Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sheldon Gives Up On String Theory

Posted on April 1, 2014 by woit

Ten years ago I wrote here about the news that Witten had finally given up on string theory. Today I just heard a similar but even more dramatic rumor: next week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory features string theorist … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Rainy Day Posting

Posted on March 23, 2014 by woit

My spring break vacation is not quite over but, after 10 days of spectacularly beautiful weather, it’s now raining hard here today and I’ve got some time indoors to write something. First some quick links to things I’ve seen in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Spring Break

Posted on March 11, 2014 by woit

I’m leaving for a spring break vacation in Northern Italy tomorrow afternoon, and will shut down comments while I’m away. Back in two weeks. Some events that will occur while I’m away that might be of interest: The 2014 Templeton … Continue reading →

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Various and Sundry

Posted on March 5, 2014 by woit

It seems to be too early for April Fool’s day, and yet the arXiv has Dark Matter as a Trigger for Periodic Comet Impacts by Lisa Randall and Matt Reece, a preprint described as “Accepted by Physical Review Letters, 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

All Hail Resonaances

Posted on February 26, 2014 by woit

I’m delighted to see Jester back in action, providing great material on the current state of HEP physics, with, over the past week and a half: A sober look at the sparse prospects for near-term (i.e. 2014) input from experiment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

More Quick Links

Posted on February 24, 2014 by woit

First, a couple of examples of recent progress in mathematics Terry Tao has some new ideas about the Navier-Stokes equation. See his blog here, a paper here, and a story by Erica Klarreich at Quanta here. I’ve been hoping to … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

US HEP Theory Funding News

Posted on February 20, 2014 by woit

Laurence Yaffe has gathered some information about DOE funding of US HEP theory groups, showing sharp drops (average 23%) in such funding for groups reviewed in FY2013 and FY2014. These drops imply serious reductions in the numbers of theory graduate … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Comments

More Links, Interesting and Tedious

Posted on February 5, 2014 by woit

First some links to interesting things: There’s a fascinating interview with Deligne in the latest AMS Notices. Alexandre Grothendieck: A Mathematical Portrait includes some great expository pieces about the mathematics developed by Grothendieck. There’s also available Grothendieck’s own Esquisse Thématique, … Continue reading →

Posted in Multiverse Mania, Uncategorized | 44 Comments

Scientific Bookstores, RIP

Posted on January 29, 2014 by woit

A few days ago I tried to stop by the Barnes and Noble store here in New York at Fifth Ave. and 18th St., just to find that it had closed earlier this month. This was the first book store … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 56 Comments

I am not now and never have been a creationist

Posted on January 26, 2014 by woit

Max Tegmark seems to have decided that my criticism here of the emptiness of ideas in his recent book is “similar to hate-mail I’ve been receiving from a Young-Earth Creationist”. Also, the fact that I have fans at a certain … Continue reading →

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