Big Think Physics: The big questions of existence | Sabine Hossenfelder
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Sep 29, 2025 
In this intriguing conversation, physicist Sabine Hossenfelder shares her journey from mathematics to physics, driven by a desire to understand nature's complexities. She explores the mysteries of time, entropy, and the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. Hossenfelder challenges the notion that we are nearing the end of scientific discovery, arguing instead that unresolved questions in quantum gravity still await answers. She suggests that breakthroughs in these areas could lead to revolutionary technological advancements.
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Taxi Question That Sparked A Book
- Sabine Hossenfelder recounts a taxi conversation that sparked her book idea after a DJ asked if quantum mechanics proves his grandmother still lives.
- The exchange revealed how physics questions inform everyday spiritual beliefs and motivated accessible science communication.
Relativity Erases A Universal Now
- Einstein's relativity removes a universal 'now' because simultaneity depends on the observer's motion.
- The block-universe view follows: past, present, and future exist equally, so 'now' has no fundamental status.
Block Universe Meets Quantum Uncertainty
- Combining space and time yields spacetime and the block-universe where all times coexist equally.
- Quantum mechanics complicates this by adding measurement randomness, so the future need not pre-exist until observed.
