Carlo Rovelli: Quantum Weirdness!? ​(#205)

Carlo Rovelli was born in Italy, is a US citizen and lives in
France. His main activity is in theoretical physics, where he is
known as one of the founders of loop quantum gravity. He has also
interests in the history and philosophy of science. He has written
"Quantum Gravity", a treatise on loop quantum gravity and, for the
large public, "The First Scientist: Anaximander and his Legacy",
which is primarily a reflection on the nature of science. The book
is translated in five languages and has been awarded by the "Prix
du Livre Haute Maurienne". Rovelli has worked in various
Universities in Italy, the US and France. He is currently head of
the quantum gravity group at the Center For Theoretical Physics of
the Aix-Marseille University. He is Honorary Professor of the
Normal University of Beijing, and member of the International
Academy for the Philosophy of Science. In his latest book,
Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The
quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving.
Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the
twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial
breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a
century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost
waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats
that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to
countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our
understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still
profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to
fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its
most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world
as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We
and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one
another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about
the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness.
Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost
psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he
takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can
better comprehend our place in it. Please join my mailing list;
just click here http://briankeating.com/mailing_list.php 
Please contact sales@advertisecast.com to learn more about
sponsoring Into the Impossible. Learn more about your ad choices.
Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices