Why string theory isn't real physics | Roger Penrose, Brian Greene, and Eric Weinstein

The Institute of Art and Ideas December 9, 2025
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The Institute of Art and Ideas

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The Institute of Art and Ideas creates hundreds of educational debates, lectures, and interviews on Philosophy, Science, Politics, and Arts. Learn from world-leading thinkers on the big ideas. From Hitchens to Galloway, Penrose to Pigliucci, our experts will teach you feminism to foreign policy, and quantum physics to consciousness. And if you want even more ideas from the world's greatest thinkers, visit our website at IAI.tv Or listen to our podcast, Philosophy For Our Times. Links below!

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Roger Penrose, Brian Greene, and Eric Weinstein discuss the successes and failures of string theory in modern physics. Is this the end of the road for string theory? With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at https://iai.tv/video/the-trouble-with-string-theory?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description String theory, heralded as a potential theory of everything, has been dominant in theoretical physics for thirty years with more scientific papers arising from it than any other theory. But critics argue the theory has held undue influence and it is an error to pursue it. String theory proposes 11 dimensions and a vast landscape of possible universes without any evidence. Moreover, a theory of everything has not been forthcoming, and predictions of supersymmetry particles have not been confirmed. Is it time to move on from string theory, recognise that the search for supersymmetry has failed, and seek alternative accounts of the universe that are supported by observation and experiment? More fundamentally should we see mathematics without a connection to the physical world as little more than fantasy? Or is the continued dominance of string theory justified by its potential to unify our understanding of the universe once and for all? #physics #stringtheory #quantum #quantumphysics #gravity Nobel prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose, renowned string theorist and best selling author Brian Greene, groundbreaking scientist Tasneem Zehra Husain, and polymath mathematician Eric Weinstein debate the cosmological theory. Hosted by philosopher of physics Katie Robertson. The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! https://iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/the-trouble-with-string-theory 00:00 Roger Penrose vs Brian Greene 00:45 Roger Penrose on the problem with extra dimensions 03:16 Brian Greene: "String theory is the most powerful approach for unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics" 06:31 Eric Weinstein on the political economy of science 08:10 String theory belongs to the realm of mathematics 09:53 String theory gives us a quantum theory of gravity 14:02 String theory is neither accurate nor beautiful 18:52 Brian Greene defends the beauty of string theory 21:59 Eric Weinstein calls for blood For debates and talks: https://iai.tv For articles: https://iai.tv/articles For courses: https://iai.tv/iai-academy/courses

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