,<br /><br />Thanks for your interesting post. I agree with most of your points. Regarding quantum foundations, as a graduate student in this field, maybe I can offer some answers to your questions.<br /><br /><< Even I honestly don’t understand the point of much of the research in quantum foundations, so if you needed any indication that public outreach in quantum foundations maanelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08870457696505902837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-47704579136605429912015-04-29T12:04:55.502-04:002015-04-29T12:04:55.502-04:00CIP,
Not sure where the trucks came in... Sure, y...CIP,<br /><br />Not sure where the trucks came in... Sure, you still need some explanation about what are the things in the equation. What is an equation? It's a collection of mathematical objects related by operations. All you really need is that somebody explains you what these things mean, and in principle you're good to go. I mean, take the Friedmann equations as example. These are Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-2756540014004345122015-04-29T12:00:28.825-04:002015-04-29T12:00:28.825-04:00Nicolas,
In fact, this is the exact same thing th...Nicolas,<br /><br />In fact, this is the exact same thing that I've been thinking about! Maybe one day if I have the time I'll get serious about it...<br /><br />I love the batik shirt. Unfortunately it's 20 years old and has several holes and is about to fall apart :( I have to find myself a new one somewhere. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-39994503324319432162015-04-29T11:57:45.521-04:002015-04-29T11:57:45.521-04:00Rastus,
In principle I agree with you, but in pra...Rastus,<br /><br />In principle I agree with you, but in practice it's a question of demand and supply. If people want to read about what nonsense has been posted on the arxiv yesterday, then that's what pop sci outlets will write about. I don't think most readers realize that much of what they're being fed in these outlets is nonsense. I don't like that because I can Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-69820941000082651702015-04-29T11:50:23.830-04:002015-04-29T11:50:23.830-04:00Andrew,
Yes, I'm with you on that. I think we...Andrew,<br /><br />Yes, I'm with you on that. I think we really shouldn't treat people like they are stupid. It's good if there are really simple explanations, but why stop there? Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-68704255652858716902015-04-29T11:48:34.353-04:002015-04-29T11:48:34.353-04:00JimV,
No, it doesn't annoy me. But there are ...JimV,<br /><br />No, it doesn't annoy me. But there are only so many hours in the day. As I said, in the end it comes down to the question who does it and who pays for it. Writing popular science books is not something one can live from, sad but true. Best,<br /><br />B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-46717977086314990712015-04-29T11:47:13.208-04:002015-04-29T11:47:13.208-04:00John,
Yes, it's a good approach! I don't ...John,<br /><br />Yes, it's a good approach! I don't think though that one size fits all, this will work for some and not for other. Best,<br /><br />B.<br /><br />Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-45024489322222568082015-04-29T10:42:51.467-04:002015-04-29T10:42:51.467-04:00"making movies with sexy women is the way to ..."<i>making movies with sexy women is the way to better communicate physics</i>" for males. For females, men with wealth and power. "<i>send me their new theory of quantum mechanics</i>" Newton has two defective postulates immune to derivation. Substituting empirical postulates hurts, re Galileo. "It contradicts accepted theory."<br /> <br />"<i> whether we Uncle Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056804084187606211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-70148245023200961582015-04-29T06:52:43.053-04:002015-04-29T06:52:43.053-04:00"I think it's both inspiring and educatio..."I think it's both inspiring and educational to give good explanations of physics that's well-understood to experts but not most people." - John Baez, previous comment.<br /><br />There's something in this: accessibility. When people are interested, there should be material 'at the next level' for them to explore further.<br /><br />For example, for any given 'JSVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06918509400932667094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-33636019144279214242015-04-29T02:54:19.244-04:002015-04-29T02:54:19.244-04:00I know a lot of physicists who won't touch out...I know a lot of physicists who won't touch outreach with a ten-foot pole, and the recent flood of examples where people have been using pop-sci to hype their work has only hardened that attitude. I firmly believe that outreach, of any kind, should never focus on the latest research. The reason for the recent catastrophic decline in the standards of New Scientist and Scientific American etc isRastus Odinga Odingahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615544434035028500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-61023709404647726712015-04-28T20:51:47.985-04:002015-04-28T20:51:47.985-04:00An interesting concept is the development of popul...An interesting concept is the development of popular science on several levels either: a text without equation using analogies, the same information but with a text with basic algebra, a text with differential equations and / or base matricial calculus and a final text with the specialized symbolic. Thus the reader can go as far as he wants and build bridges between the different levels of Nicolas Pouparthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17722878242014554884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57636569239374126142015-04-28T16:07:13.821-04:002015-04-28T16:07:13.821-04:00Nice article, sounds like an interesting time. I&...Nice article, sounds like an interesting time. I'm a little confused about what's meant by foundations of physics as opposed to...well, just physics research. That is, foundations = Measurement Theory as opposed to the Higgs Boson? Or something different...?<br /><br />For myself, when I teach in classes or whenever I speak to the public, my perspective is one of being grateful for chiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09530333941223149411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-46688952907585934372015-04-28T15:34:28.746-04:002015-04-28T15:34:28.746-04:00I think it's both inspiring and educational to...I think it's both inspiring and educational to give good explanations of physics that's well-understood to experts but not most people. How can you measure the diameter of the Earth? How can you then use that to measure the distance to the Moon? These are experiments ordinary people can do, made much easier by a touch of modern technology. Eratosthenes had to work to measure the John Baezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573268162105600948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-15340501174155932532015-04-28T14:01:19.744-04:002015-04-28T14:01:19.744-04:00There are an increasing number of books which are ...There are an increasing number of books which are aimed at those with a modest competence in mathematics - textbooks on particle physics and cosmology not aimed at either specialists or the general public.<br /><br />However, I don't see a parallel between understanding the fundamental equation of general relativity and some sentence about trucks in Swedish. The sentence about trucks in CapitalistImperialistPighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17523405806602731435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-23148328472192688142015-04-28T13:48:35.694-04:002015-04-28T13:48:35.694-04:00I absolutely agree that differential equations, or...I absolutely agree that differential equations, or virtually any equation, are not difficult once you figure out what the symbols mean. So many popular science books have that jokey patronising tone, treating readers like dummies. Drives me mad. And don't get me started on Brian "takes an hour to explain something really simple" Cox.Andrew Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03852211910001840777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-22511025764756685882015-04-28T13:37:15.798-04:002015-04-28T13:37:15.798-04:00The number one review of Weinberg's new popula...The number one review of Weinberg's new popular science book at Amazon includes praise for the author for not assuming that the reader is "one of those mutants who remembers what a cosine is."CapitalistImperialistPighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17523405806602731435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-43331771177695997302015-04-28T12:55:17.465-04:002015-04-28T12:55:17.465-04:00"This inspiration-education-gap is sometimes ..."This inspiration-education-gap is sometimes so large that it creates an illusion of knowledge among those only reading the inspirational literature." This illusion is also helped by the availability of knowledge from the internet. It is possible to google the terms being used in current level research discussions ("conformal invariance", "instanton", "NMHV Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18276581284031181874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-60893668022803641192015-04-28T12:53:20.317-04:002015-04-28T12:53:20.317-04:00Good post. I contributed to a post-conference deba...Good post. I contributed to a post-conference debate on this in 2008. I'll see if I can dig out my resulting letter. I'll spare you the details by not posting it here - instead, here are the pertinent points of what I remember:<br /><br />It's important to inspire, but those attempting to 'make a difference' should have enough information to know if their ideas are JSVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06918509400932667094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-89915984613334034352015-04-28T12:34:14.191-04:002015-04-28T12:34:14.191-04:00I have been frustrated with popular science books ...I have been frustrated with popular science books that don't include any math. I don't feel I have any real understanding if I don't know the math - which I might not understand anyway, but at least I would know why and what I would have to do (study the math) to gain understanding. When presenting math, though, I think examples should be given. It is easy to misunderstand terminologyJimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.com