Princeton University Podcasts

This is a two-part lecture series. Modern science is constantly enriched by new discoveries and occasionally rocked by revolutions, but some fundamental conclusions, which answer questions traditionally assigned to philosophy, now seem secure. These lectures cover ten such fundamentals, presenting each in the context of (once) plausible alternatives. The discussion will bring in many interesting “case studies.” 1. We perceive a tiny portion of reality. 2. The physical world is comprehensible. 3. The basic laws are mathematical. 4. The basic laws are local. 5. The basic laws predict probabilities. 6. The world is a very big place. 7. The world is a very old place. 8. The state of the universe is comprehensible. 9. Vast opportunities are presently unexploited. 10. There’s still plenty we don’t understand. Frank Wilczek is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilczek, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he earned his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University. He has been a faculty member at Princeton, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the University of California, Santa Barbara Institute for Theoretical Physics. A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture, cosponsored by the Center for Theoretical Physics

This is a two-part lecture series. Modern science is constantly enriched by new discoveries and occasionally rocked by revolutions, but some fundamental conclusions, which answer questions traditionally assigned to philosophy, now seem secure. These lectures cover ten such fundamentals, presenting each in the context of (once) plausible alternatives. The discussion will bring in many interesting “case studies.” 1. We perceive a tiny portion of reality. 2. The physical world is comprehensible. 3. The basic laws are mathematical. 4. The basic laws are local. 5. The basic laws predict probabilities. 6. The world is a very big place. 7. The world is a very old place. 8. The state of the universe is comprehensible. 9. Vast opportunities are presently unexploited. 10. There’s still plenty we don’t understand. Frank Wilczek is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilczek, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he earned his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University. He has been a faculty member at Princeton, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the University of California, Santa Barbara Institute for Theoretical Physics. A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture, cosponsored by the Center for Theoretical Physics

This is a two-part lecture series. Modern science is constantly enriched by new discoveries and occasionally rocked by revolutions, but some fundamental conclusions, which answer questions traditionally assigned to philosophy, now seem secure. These lectures cover ten such fundamentals, presenting each in the context of (once) plausible alternatives. The discussion will bring in many interesting “case studies.” 1. We perceive a tiny portion of reality. 2. The physical world is comprehensible. 3. The basic laws are mathematical. 4. The basic laws are local. 5. The basic laws predict probabilities. 6. The world is a very big place. 7. The world is a very old place. 8. The state of the universe is comprehensible. 9. Vast opportunities are presently unexploited. 10. There’s still plenty we don’t understand. Frank Wilczek is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilczek, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of asymptotic freedom. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he earned his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University. He has been a faculty member at Princeton, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the University of California, Santa Barbara Institute for Theoretical Physics. A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture, cosponsored by the Center for Theoretical Physics

Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University; Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; food writer and author, respectively

Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University; Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; food writer and author, respectively

The President’s Lecture Series was established by President Shirley M. Tilghman in the fall of 2001 to give Princeton’s faculty an opportunity to learn about the work of their colleagues in other disciplines and to share their research with the University community. First proposed by Alan B. Krueger, the Lynn Bendheim Thoman, Class of 1976, and Robert Bendheim, Class of 1937, Professor in Economics and Public Policy, the lectures are presented three times a year and are open to the public.

The President’s Lecture Series was established by President Shirley M. Tilghman in the fall of 2001 to give Princeton’s faculty an opportunity to learn about the work of their colleagues in other disciplines and to share their research with the University community. First proposed by Alan B. Krueger, the Lynn Bendheim Thoman, Class of 1976, and Robert Bendheim, Class of 1937, Professor in Economics and Public Policy, the lectures are presented three times a year and are open to the public.

Born in Nigeria, novelist Chimamanda Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus (2003), which was nominated for a Booker Prize, and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), which won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction and revolves around the Biafran war of 1967-70. She has recently published a collection of short stories titled The Thing around Your Neck (2009). She was a MacArthur fellow in 2008. She has been a visiting writer at Wesleyan University and at Princeton University, where she was a Hodder fellow.

Born in Nigeria, novelist Chimamanda Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus (2003), which was nominated for a Booker Prize, and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), which won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction and revolves around the Biafran war of 1967-70. She has recently published a collection of short stories titled The Thing around Your Neck (2009). She was a MacArthur fellow in 2008. She has been a visiting writer at Wesleyan University and at Princeton University, where she was a Hodder fellow.

Recent financial reforms—most notably the Dodd-Frank Act and the Basel III rules—are often described as “reining in Wall Street,” preventing taxpayer bailouts and protecting consumers from financial meltdowns. Simply reining in Wall Street, however, is not sufficient. With the benefit of recent lessons and improved knowledge of human behavior, we should work to release the potential of financial innovation. Despite the bad press financial innovation has received as a result of some individuals and institutions taking advantage of faulty innovations to enrich themselves, financial innovation has the potential to prevent worsening inequality and other social problems. History shows that advances in civil society have been associated with progress in financial institutions and practices. Robert J. Shiller is the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University.