155 | Stephen Wolfram on Computation, Hypergraphs, and Fundamental Physics
July 12, 2021
2 hr 40 min
155
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169 of 432
Episode 155 · July 12, 2021
155 | Stephen Wolfram on Computation, Hypergraphs, and Fundamental Physics
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2:40:46This episode155 | Stephen Wolfram on Computation, Hypergraphs, and Fundamental Physics
Summary
<p>It's not easy, figuring out the fundamental laws of physics. It's even harder when your chosen methodology is to essentially start from scratch, positing a simple underlying system and a simple set of rules for it, and hope that everything we know about the world somehow pops out. That's the project being undertaken by Stephen Wolfram and his collaborators, who are working with a kind of discrete system called "hypergraphs." We talk about what the basic ideas are, why one would choose this particular angle of attack on fundamental physics, and how ideas like quantum mechanics and general relativity might emerge from this simple framework.</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>Stephen Wolfram received his Ph.D. in physics from Caltech. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, and the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language. Among his awards are a MacArthur Fellowship. Among his books is <a href="https://www.wolframscience.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>A New Kind of Science</em></a>. He recently launched the <a href="https://www.wolframphysics.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wolfram Physics Project</a>.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.stephenwolfram.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.wolfram.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wolfram Research</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoDZKlcdPNM&ab_channel=TheRoyalInstitution" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Talk on Computation and Fundamental Physics</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Wolfram/e/B01HTZP7PQ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon.com author page</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Wolfram" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/stephen_wolfram" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> </ul> <p><br /></p>
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