Anthony Aguirre: Cosmological Koans (#184)

Physicist Anthony Aguirre studies the formation, nature, and
evolution of the universe, focusing primarily on the model of
eternal inflation—the idea that inflation goes on forever in some
regions of universe—and what it may mean for the ultimate beginning
of the universe and time. He is the co-founder and associate
scientific director of the Foundational Questions Institute, which
supports research on questions at the foundations and new frontiers
of physics and cosmology. Anthony is also a co-founder of the
Future of Life Institute, an organization aiming to increase the
probability that life has a future, and of Metaculus, an effort to
optimally aggregate predictions about scientific discoveries,
technological breakthroughs, and other interesting issues.
Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality,
physicist Anthony Aguirre explores deep questions about the nature
of reality, using an approach inspired by Zen koans to take the
reader on a thought-provoking tour of the cosmos and the core ideas
of modern physics. The book covers a wide range of topics, woven
together with a fictional storyline that recounts a journey from
Italy to Japan. Multiple universes, the nature of time, the meaning
of quantum theory, and entropy and information are among the
subjects explored. @AnthonyNAguirre http://fqxi.org/
http://www.futureoflife.org/
https://www.amazon.com/Cosmological-Koans-Journey-Physical-Reality/dp/0393609219
00:00:00 Intro 00:06:22 Why did you right Cosmological Koans?
00:11:48 How do you reconcile the mysteries unanswered by physics?
00:17:08 Are you a Buddhist? Views on theology and the nature of
reality. 00:22:18 Do we need a theory of everything? 00:31:56 Why
did you set the book for when you did in the 1600s? 00:39:01 About
the historic period in which the book is set. 00:41:23 What you
have to say about cosmogenesis and big bang cosmology? 00:50:52
Thoughts on the multiverse theory. Could other universes have
different constants? 01:11:56 How much of physics/cosmology is
really sociology and our need to believe? 01:21:42 What discovery
gift of knowledge would you put into a time capsule for the ages?
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