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In this episode, I speak with Frederic Schuller, an award-winning theoretical physicist and professor, who insists the undergrad tale of energy sloshing between kinetic and potential is just talk unless the math says so. Borrowing Port-Hamiltonian thinking, he’s building probability ports to pull measurement talk into actual quantum formalism—no change to QM, just sharper math. He also flips gravity: start from the matter action and construct the compatible gravitational dynamics—Maxwell in, Einstein–Hilbert out. And if nature ever breaks our current causal picture, the scheme points to richer structures (and the gravity to match)—a modest idea, pushed hard.
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Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Deriving Einstein from Maxwell Alone
- 05:55 - Why Energy Doesn't Flow in Quantum Systems
- 11:45 - How Modest Ideas Lead to Spacetime Revolution
- 19:00 - Matter Dynamics Dictate Spacetime Geometry
- 24:03 - Maxwell to Einstein-Hilbert Action
- 31:00 - If Light Rays Split in Vacuum Then Einstein is Wrong
- 38:04 - When Your Theory is Wrong
- 46:10 - From Propositional Logic to Differential Geometry
- 54:00 - Never Use Motivating Examples
- 1:02:00 - Why Only Active Researchers Should Teach
- 1:09:40 - High Demands as Greatest Motivator
- 1:16:00 - Is Gravity a Force?
- 1:27:00 - Academic Freedom vs Bureaucratic Science
- 1:38:00 - Why String Theory Didn't Feel Right
- 1:46:05 - Formal vs Conceptual Understanding
- 1:54:10 - Master Any Subject: Check Every Equal Sign
- 2:04:00 - The Drama of Blackboard Teaching
- 2:13:15 - Why Physical Presence Matters in Universities
Links Mentioned:
- Frederic’s Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations
- Frederic’s Lectures: https://www.youtube.com/@FredericSchuller
- Frederic’s Bio: https://people.utwente.nl/f.p.schuller
- General Relativity Lecture Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist
- Quantum Harmonic Oscillator [Lecture]: https://youtu.be/s3I_MGfGm-w
- Constructive Gravity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.09726
- Geometry Of Manifolds [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-th/0508170
- Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/7oWip00iXbo
- Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU
- All Possible Paths [TOE]: https://youtu.be/XcY3ZtgYis0
- Neil Turok [TOE]: https://youtu.be/ZUp9x44N3uE
- Space-Time Structure [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Space-Time-Structure-Cambridge-Science-Classics/dp/0521315204
- Greg Chaitin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/PoEuav8G6sY
- Ivette Fuentes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc
- Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8
- Eva Miranda [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6XyMepn-AZo
- Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6Z_p3viqW1g
- String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY
- Sabine Hossenfelder [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E3y-Z0pgupg
- Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok
- What Is Energy? [TOE]: https://youtu.be/hQk9GLZ0Fms
- Claudia De Rham [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Ve_Mpd6dGv8
SUPPORT:
- Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos):
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SOCIALS:
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