Author Archives: woit

Nobel for Englert and Higgs

Posted on October 8, 2013 by woit

Congratulations to Francois Englert and Peter Higgs, awarded the 2013 physics Nobel prize this morning. Evidently the prize announcement was delayed because they were unable to reach Higgs by phone. Surely he wasn’t unaware that today was a day he … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 74 Comments

Various News

Posted on October 7, 2013 by woit

First a sad piece of news, via commenter Bob Jones. It seems that David Kazhdan, a well-known representation theorist, was hit by a truck Saturday morning while bicycling in Jerusalem. He’s in the hospital, with his condition described as “very … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

Beyond the God Particle

Posted on October 6, 2013 by woit

There’s a new popular book about high energy physics coming out this week, Beyond the God Particle, by Leon Lederman and Christopher Hill. The authors are unapologetic about the “God Particle” terminology, coined by Lederman back in 1993 for marketing … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 42 Comments

Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?

Posted on October 3, 2013 by woit

Normally I avoid writing about the topic headlined here, not because it’s not of interest or not important, but because the usual discussions it attracts seem to me ideologically-driven, containing far more heat than light. The New York Times Magazine … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 46 Comments

Particle Fever

Posted on October 1, 2013 by woit

Yesterday I got a chance to see Particle Fever, the long-awaited film about particle physics. It’s at the New York Film Festival, where there will be another showing on Wednesday, although tickets are already sold out. Oliver Peters was also … Continue reading →

Posted in Favorite Old Posts, Film Reviews, Multiverse Mania | 20 Comments

Why mH= 126 GeV?

Posted on September 26, 2013 by woit

This week in Madrid there’s a conference going on with the title Why mH= 126 GeV?. It brings together HEP theorists working on “Beyond Standard Model” physics, with the majority of the participants from Western Europe, especially Spain. As part … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 41 Comments

Quick Links

Posted on September 26, 2013 by woit

The new issue of Nautilus has a wonderful story about Yitang Zhang, called The Twin Prime Hero, which includes a long interview with him. Zhang’s remarkable mathematical career includes several years working at a Subway in Kentucky. His sucessful work … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Love and Math

Posted on September 19, 2013 by woit

Edward Frenkel’s new book Love and Math is now out. It’s a must-read for those who share the interests of this blogger, so go get a copy now. The “Love” of the title is much more about love of mathematics … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Langlands | 21 Comments

Physicists Discover Geometry Underlying Particle Physics

Posted on September 18, 2013 by woit

Today’s Slashdot tells us that Physicists Discover Geometry Underlying Particle Physics, a story that is based on an excellent article, A Jewel at the Heart of Quantum Physics, by Natalie Wolchover at the new Quanta Magazine sponsored by the Simons … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 35 Comments

Susskind: String theory not a complete picture of how quantum gravity works

Posted on September 16, 2013 by woit

For the latest on quantum gravity, readers might want to look at talks from some events of the last couple weeks. At the new ICTP-SAIFR theoretical physics institute in Sao Paulo, a school on quantum gravity has talks available here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments