TEDxWarwick - Sir Roger Penrose - Space-Time Geometry and a New Cosmology

Sir Roger Penrose is one of the world's leading mathematical physicists. He is also joint winner of the Wolf prize with Stephen Hawking for their contribution to our understanding of the universe. Some of his discoveries include Penrose Tiling, Twistor theory and works about the geometry of spacetime. He is also a recreational mathematician and philosopher.

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Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• roger
• penrose
• tedx
• ted
• warwick
• space
• time
• geometry
• cosmology

[DEBUG1984]

@MrBTie The think you don't grasp, probably you haven't read anything from Penrose is his ability to illustrate visually concepts that a regular physics book would make appear as something totally incomprehensible and simply unreachable to someone with not that academic affinity towards physics.

I think that every single of his old-school slides is a brilliant piece of art. This is a unique way of giving a talk.

What's the point of your comment?

[ShiroRX]

It's going to be an exciting year for Penrose's cyclic model, and all theorized models of cosmology with the new Planck satellite data finishing up near the end of the year.

[venustus100]

Great lecture by a great man!

[SonOfNye]

One of the greatest minds on the planet, at the fore front of cosmology, and he is using a one eye projector. I find this humorous.

[swedy13]

Damn you camera man, why can't you show the slides? Penrose isn't a bad looking chap, but his face isn't really relevant to the lecture.

[kurtilein3]

For all that want to know more about these light-cones, check the wikipedia-article "Minkowski space". Penrose is basically using Minkowski diagrams all over the place, describing them in very simple terms, but really Minkowsky space incorporates much of special and general relativity.

For people familiar with special and general relativity, his diagrams using minkowsky space look familiar, and for the rest there is still a chance they might be able to follow.

[kurtilein3]

@evelauds

Roger Penrose draws them himself, and compared to other theoretical physicists he is very good at it.

[sbergman27]

@DEBUG1984 Mental images have always been a hallmark of Penrose. But honestly, overhead projectors are far superior to laptops. Easier to manage. The speaker is not constantly futzing with an uncooperative laptop. Explaining that this wasn't his usual one. Apologizing that the (pointless) video is running at 1/2fps for some reason. And adlibbing while the AV person tries to sort out the problems. I did see one OHP presentation once where the bulb in one burned out. So he switched to the other.

[lsbrother]

@Ekryton yes - it's sort of fun all those different colours and his scrbbly writing. His books although containing 'proper' computer graphics also have the occasional rather obviously hand drawn sketch.

[albedoshader]

@MrBTie: They shouldn’t invite theoretical physicists, then. Hawking might sometimes be funnier but after a talk by penrose I feel I have actually learnt something. By the way, Penrose is a very humorous man.

[MrBTie]

@DEBUG1984 no one. you're right. i am wrong.