The Day Physicists Broke Reality - Dr. Alberto Martinez, UTAustin, DemystiCon '24 DSPod #245

Today we're proud to share another talk from DemystiCon '24 with legendary history of physics, Dr. Alberto Martinez from the University of Texas, Austin. This is our second podcast with Dr. Martinez, unpacking the hidden history of the physicists that brought us to the strange quantum foundation for reality where reality stops making sense. In his talk, Dr. Martinez explores a few key moments where things appear to have gone astray around the turn of the 20th century. He then entertains a luxuriously deep Q&A session exploring solution sets, alternative approaches to physics education, and the role of epistemic humility in truly productive science. Professor Martinez is a prolific, and ingenious author and we can't recommend his books enough. Tell us your thoughts in the comments!!! Sign up for our Patreon and get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB Grab one of Dr. Martinez' many books and support both us and the author here: https://amzn.to/4a0tnt6 (00:00) Go! (00:37:12) Q&A (00:37:12) Debates over the nature of negative and imaginary numbers (00:41:05) If Niels Bohr had been a regular mechanic instead of a quantum mechanic, how would history have gone differently? (00:45:04) On the helical travel of light (01:00:25) What should physics education look like? (01:05:20) Are experimental apparatuses obscuring the real meaning of results? (01:09:57) How did the history of the world affect the evolution of physics? (01:19:52) What was Niels Bohr's Problem? (01:21:42) The seductive influence of fame (01:23:35) Is obscurantism a way of never saying "I don't know"? (01:25:17) How difficult are honest assessments of any influential field? (01:29:07) How does mathematics play into the power of physics? (01:40:14) How do "particles" contribute to the confusion at the heart of physics? (01:46:38) Has the word "materialism" been ruined? (01:53:45) Who else played a role in the development of fundamental physics? (01:58:28) Is there a graceful way of dealing with the problems of modern physics? (02:06:35) What is the relationship between quantum and mysticism? (02:16:04) Closing thoughts #sciencepodcast, #PhysicsHistory, #QuantumParadoxes, #AtomicTheory, #RealityShifts, #QuantumMechanics, #HistoricalPhysics, #EinsteinRevolution, #QuantumDebate, #RealityDuality, #WaveParticleDuality, #QuantumWorldview, #PhysicsDiscussion, #HistoricalAnalysis, #QuantumJourney, #PhysicsParadoxes, #RealityPerception, #QuantumConcepts, #AtomicEra, #PhysicsEvolution, #QuantumExploration Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671