#79 – Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution

Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist, co-inventor of loop quantum gravity, and a contributor of many interesting ideas to cosmology, quantum field theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, theoretical biology, and the philosophy of science. He is the author of several books including one that critiques the state of physics and string theory called The Trouble with Physics, and his latest book, Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum. EPISODE LINKS: Books mentioned: – Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution by Lee Smolin: https://amzn.to/2TsF5c3 – The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin: https://amzn.to/2v1FMzy – Against Method by Paul Feyerabend: https://amzn.to/2VOPXCD This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code “LexPodcast”.  Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. OUTLINE: 00:00 – Introduction 03:03 – What is real? 05:03 – Scientific method and scientific progress 24:57 – Eric Weinstein and radical ideas in science 29:32 – Quantum mechanics and general relativity 47:24 – Sean Carroll and many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics 55:33 – Principles in science 57:24 – String theory