Greatest developments of the past couple of decades in fundamental physics

maghshoosh
by maghshoosh
23-May-2012
 

Professor Nima Arkani-Hamed of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, whose Messenger Lectures on our understandig of the universe at the most fundamental level were featured at this recent blog, talks briefly about the most important developments of the past couple of decades in that field and future direction of inquiry.  (The portrait behind him is that of the late Pakistani Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, who was a co-developer of the Standard Model of particle physics, so the location is probably the Abdus Salam ICTP in Trieste, Italy.)

Balatarin
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more from maghshoosh
 
anglophile

Is it not such an Irony that ...

by anglophile on Fri May 25, 2012 06:24 AM PDT

Arkani-Hamed, a critic of intelligent design is sitting under the portrait of the founder of ICTP, the late Abdus Salam, whose own linked biography reads:

"Abdus Salam is known to be a devout Muslim, whose religion does not occupy a separate compartment of his life; it is inseparable from his work and family life. He once wrote: "The Holy Quran enjoins us to reflect on the verities of Allah's created laws of nature; however, that our generation has been privileged to glimpse a part of His design is a bounty and a grace for which I render thanks with a humble heart."


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maghshoosh

anglophile,

by maghshoosh on Thu May 24, 2012 05:23 PM PDT

I can't tell what this "huge body of opinion" is begging to differ with.  Arkani-Hamed is talking about the most significant developments in high energy physics in the 21st century, but doesn't name anyone.  Turing and von Neumann, whom you refer to, are mathematicians from 1st half of the 20th century.  Turing made significant contributions to computer science and artificial intelligence, but not directly to physics.


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anglophile

There is a huge body of opinion that begs to differ

by anglophile on Thu May 24, 2012 03:50 PM PDT

They believe the greatest scientific development of the twentieth century is owed to two men: Allen Turing and John von Neuman. Neither of them won a noble prize but wihout their contributions physicists of all shades could not have earned theirs either. And as for science vs religion I prefer Turing's opinion:  “Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition.”



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Cost-of-Progress

Great topic

by Cost-of-Progress on Thu May 24, 2012 07:43 AM PDT

and a proud moment for all of us Iranians who are tired of hearing non-sensical trash from the ommatie crowd and their backward 7th century arabian peninsula mentality.

CoP


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