Nobel Prize in Physics, Steven Weinberg, Interview

[brindow1]

Steven Weinberg is no guru or leader or fanatic .. he is knowledgeable yes, but he straight talking and honest .. why can't religionists be this way, why can't they be "open-minded" and simply consider other possibilities for our existence ? The difference between a religionist and a realist is that the religionist has been brainwashed[without their knowing it usually] .. that says everything, doesn't it ?

[granddad2002]

And yet there is the art of cleverness of how to decode Nature. Human beings are so removed from the precision and power of how the Universe operates; and it is a great whirling collection of people who have to go further from what is known to give us this edgy knowledge. Serendipity and wonder fraught with hard calculations, detailing an unseen picture... its the age of how we go further in thought and life. This isn't meaningless... but sublime.

[Wordlaw12]

This guy is wonderful to listen too.

[iblessedx]

HAHA this woman's hair...

[braydenbeautiful]

Steven Weinberg inspired me to do science (chemistry) at university.

The mathematics, physics and chemistry are hard, yes, but oh so rewarding.

[farouqnimer]

it's rather unfortunate that Western audiences don't get to hear the views of the guy who shared the Nobel prize with him, Abdus Salam :(

[muzammilali007]

@farouqnimer He died in 1996. He was an Ahmadi, the follower of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Quadani who claimed to be a prophet. When the parliament of Pakistan declared Ahmadis to be non muslims in 1974 he left Pakistan and lived the rest of his life in London.

[andresordo]

"I'm not certain about anything"

my thoughts exactly

[E23443]

which came first, the chicken or the egg?

[arumugamyau]

Thanks for sharing !

[ahmedhusseinny]

Can someone goddamn clone Mr. Weinberg? We as a people/planet cannot afford to lose him.

[seriousbees]

As a student of physics and an atheist, this is where I like to take a leap of "blind faith". I know that there wouldnt be much to say about a universe with no life in it, and the idea of pure nothingness itself just seems plain wrong in a universe where matter can be created from nothing. I would be willing to wager that there is a purpose, its just more mathematical and less grafitying than one would hope.

[quathar]

@seriousbees And what's the purpose of the purpose, mover's mover etc?

[13uncletim13]

@seriousbees  I think there is only one purpose: To change and keep changing....that's it. It's too simple for most people to grasp. We have a tendency to complicate everything for no good reason.

[Uncommonsenseable]

One of the few things Steven Weinberg would fail to comprehend is the conceit, the self-assurance - the total unawareness - that it must take to call a genius a moron. While "dlerta" wallows in his ignorance, the rest of us have total delight, and find hope, in clear and sincere thought. Suggesting he does not have reason for what he says is laughable, and is nothing more than to suggest that he ought to expel a lifetime of thought and research in a three minute interview.

[sillysully81]

create things that are beautiful ?????? Can man create anything more beautiful than what can be seen and has not been shaped by the hand of any man ?

[77Fortran]

the iphone!

[MineiroSteel]

You should be careful when you say someone is a moron.His position is in a very ancient line of thougth in human history.

[dlerta]

Anyone scientist who makes claims that he can't back up is a moron.

[Uncommonsenseable]

Actually Weinberg would offer excellent reasons for this "urge," and probably also your stupidity.

The idea of "a plan," and the existence of some "plan that goes beyond our logic," is precisely the type of idea that follows from "our logic." It is simply a result of Weinberg's "getting out" so often - his venturing into areas that most humans, far from even daring to go, are totally incapable of even going - that leads him to conclude there is no such plan.

[mossfitz]

@dlerta You need to stay in more often - and read some better books

[frankspandrel]

Weinberg is one of the most honest and sober people I've heard speak. It's refreshing.

[mihaicosmos]

I like Steven Weinberg!!

[videoclog]

Many thanks for this upload. I find Mr Weinberg's words very wise and stimulating. I wish we would hear views like these more often.

[jackdav34]

Very good interview. I like the saying: "I'm not certain about anything." That's what a scientist should say, right?

[jceepf]

yes but be aware that we have various degree of certainty and various degree of applicability of each individual theories. For example "relativistic quantum electro-dynamics" is the most precise theory ever devised by man. It explains the interaction of the electron with light and, basically all of chemistry.

If you were to challenge that theory, both chemists and physicists would call you a crackpot and treat you accordingly.

[aquishix]

Only if you didn't have some pretty strong evidence to back up the challenge.

[jceepf]

Sure aquishix... but remember that scientists are a conservative buch despite popular imagery. I think it was Drell at Standford who said that if Feynmann had been just a tiny bit less smart, he would have been sadly treated like a crackpot. We have a common dogma but we do not have a Pope.

If you challenge accepted theory, your theory must encompass the existing theories that it is supposed to supplant and more.... and even then, it is an uphill battle for a while...

[BaileysBeads]

It's what anybody should say.

[jeffbrown8]

disconcerting is what Weinberg is saying... that's more disconcerting

[moreducks]

The interviewer nodded with disconcerting pleasure when Weinberg admitted "I may be wrong".

[jack19790]

It reminded me of Jim Carrey in "Dumb and Dumber" when the girl told him there was a one in a million chance of getting together with him: "So you're telling me there's a chance....!!!!"

[FeelOfFriction]

lmao whats with the interviewers hair

[starrynightuk]

don't worry, there're plenty of other idiots who say what you say and mean it.

[kurdaghasul]

nice video collection by the way.

[thesimpsons2345]

lol what are you talking about? Physicists have a great sense of humor. If you've ever watched lectures/interviews of stephen hawking, michio Kaku, etc, you would know that.