Brian Greene is perhaps the best-known proponent of superstring theory, the idea that minuscule strands of energy vibrating in a higher dimensional space-time create every particle and force in the universe.
Why you should listen to him:
Greene, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, has focused on unified theories for more than 25 years, and has written several best-selling and non-technical books on the subject including The Elegant Universe, a Pulitzer finalist, and The Fabric of the Cosmos—each of which has been adapted into a NOVA mini-series. His latest book, The Hidden Reality, explores the possibility that our universe is not the only universe.
Greene believes science must be brought to general audiences in new and compelling ways, such as his live stage odyssey, Icarus at the Edge of Time, with original orchestral score by Philip Glass, and the annual World Science Festival, which he co-founded in 2008 with journalist Tracy Day.
"Greene has a rare gift for explaining the most challenging scientific ideas, and everyone can appreciate his refreshingly insightful explanations."Jennifer Birriel in Astronomy
Quotes by Brian Greene
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“Einstein comes along and says, space and time can warp and curve, that’s what gravity is. Now string theory comes along and says, yes, gravity, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism — all together in one package, but only if the universe has more dimensions than the ones that we see.”
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“We are living through a remarkably privileged era, when certain deep truths about the cosmos are still within reach of the human spirit of exploration.”
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“Sometimes nature guards her secrets with the unbreakable grip of physical law. Sometimes the true nature of reality beckons from just beyond the horizon.”
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“Our universe [may be] but one bubble in a grand cosmic bubble bath of universes.”
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“I was holding [my four-year-old daughter] and I said, ‘Sophia, I love you more than anything in the universe.’ And she turned to me and said, ‘Daddy, universe or multiverse?’”
