Speakers Garrett Lisi: Physicist
Physicist Garrett Lisi has proposed a new "theory of everything" -- a grand unified theory that explains all the elementary particles, as well as gravity.
Why you should listen to him:
Working from principles of differential geometry, physicist Garrett Lisi is developing a new unified theory that purports to explain all the elementary particles, and gravity, in one elegant model. His theory is based on a mathematical shape called E8. With 248 symmetries, E8 is large, complex and beautiful -- and Lisi believes the relationships of its symmetries correspond to known particles and forces, including gravity.
His work, explained in his paper "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," and in an ongoing discussion on FQXi, is still on science's speculative fringe. But some physicists believe he could be pointing the way toward a truly unified theory.
"This is an 'all or nothing' kind of theory -- meaning it's going to end up agreeing with and predicting damn near everything, or it's wrong. At this stage of development, it could go either way."Garrett Lisi on physicsforums.com
Quotes by Garrett Lisi
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“The mathematics of quantum mechanics very accurately describes how our universe works. And it tells us our reality is continually branching into different possibilities, just like a coral.”
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“Everything that can happen, does. That’s quantum mechanics. But this does not mean everything happens. The rest of physics is about describing what can happen and what can’t.”
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“That’s what doing theoretical physics is like: there are a lot of wipeouts.”
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Garrett Lisi: An 8-dimensional model of the universe
- 21:26 Posted: Oct 2008
Garrett Lisi on the Web
Related Speakers
Conferences
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- TED2008