Author Archives: woit

The Quantum Spy

Posted on January 17, 2018 by woit

I don’t often read spy thrillers, but just finished one, The Quantum Spy, by David Ignatius. Ignatius is a well-known journalist at the Washington Post, specializing in international affairs and the intelligence community (and known to some as The Mainstream … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 10 Comments

Adventures in Fine Hall

Posted on January 14, 2018 by woit

Every so often I get a copy of Princeton’s alumni publication in the mail, which I mostly ignore. The latest one however had an entertaining article about the Princeton mathematics department during the 1930s, entitled Adventures in Fine Hall. Various … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Various News

Posted on January 9, 2018 by woit

Now back from vacation in a much warmer location than New York. Some things I noticed while away: I see that Paris has a bid to host the 2022 ICM. Everyone should strongly support this, one can’t have too many … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

This Week’s Hype: The Best Explanation for Everything in the Universe

Posted on December 22, 2017 by woit

Today The Atlantic has, via Quanta Magazine, some unadulterated, pure, grade A hype for the holidays: String Theory: The Best Explanation for Everything in the Universe. In a time when the credibility of science is under attack, does anyone else … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 40 Comments

Latest on abc

Posted on December 16, 2017 by woit

I’ve seen reports today (see here and here) that indicate that Mochizui’s IUT papers, which are supposed to contain a proof of the abc conjecture, have been accepted by the journal Publications of the RIMS. Some of the sources for … Continue reading →

Posted in abc Conjecture, Favorite Old Posts | 62 Comments

Various and Sundry

Posted on December 11, 2017 by woit

A few things that may be of interest: Survey articles prepared for the 2018 ICM proceedings are starting to appear on the arXiv, and Peter Scholze (who will be getting a Fields Medal in Rio) has put his on his … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 21 Comments

This Week’s Hype/Fake Physics

Posted on December 11, 2017 by woit

On the Fake Physics front, Jerry Coyne at Why Evolution is True has a post claiming New evidence for the multiverse-and its implications. You would think that recent history should have made clear the danger of using Youtube videos as … Continue reading →

Posted in Fake Physics, This Week's Hype | 15 Comments

The Last Refuge of Cowards

Posted on December 6, 2017 by woit

The talks and panel discussions from the 2018 Breakthrough Prize symposium are available via Facebook video. They ended with the following, from prize winner David Spergel: Well, alright, I’m going to say something that I probably shouldn’t say in Palo … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania | 37 Comments

String Theory Fails Another Test

Posted on December 6, 2017 by woit

Back in 2004, the KITP put out a press release (which I wrote about in an early blog post here) announcing that “Newly Devised Test May Confirm Strings as Fundamental Constituent of Matter, Energy”. The press release announced that Polchinski … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Scientific Controversy No. 13

Posted on December 2, 2017 by woit

I made the mistake yesterday evening of spending it out in Red Hook, at an event billed as addressing the scientific controversy over string theory. The venue was an arts space called Pioneer Works, the brain-child of artist Dustin Yellin … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments