How Politics And Beauty Leads Physics Astray | Sabine Hossenfelder

Sabine Hossenfelder is a blogger and Theoretical Physicist who researches quantum gravity, she is also a Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. We often think of Physicists as being the smartest minds on the planet, bastions of cognitive perfection who are immune to the dogma & ideological biases of common humans. Today we learn that may not be the case. Expect to discover just how physicists' obsessions with "beautiful theories" may be holding the human race back from making it's next major leap forward, along with a fantastic background to just what how the landscape of theoretical physics looks right now. Further Reading: Sabine's Blog: http://backreaction.blogspot.com/ Follow Sabine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skdh Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray: http://amzn.eu/d/gdpo29c - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/modern-wisdom/id1347973549 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr?si=iUpczE97SJqe1kNdYBipnw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - I want to hear from you!! Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Chris WilliamsonhostSabine Hossenfelderguest

Sep 3, 201849mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: September 3, 2018
Duration: 49m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Sabine Hossenfelder is a blogger and Theoretical Physicist who researches quantum gravity, she is also a Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. We often think of Physicists as being the smartest minds on the planet, bastions of cognitive perfection who are immune to the dogma & ideological biases of common humans. Today we learn that may not be the case. Expect to discover just how physicists' obsessions with "beautiful theories" may be holding the human race back from making it's next major leap forward, along with a fantastic background to just what how the landscape of theoretical physics looks right now. Further Reading: Sabine's Blog: http://backreaction.blogspot.com/ Follow Sabine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skdh Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray: http://amzn.eu/d/gdpo29c - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/modern-wisdom/id1347973549 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr?si=iUpczE97SJqe1kNdYBipnw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - I want to hear from you!! Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Narrator
other
Sabine Hossenfelder
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Narrator, How Politics And Beauty Leads Physics Astray | Sabine Hossenfelder explores beauty, Bias, And Politics: Why Fundamental Physics May Be Stuck The conversation explores why foundational physics has seen few genuinely new breakthroughs in recent decades, despite major experimental achievements like gravitational-wave detection and the Higgs boson. Sabine Hossenfelder argues that theoretical physics is constrained by sociological forces: politics of funding, groupthink, and an aesthetic obsession with 'beautiful' theories. She critiques concepts like supersymmetry, naturalness, and grand unification as often being driven more by elegance and popularity than by empirical success. The discussion concludes with suggestions for structural reforms in science to reduce bias, encourage field-switching, and realign research with genuinely promising directions.

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