The Crisis in String Theory is Worse Than You Think | Leonard Susskind

Video Description

In today's episode, we are joined by Leonard Susskind, the renowned theoretical physicist often called the "Father of String Theory," who has profoundly shaped our understanding of quantum mechanics, black holes, and the nature of the universe. New Substack! Follow my personal writings and EARLY ACCESS episodes here: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com SPONSOR (THE ECONOMIST): I subscribe to The Economist for their science and tech coverage. As a TOE listener, get 35% off! No other podcast has this: https://economist.com/TOE LINKS MENTIONED: - Conformal Field Theory (book): https://amzn.to/4fooVr8 - Leonard Susskind Bio: https://physics.stanford.edu/people/leonard-susskind - Leonard on The Origins Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhszd_wqAgQ - Leonard Susskind’s String Theory lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL202191442DB1B300 - Latham Boyle on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyLeeEFKk04 - Peter Woit on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTSeqsCgxj8&list=PLZ7ikzmc6zlN6E8KrxcYCWQIHg2tfkqvR&index=8 - Stephen Wolfram on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YRlQQw0d-4 - Stephen Wolfram at Mindfest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHPQ_oSsJgg - Roger Penrose on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGm505TFMbU - Cumrun Vafa on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUHOoMX4Bqw - Neil Turok on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUp9x44N3uE - Garrett Lisi on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ulJmfFvd8 - TOE’s String Theory Iceberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4PdPnQuwjY - Sean Carroll on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AoRxtYZrZo - Sean Carroll’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxfgDEc2NxY_fRExpDXr87tzRbPCaA5x - The de Sitter: https://hal.science/hal-00109682/document - Susskind: String theory not a complete picture of how quantum gravity works: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=6252 - Can we unify quantum mechanics and gravity?: https://physicsworld.com/a/can-we-unify-quantum-mechanics-and-gravity/ - New theory claims to unite Einstein's gravity with quantum mechanics: https://phys.org/news/2023-12-theory-einstein-gravity-quantum-mechanics.html - Time and Quantum Mechanics SOLVED? | Lee Smolin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOKOodQXjhc - Fay Dowker on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgYHEPCLVas - Edward Frenkel on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_oPMcvHbAc TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - "String Theory Has Failed" 03:36 - The De Sitter Space Crisis 05:45 - Young Physicists' Fear and the De Sitter Problem 07:21 - The Supersymmetry Problem 10:18 - Starting Over in Physics (Beyond Supersymmetry) 13:00 - A Founder's Critique of String Theory 17:00 - Susskind on Alternative Theories 20:50 - The Landscape Problem 27:50 - Inflation Theory Attacked 42:20 - Appealing to Consensus in Physics 45:40 - The Falsifiability Question 48:30 - Limits of the Planck Scale 53:55 - Understanding Quantum Mechanics 01:03:35 - Black Holes and Complexity 01:21:35 - Problems with Many-Worlds Interpretation 01:27:38 - Alternative Theories and Being Open to New Ideas 01:34:44 - "Don't Listen to Old People" 01:37:42 - Final Advice to Physicists TOE'S TOP LINKS: - Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal (early access to ad-free audio episodes!) - Listen to TOE on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Become a YouTube Member Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Join TOE's Newsletter 'TOEmail' at https://www.curtjaimungal.org Other Links: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802 - Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything #science #sciencepodcast #physics #theoreticalphysics #stringtheory