149 | Lee Smolin on Time, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality
May 31, 2021
1 hr 29 min
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Episode 149 · May 31, 2021
149 | Lee Smolin on Time, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality
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1:29:25This episode149 | Lee Smolin on Time, Philosophy, and the Nature of Reality
Summary
<p>The challenge to a theoretical physicist pushing beyond our best current theories is that there are too many ways to go. What parts of the existing paradigm do you keep, which do you discard, and why make those choices? Among today's theorists, Lee Smolin is unusually reflective about what principles should guide us in the construction of new theories. And he is happy to suggest radical revisions to well-established ideas, in areas from the nature of time to the workings of quantum mechanics. We talk about time, the universe, the role of philosophy, a new picture of spacetime, and the future of physics.</p> <p><em>Support Mindscape on </em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>Lee Smolin received his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. He is currently on the faculty of the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada, where he was a founding member. Among his awards are the Majorana Prize, the Klopsteg Memorial Award, and the Buchalter Cosmology Prize. He is the author of several books, most recently <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/einstein-s-unfinished-revolution-the-search-for-what-lies-beyond-the-quantum/9780143111160" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum</em></a>.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://leesmolin.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li> <li><a href="https://perimeterinstitute.ca/people/lee-smolin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Perimeter Institute page</a></li> <li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-_NhnG4AAAAJ&hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Smolin/e/B000APDUXE%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Smolin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>
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