Release date: June 24th, 2018

Sabine Hossenfelder

This episode features physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, author of Lost in Math, arguing that fundamental physics is too enamored of "beauty" as a criterion for evaluating theories of how the universe works. She and Julia discuss the three components of beauty (simplicity, naturalness, and elegance), why physicists think it's reasonable to put their trust in beauty, and why this might be merely a symptom of other underlying problems with physics as a discipline.

Links:

Sabine's Book: "Lost in Math"

Sabine's Blog: Backreaction

Sabine's Pick: "The Big Picture" by Sean Carroll

Edited by Brent Silk

Music by Miracles of Modern Science

Full Transcripts