Monthly Archives: November 2024

This Week’s Hype

Posted on November 22, 2024 by woit

If a post-truth field of science is going to keep going, it needs to convince funders and the public that progress is being made, so there’s a continual need for people uninterested in truth and willing to produce appropriate propaganda. … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 7 Comments

The Impossible Man

Posted on November 15, 2024 by woit

There’s a new book out this week, a biography of Roger Penrose by Patchen Barss, with the title The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the cost of genius. Penrose is one of the greatest figures in physics and mathematical physics … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 32 Comments

Why Sabine Hossenfelder is Just Wrong

Posted on November 11, 2024 by woit

Sabine Hossenfelder’s latest video argues There’s no reason for nature to be pretty (5:00) Working on a theory of everything is a mistake because we don’t understand quantum mechanics (8:00). These are just wrong: nature is both pretty and described … Continue reading →

Posted in Quantum Mechanics | 20 Comments

Living in a Post-truth World

Posted on November 6, 2024 by woit

I grew up in the 1960s and 70s, at a time when fundamental physics was making huge dramatic progress and Western democracies were changing in equally dramatic ways, mostly for the better. It truly did seem that the Age of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 58 Comments