Quantum Mechanics and Dark Matter

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Back in the 1920s we didn't actually have any single very good theory of quantum mechanics. But starting in the 50s with Bomiian mechanics and many worlds, we have now a handful of perfectly good physical theories that all give the same predictions. That's a weak understanding. We kind of have theories that might be right, but we don't know if any one of them is right or even if the one that will turn out to be right is one they haven't invented yet.

Physics is in crisis, what else is new? That's what we hear in certain corners, anyway, usually pointed at "fundamental" physics of particles and fields. (Condensed matter and biophysics etc. are just fine.) In this solo podcast I ruminate on the unusual situation fundamental physics finds itself in, where we have a theoretical understanding that fits almost all the data, but which nobody believes to be the final answer. I talk about how we got here, and argue that it's not really a "crisis" in any real sense. But there are ways I think the academic community could handle the problem better, especially by making more space for respectable but minority approaches to deep puzzles.

Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/31/245-solo-the-crisis-in-physics/

Support Mindscape on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.