Edward Frenkel: Infinity, String Theory, Death, The Self

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_oPMcvHbAc Math professor Edward Frenkel discusses his work on string theory & the Langlands Program while reflecting on the profound themes of infinity, death, and trauma. - Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal (early access to ad-free audio episodes!) - Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE - PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs BOOKS MENTIONED: - Love and Math (Edward Frenkel): https://amzn.to/3ZiXyI1 - From Mathematics to Philosophy (Hao Wang): https://amzn.to/3ZkIcTD - The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien): https://amzn.to/46bZnsw - Works of Carl Jung (Carl Jung): https://amzn.to/44UKJF7 - Works of Marie-Louise von Franz (Marie-Louise von Franz): https://amzn.to/3sWWg9D - Bhagavad Gita: https://amzn.to/3sTfrB8 - The Undecidable (Martin Davis): https://amzn.to/48njW7u - The Emperor's New Mind (Roger Penrose): https://amzn.to/44Zabcw - The Trouble with Physics (Lee Smolin): https://amzn.to/3sXpmG6 - Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray (Sabine Hossenfelder): https://amzn.to/3Pna7xy - Not Even Wrong (Peter Woit): https://amzn.to/44XJlBx VIDEOS MENTIONED: - Debate w/ Sabine Λ Bernardo on Superdeterminism: https://youtu.be/kJmBmopxc1k - Podcast w/ Norman Wildberger TOE: https://youtu.be/l7LvgvunVCM - Podcast w/ Dror Bar Natan on TOE: https://youtu.be/rJz_Badd43c - Podcast w/ Lex Friedman and Frenkel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osh0-J3T2nY - Podcast w/ Richard Borcherds on TOE: https://youtu.be/U3pQWkE2KqM (Part 2) and https://youtu.be/xu15ZbxxnUQ (Part 1) - Podcast w/ Sabine Hossenfelder on TOE: https://youtu.be/walaNM7KiYA - Podcast w/ Bernardo Kastrup on TOE: https://youtu.be/lAB21FAXCDE - Podcast w/ Eric Weinstein on TOE: https://youtu.be/KElq_MLO1kw - Angela Collier on String Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kya_LXa_y1E - Mike Wallace's Interview of Aldous Huxley (1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alasBxZsb40 WEBSITES MENTIONED: - Edward Frenkel's Official Site: https://edwardfrenkel.com - Edward Frenkel's Soundcloud (DJ Moonshine): https://soundcloud.com/moonstein - Twitter (Edward Frenkel): https://twitter.com/edfrenkel - YouTube (Edward Frenkel): https://www.youtube.com/edfrenkel - Instagram (Edward Frenkel): https://www.instagram.com/edfrenkel - Peter Woit's Blog: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 Introduction - 00:03:40 The Langlands Program - 00:09:23 Love and Math: An ode to mathematics - 00:13:09 Art as a two-way street (reciprocal nature of artistic expression) - 00:18:28 The Weil conjectures - 00:24:53 Romantic side of math and the "Theory of Everything" as a process vs. a state - 00:30:39 Paradoxes in math & axioms - 00:33:57 Observer problem in mathematics - 00:39:55 The debate on philosophy's role in science - 00:51:44 "You can't get away from infinity." - 01:07:41 Are computers conscious? Can they "think"? Turing's quotation - 01:18:33 The limitations of computation and the unification of distinctions - 01:23:29 Blurring lines between truth & beauty (algebraic-geometric interplay) - 01:33:48 The terrifying question of self - 01:36:07 Childhood memories and personal growth (transformative power of pain) - 01:49:30 The struggle for excellence & reconnecting with the past - 02:17:26 Death is love exposed most bare - 02:19:10 Function fields in higher dimensional algebraic varieties - 02:25:12 Superdeterminism w/ Sabine Hossenfelder Λ Bernardo Kastrup - 02:37:08 The human aspect in scientific theories - 02:39:00 Even atheists reason backward from God to interpretations of quantum mechanics (Richard Hamming) - 02:43:02 The unfulfilled promise of string theory - 03:01:33 Credit and ethics in scientific fields (Eric Weinstein)