Author Archives: woit

No Joking Matter

Posted on July 8, 2013 by woit

Back now from vacation, and while I was away several people sent me links to point out that string theory promoters definitely aren’t taking a vacation. Links here with a few quick comments, followed by something about the issue of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 46 Comments

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Posted on June 28, 2013 by woit

I’ll be heading North tomorrow, ultimately ending up in backwoods Maine, hiking the Appalachian Trail, then back home after a week or so. The comment section here will likely be closed for the duration. Progress is being made on my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Strings 2013 etc.

Posted on June 25, 2013 by woit

These days one can just about attend a wide variety of summer conferences from the comfort of one’s home or office, with talks appearing online more or less immediately after they are given. This week some possibilities to consider are: … Continue reading →

Posted in Strings 2XXX | 20 Comments

Kenneth Wilson 1936-2013

Posted on June 18, 2013 by woit

Kenneth Wilson died this past weekend, in Maine at the age of 77. Some obituaries can be found here, here, here, and here. Wilson won the Nobel prize in 1982 for his work on critical phenomena and phase transitions, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries | 17 Comments

This Week’s Hype

Posted on June 18, 2013 by woit

In recent years universities have taken to issuing press releases when one of their particle theorists gets a paper on some speculative topic published in a journal like Physical Review Letters. Many examples of such things, often involving bogus claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania, This Week's Hype | 5 Comments

Farewell to Reality

Posted on June 16, 2013 by woit

Jim Baggott has written a very good new book called Farewell to Reality that will soon come out here in the US. It is already out in the UK, where it is stirring up some debate, and perhaps the US … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 84 Comments

Nature on the new Nobels

Posted on June 12, 2013 by woit

This week’s Nature has an article by Zeeya Merali about various new science mega-prizes, including Yuri Milner’s Fundamental Physics Prize. There’s also a podcast here, and a Nature editorial here. I’m quoted in the article, saying about what you’d expect, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Nature at the energy frontier

Posted on June 12, 2013 by woit

Last week a symposium on Nature at the energy frontier was held at the ETH in Zurich, funded by the Latsis foundation. Videos of many of the talks have appeared here. As part of the symposium, David Gross gave a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 33 Comments

Simons 75th Birthday Conference

Posted on June 3, 2013 by woit

Last week the CUNY Graduate Center hosted a conference in honor of the 75th birthday of Jim Simons. It was organized by Dennis Sullivan as a set of expository “mini-courses” on various topics related to Simons’ mathematical work. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Snowmass on the Pacific

Posted on June 1, 2013 by woit

Due to popular demand from the comment section, I spent some time this afternoon taking a look at the talks now posted from the KITP Snowmass on the Pacific conference held the past few days. This is part of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments