Cumrun Vafa: Puzzles to Unravel the Universe (2020)

Is string theory actually science? Many argue that string theory
cannot be proven and should therefore be abandoned. For them,
string theory is not science at all. But are they right? I had the
pleasure of discussing this with none other than Cumrun Vafa!
Cumrun is a Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the
Department of Physics at Harvard University, where he has been
researching and teaching theoretical physics since 1985. His
primary area of research is string theory.  In our interview,
we discussed whether we should trust string theory, fine-tuning,
and the message he'd put into a billion-year time capsule. We also
talked about his book Puzzles to Unravel the Universe.  Tune
in to learn about string theory! Key Takeaways:  00:00:00
Intro 00:01:20 Judging a book by its cover 00:03:35 What is a
puzzle versus a mystery? 00:06:06 Black hole entropy 00:08:12
Godel's Theorem: Are some puzzles not solvable? 00:12:04 Is string
theory actually science? 00:17:15 Dimensional analysis 00:21:15
Singularities 00:28:31 ADS and 5 dimensions 00:30:48 String theory
00:34:49 Supersymmetry 00:40:22 On religion 00:52:45 A scorecard
for physics 00:55:21 What would your "ethical will" be? 01:02:50
What have you accomplished that once seemed impossible? 01:06:30
Outro  Additional resources:  ️ Learn more about Cumrun
Vafa: Puzzles to Unravel the Universe: https://a.co/d/iWnNDup 
Cumrun’s website: https://www.cumrunvafa.org/  ️ Follow me on
your fav platforms: ️ Twitter: https://x.com/DrBrianKeating
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ️ Check out my
blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ ️ Follow my podcast:
https://briankeating.com/podcast Member's only playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUMOmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw
Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to
all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the
known. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn
more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices