Jim Gates: Supersymmetry, String Theory and Proving Einstein Right

Jim Gates (S James Gates Jr.) is a theoretical physicist and
professor at Brown University working on supersymmetry,
supergravity, and superstring theory. He served on former
President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
He is the co-author of a new book titled Proving Einstein Right
about the scientists who set out to prove Einstein’s theory of
relativity.


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Episode Links:
Proving Einstein Right (book)


Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you
should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.


00:00 – Introduction
03:13 – Will we ever venture outside our solar system?
05:16 – When will the first human step foot on Mars?
11:14 – Are we alone in the universe?
13:55 – Most beautiful idea in physics
16:29 – Can the mind be digitized?
21:15 – Does the possibility of superintelligence excite
you?
22:25 – Role of dreaming in creativity and mathematical
thinking
30:51 – Existential threats
31:46 – Basic particles underlying our universe
41:28 – What is supersymmetry?
52:19 – Adinkra symbols
1:00:24 – String theory
1:07:02 – Proving Einstein right and experimental validation of
general relativity
1:19:07 – Richard Feynman
1:22:01 – Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology
1:30:20 – Exciting problems in physics that are just within our
reach
1:31:26 – Mortality