Author Archives: woit

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Posted on November 29, 2014 by woit

If you’ve already seen the various new math/physics films coming out of Hollywood, this week you might be interested in watching some of the real thing, including the following: The hot ticket this week will be Monday’s Planck session at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

The Imitation Game

Posted on November 19, 2014 by woit

This season’s Hollywood math/physics extravaganza is starting to come to an end. For coverage of the Breakthrough Prize ceremony, I enthusiastically recommend Michael Harris’s new piece at Slate which just appeared. The final high profile production, one promoted at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews | 24 Comments

Planck News?

Posted on November 19, 2014 by woit

The timing for release of long-awaited Planck polarization data keeps getting pushed back. At one point it was supposed to be earlier this year, most recently it was supposed to be this month, with that timing forced by a conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Advertisements for the Multiverse

Posted on November 15, 2014 by woit

After watching the Breakthrough Prize awards tonight, tomorrow night on the Science Channel you can watch a program that actually features physicists rather than Hollywood/Silicon Valley celebrities. There’s an hour long infomercial for the Multiverse, entitled “Which Universe Are We … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania, Uncategorized | 43 Comments

Breakthrough Prize on TV

Posted on November 15, 2014 by woit

You can watch the recent Breakthrough Prize awards ceremony on TV tonight, 6 pm on the Science and Discovery channels. The Science Channel has a site with videos of highlights of the evening, the complete list of which is: Christina … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Alexander Grothendieck 1928-2014

Posted on November 13, 2014 by woit

I just heard that Alexander Grothendieck passed away today, at the age of 86, in Saint-Girons. For a French news story, see here. Grothendieck’s story was one of the great romantic stories of modern mathematics, and many would consider him … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries | 27 Comments

2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Posted on November 9, 2014 by woit

The prize was awarded (by the actor who played Stephen Hawking), in a Hollywood-style awards ceremony (see here) to the 51 members of the two teams responsible for the supernova data showing that the universe is accelerating, with the 2011 … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments

The Theory of Everything

Posted on November 8, 2014 by woit

Hollywood theoretical physics week, focusing on quantum gravity and black holes, continues with the opening this weekend of The Theory of Everything, a Stephen Hawking biopic. It’s quite good, although a bit too heart-warming for my taste. The focus is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Short Items

Posted on November 7, 2014 by woit

On Monday there will be symposia at Stanford featuring the Breakthrough Prize winners, with streaming video available. For the morning program, with dignitaries and such, see here. The Mathematics symposium will run 11-5, the program is here, streaming video here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Quantum Mechanics and Spacetime in the 21st Century

Posted on November 6, 2014 by woit

This evening’s Hollywood-style entertainment came from the Perimeter Institute, where they had a big public event, live-streamed to the world, featuring Nima Arkani-Hamed speaking on Quantum Mechanics and Spacetime in the 21st Century. You should be able to watch the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments