Lecture 3- Physics with Witten

[@richardreeder]

0:34 stuff I don’t understand 4:54 stuff I don’t understand 12:31 stuff I don’t understand 37:48 stuff I don’t understand 51:52 stuff I don’t understand 1:10:12 stuff I don’t understand

[@shatterdreamz2325]

that whole classroom doesn't understand

[@Sharonli23345]

no body does, it would be funny if 50 years later it turns out everything is wrong

[@christophern762]

The people in that classroom sure is more intellectually bright than me ,i wouldn't even survive a minute in that class.

[@bryanfrancis3356]

You're a lucky guy Rick...0:00 to 1:25 : 00....stuff I don't understand ! 😎

[@Loonypapa]

LOL

[@shmookins]

What a time we live in that anyone can see such lectures.

[@Claude_van]

And that it doesn’t change anything is quite remarkable.

[@hl1449]

And most don't understand anyway. Even math-inclined folks find it pretty challenging towards the later half.

[@psychedelictacos9118]

I know what you mean, I just wanted to see what it would be like to take one of the hardest classes at one of the best universities taught by one of the smartest people in the world!

[@nobunaga240]

Absolutely agree this is what KZbin does right

[@doyouwanttogivemelekiss3097]

The problem is never the lecture, it's always the assignments 😂

[@J.Schooley]

I feel like I'm missing a few prereq's

[@tywins3669]

Hahaha. Yeah? All the 1 2 3 4 level physics

[@J.Schooley]

@@tywins3669 Yep...def all the levels missed

[@eonreeves4324]

keep learning

[@wyqtor]

Maybe it would be a better idea to start with Walter Lewin's lectures, perhaps even Susskind's :))

[@tywins3669]

@@wyqtor I started with Feynmans and he has such a great catalogue

[@marcusryden6732]

"It doesn't really matter which metric you use, if you think about it." Yes, now that I have thought about it I must say that I agree.

[@AG-ur1lj]

Indeed. I concur

[@danieltodd1750]

For sure. I'm on board.

[@radscorpion8]

How silly of me I agree with you completely

[@MNC2k]

because all of them would converge just at different rates

[@AG-ur1lj]

@@MNC2k correct

[@EF-fc4du]

"Any questions?" "Professor Witten, have you ever done DMT?"

[@CD-123]

Fight bear high on DMT

[@bradleyboyer9979]

Rogan needs to get him on.

[@holliswilliams8426]

imagine the baffled silence

[@Dunkaroos248]

@@bradleyboyer9979why? He already can’t keep up with Weinstein

[@Bryan-ky6ko]

LMFAO

[@nealrothchild3470]

I had his father Lou Witten for physics at UC. Loved him as he was a great teacher.

[@holliswilliams8426]

That's cool, I have actually seen that Lou published an article in Physical Review D a few years ago although he is now 101 years old.

[@iamthemoss]

I majored in microbiology, physics is what kept me out of engineering, it was very humbling. I am now old and feel I gained much from realizing my limitations. Parents, don’t lie to your children and tell them they can be whatever they want because they can’t.

[@kevinf9822]

@@iamthemossThat is funny … and true. I went to Rice in the 70s and had the same realization. Physics kept me out of physics. I settled for electrical engineering. Did fairly well in the coursework but knew that I could never be a top engineer. Not smart enough. Went and got a Wharton MBA and then Wall Street.

[@yanwain9454]

so do you understand what ed is talking about in this video?

[@nealrothchild3470]

@redfordkobayashi6936, I wouldn't call Ed that, nor anyone else. His father however, was entertaining and almost blue collar like in how he taught. Easy going, able to relate, and down to earth. He remains to this day professor emeritus at the University of Cincinnati. Ed is simply blessed. Hope to more work from him on Cern

[@anismatar]

I watched somewhere how all the accomplished Physicists worldwide hold Professor Edward Witten in highest of esteems and even they struggle to keep following up with him. To have opportunity to see his lessons online should be a great honor.

[@ElChocoLoco]

I fully and completely understand all the individual words by themselves.

[@thecook8964]

"naive parameters" 🤣

[@sashazxtt]

Liar.

[@dawdaddy]

wtf is a geodesics?

[@thesocialmediagame]

@@dawdaddy rock

[@onioni111111]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@vasilygrossman1944]

Here’s the course description for PHY539 from the fall 2022 semester at Princeton: This course is devoted to topics of current interest at the interface of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Topics include singularity theorems, general properties of classical black holes, an introduction to information theory and to the entanglement properties of quantum field theory, and an introduction to black hole thermodynamics. Students are urged to prepare for the course by reading the lecturer's article "Light Rays, Singularities, and All That,'' which covers the subject matter of the first few weeks of the course.

[@j.pricey]

Everything makes sense now

[@terrodar19]

I would love take such course. seems so interesting

[@gkelly34]

I’m astounded that humans have these insights in to our world.

[@jonathaningram8157]

And that they still don’t have all the answers.

[@sammysouth8372]

I’m astounded that in a country where brilliance of this caliber is to be found, over 70 million people look at a dumb psychopathic third rate Uber narcissist grifter and say to themselves yes!!!! That man is president quality

[@matttzzz2]

​@@jonathaningram8157you'd still be going "ooga booga", living in a cave and smacking others with a club if it weren't for people like those in this video

[@Giantist]

To have all the answers would be impossible, the universe is infinite and as such can't all be observed, so nothing is ever certain@@jonathaningram8157

[@JohnSmith-cg3cv]

⁠@@jonathaningram8157that’s not really astounding at all. There is no reason that the Universe should be comprehensible to our limited human brains, even to the smartest of us who build upon each other. It seems possible that without something like Artificial Superintelligence exponentially increasing the rate of our progress in understanding physics, there are facts about physics that humans could never figure out, even given a few more centuries of progress. And even if without Artificial Superintelligence, a few more centuries would be sufficient to “have all the answers” - which seems logically impossible to begin with - then we happen to have existed in the 21st century when physicists have come extremely far with their understanding of physics but not all the way to understanding everything.

[@jacklarue7049]

I love how he starts by asking if anyone has any questions from the last lecture. Not a soul said anything for quite a while, and I’d guarentee all of them didn’t understand half of what he would’ve covered 😆

[@JosephAng]

Idk man, one does not simply walk into physics.

[@youngman7655]

@@JosephAng lmao

[@vitaminacesar1261]

It is the same in every country no one wants to admit that they are of average intelligence. Besides, no one can internalise complex teaching over 90 minutes.

[@semontreal6907]

Does anybody here understand what he said Does he understand what he said lol

[@Brewbug]

All of his answers included what could be taken as humiliating snark. I can see why Eric Weinstein is scared shotless of this man.

[@deffenbeard]

"parametrized our curves by arc lengthening the complete euclidean metric" - happens to me all the time

[@bradleyboyer9979]

Lol, same

[@nwonknutirips1301]

🤣

[@shmookins]

My brain rebooted mid sentence.

[@leif1075]

Does it actually make sense..what does it mean?

[@Tropicsca]

I like when he said "if you noticed that I've been repeating myself then it means you've been listening carefully." Wise words

[@wernersmidt3298]

Still amazes me the amount of confidence the youtube algorithm has in me.

[@robertpongratz1062]

Laughed out loud here

[@francoisfrancois7353]

Same

[@verdi2310]

Hahaha

[@kipponi]

Yes same and I only watch Closer to truth and this is like China to me😂.

[@justacherryontop6538]

Don't you guys know this simple stuff! They teach you this in 99999th grade!

[@KP-tr9zl]

It is just so amazing for anyone to understand this stuff, thank god for all of you who can understand and do this stuff!

[@cowboybob7093]

To hear the prof offhandedly use profound concepts in the way most of us describe how to get to our office from the parking lot.

[@a.kramer1615]

No idea what he's talking about but it's strangly very interesting to watch.

[@ЧитаДрита-ш9ю]

@just somebody no. Literally no idea😂.

[@moerther1]

If you guys liked this lecture, you should check out the homework for this class. If you watch carefully, the link is on the board.

[@antipro8]

Every time Edward Witten does a lecture, a black hole opens up somewhere

[@aaronharris2684]

HAHAHAHAH

[@zootsoot2006]

I only come here to get a feeling about what it'll be like to talk to ASI in a few years. Yep, complete incomprehensibility.

[@nagilum]

Eric Weinstein said this guy is the Michael Jordan of physicists. His chalkboard game is off the charts. I subscribed to this channel. Maybe I’ll learn something by accident.

[@xOsKaHH]

Leave it in whilst sleeping and maybe you'll wake up one day and realize you a genius level understanding of triangles

[@kaimarmalade9660]

Greetings fellow Weinstein listener! May the UFO force be with thee! Cheers.

[@snotsbuttwax]

​@@patrickhenry2342wait till you see him on defense!

[@xOsKaHH]

@@patrickhenry2342 tbf it's probably the one thing in this video that normal people can fully appreciate

[@Cabz.]

People don’t learn things by accident, you learn by observing and listening to something you want to learn.

[@JB-lg1fh]

Honestly, I watched this in its entirety and I didn’t understand a single word in the entire time. Not one word. In fact, I dribbled at one point in a hazy day dream.

[@HeavyProfessor]

Dribbled semen out of your c0ckrel?

[@beninbryant455]

If you read Witten's Wiki page...in college, he first majored in history and linguistics and then worked as a journalist. Crazy to think, he had this untapped potential for physics at the time, and only discovered it when going back to school.

[@Cantor214]

His dad was a theoretical physicist.

[@surfingonmars8979]

I worked with his brother. The entire family is brilliant. In a different realm of intelligence.

[@ajblum58]

Maybe insisting that kids know what they want to major in and do for the rest of their lives by age 18 isn't the greatest idea.

[@surfingonmars8979]

@@ajblum58 I’m 70 and have NO idea what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe a fireman?

[@annaclarafenyo8185]

His father was a physicist, he studied physics since childhood, but ran away from the "family profession" until he realized that was where he had the most talent, and also, that 'tHooft and Polyakov had broken through, allowing the field to thrive again after the slump of the early 70s.

[@jonv1776]

It is both humbling and also encouraging that there are people this much smarter than I am out there in the world.

[@karenl5782]

That can also spell 😄

[@jonv1776]

@@karenl5782 see. Exactly. Lol

[@novelas3536]

@@karenl5782 Who*

[@chrillerkiller]

@@novelas3536 what?

[@Hana-xo4wi]

It’s not about being smarter. Literally anyone could get to this point. It’s about the drive, obsession, want, circumstance and opportunity.

[@jonathancortez5179]

I spent most of the video scrolling through social media while using the lecture as background noise. Amazing. It takes real focus and dedication to do science. It's amazingly hard work.

[@darkmanddk]

Being a teacher in primary school for children on the spectrum, Witten standing making almost a monologue on a subject I would never grasp to understand, reminds me 1:1 with some of the young students that I have. Demanding such respect for the in depth knowledge of a subject or even a field with a rocket ship explanation even my mind can understand and at the same time with such a distance to moving and gesticulating. My biggest respect

[@leif1075]

Why do you say you could never understand..if it understood it, why can't you? Why would you think he is smarter than you?

[@darkmanddk]

@@leif1075 from what I can tell from reading around Witten is considered one of the most brilliant minds in his field. I don't think there's anything wrong with thinking that he's smarter than me

[@holliswilliams8426]

don't start with ''on the spectrum'' stuff, it's got nothing to do with physics and never has.

[@darkmanddk]

@@holliswilliams8426 I didn't say it had. What I said was that the way he stand and presents it with both body language as well as the very in depth knowledge of the subject at hand has.

[@eftichismalandrakis]

​@@leif1075Because he is extremely intelligent. If you disagree you are either a genius yourself, or delusional.

[@teugene5850]

A good teacher probes his students by asking what their questions are... Witten would be a tough teacher... strict, disciplined but honest... only for the most dedicated students...

[@holliswilliams8426]

I emailed him a question once about an article of his and he answered almost immediately, he seems very nice.

[@teugene5850]

@@holliswilliams8426 His intellectual powers are extraordinary... it is now his real job to bring up a new generation of scholars....

[@fermentedfruit]

mad props to the people putting in work 💯 i’m making salary without an education. school was never my thing and sitting down listening to a teacher just made me think i was wasting my time. hope the best for everyone trying to pursue they’re dreams

[@vikramsarabhai1]

I'm a simple man, Eric says he's the best I follow. But man this is complicated he really must be a genius!!!!

[@robertwhitten265]

Not just Eric but pretty much everyone says that. Sam Harris said it best "If you ask 100 physicists and asked who is the smartest, half will say leave me alone and the other half will say Witten'. Maybe he is related to me.

[@ashishkiift]

It’s really impressive how many exams, how many physics Olympiads and how much of hard undergrad, grad and doctoral course-work the students would have accomplished to be taught from the legendary Edward Witten

[@medicalphysics-lt2wo]

none

[@phaedruslykos3249]

or like 400k in school fees that will do

[@Myrslokstok]

Still you could have a Nobelprize and still feel stupid around Witten! Originally he was an historian😂

[@theGoogol]

To be able to say you've had lessons from the Edward Witten ... just ... WOW!

[@elijahgtp]

No. This is terrible. He shouldn't teach

[@theGoogol]

@@elijahgtp : He may just be the smartest man alive.

[@Dani-it7hz]

I have very little mathematical literary, but his explanations are so intuitive and concise. I actually feel some aspects of understanding the concepts within the equations. It's beautiful. It's as if mathematics is expressed in so many different 'languages' that all elucidate the same thing. Thank you for broadcasting these beautiful, lyrical lectures. It's like listening to amazing Jazz.

[@elijahgtp]

Time code please. This is crap.

[@gibbogle]

Good luck to anyone being taught by Witten. This lecture reminds me why I gave up wanting to be a theoretical physicist, and made the smart move into engineering science, which was a much better fit to my abilities.

[@Raine247]

Tbh, he doesn't seem like somebody who should be teaching. A good teacher needs to understand that his students aren't operating at his level of understanding. It's clear immediately upon watching the initial stages of the lecture; dead silence when asking students if they had questions, when asked questions he's dumbfounded and shocked that a concept isn't clear or as simple as he assumed it would be for the class. Crazy smart dude in his field. Bad teacher

[@johnmoy388]

Listening to this is like listening to someone speaking French...It sounds absolutely beautiful, yet I cannon understand it at all.

[@swavekbu4959]

Oui, vous etes correcte, le francais est telement magnifique!

[@PimpIes]

⁠​⁠@@swavekbu4959 You mean to say « Oui, vous êtes correct, le français est tellement magnifique ! »

[@dariofromthefuture3075]

Well said

[@TheDanielmeeks]

0:00 - 3:40: Introduction and Convergence of Curves 3:40 - 8:07: Time-like Geodesics Overview 8:07 - 15:26: Focal Points and Maximizing Proper Time 15:26 - 37:12: Raychaudhuri's Equation and Its Importance 37:12 - 55:22: Hawking's Theorem and Cosmology 55:22 - 1:01:23: Applications of Hawking's Theorem 1:01:23 - 1:07:29: Introduction to Null Geodesics 1:07:29 - End: Promptness and Causal Paths

[@taipoxin]

I think my domain of dependence is greater than the space time that is bounded by my brain that is below this mans intelligence to both the future and the past. Just listening to him talk is somehow like a soothing white noise that helps me sleep.

[@JoyoSnooze]

I knew within the first minute, when a student began asking a question I didn't understand and Professor Witten began forming a diagram with written stuff alongside it as the guy was still working out his question, that I was in the right place to be eloquently confused and existentially out of my depth.

[@jasonabc]

Just listening to Ed makes me realize just how stupid I am and intellectually a baby amongst men. I could study physics the rest of my life and never get far beyond the basics. This man has command of the subject that is just mind boggling

[@michaelblankenau6598]

I once showed my girlfriend a page from a Wikipedia page about quantum mechanics . She took one look at it and said " What is this ? Some kind of a joke " ? A reasonable response .

[@lawliet2263]

@@michaelblankenau6598 true man, her only purpose in life is to blow candles and then you on her birthday.

[@DanielKurganov]

24:03 - Witten thinks of a hilarious joke about geodesics on a Riemannian manifold. Decides not to share it.

[@roybatty-]

My favorite part of the lecture was when he said, "Space time is being bad." I can totally relate, I hate when my space time is being bad. Naughty, naughty.

[@holliswilliams8426]

so naughty

[@BennduR]

3:34 "The questions make me worry it isn't as obvious as I thought it would be" Something tells me this is a problem he faces often 😂

[@holliswilliams8426]

it definitely is

[@OGMann]

I often feel the same way when talking with people. What seems obvious to me apparently is not, to them. That informs me I am not speaking with sufficient clarity. This is a challenge for subject matter experts. They are accustomed to the lexicon literally speaking for itself.

[@ACMEKILLAH]

1:02:53 student corrected the Legend!! 🧠🔥

[@tommynoble678]

😂😂😂 Fucking legend 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@Myrslokstok]

You should have a gold medal then, not those phony ones in the olympics, but a real one that says. "I once corrected Witten!"

[@StephNuggs]

He got an F

[@inlyst]

This man is intimidating. My grandfather was a brilliant physicist, but his father was a universally brilliant chemist, who invented the urine test. His name was Charles C. Fulton (1900-1992). My grandfather used to say his dad couldn’t figure out why he was so dumb. That rocked me to my core. I took to jiu jitsu, and although there are unbeatable black belts within a gym, there are universal black belts that make other black belts look like white belts. I’ve come to realize whether it’s physics, jiu jitsu, piano or golf, the top one percent of the top one percent are a blend of natural gifts and relentless obsessive study.

[@kaustavchakraborty6811]

Wow! I found an article talking about Mr. Fulton himself. It said that after retiring he took to pursue his interests in electronics.... so, is it true? And did you see him?

[@mokhtaramran7041]

Oh man hope he answers

[@inlyst]

@@kaustavchakraborty6811 He died when I was 7, unfortunately I don’t have any memories of him.

[@rinzlr3554]

Curious, but what did you end up choosing as a career?

[@thlee3]

theres levels to everything

[@mcschneiveoutdoors3681]

"The questions make me think it isn't as obvious as I thought it'd be." Yes, professor. I have never heard half of the words you use and have never heard the other half used together before. So, sure... I've some questions.

[@cbwavy]

LOL, I would be terrified to ask him a question

[@tgmtf5963]

Just a word salad

[@folarinosibodu]

I used to teach. The opening where he waited for a full 30 seconds for the students to ask questions, believe me is a long time to wait. Good patience on Witten.

[@RWin-fp5jn]

Impressive mind. And a lot of answers. But what in Edwards’ opinion is the core ‘Question of Everything?

[@alebairos]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJfapKmJn72egLc

[@JD123-ng8wd]

He's bringing students on a journey through the theory, and the assumption is made that they are capable of the navigating themselves thru the math behind the theory. High level stuff!

[@boogieman6529]

thats how discoveries are made wdym

[@ABD-rh1sp]

I believe that Dr. Edward Witten is the greatest theoretical physicist living on planet Earth as of 2023.

[@rubicunduseratiudas1264]

Meanwhile, I've even plunged into the enormous conceit of thinking that Witten is more of an actor than a physicist; a simple speculator with some knowledge of physics theories but lots of initiative: no lab, no experimentation, no way of testing, no verification, no new results or findings... I think Witten is NOT a scientist but a very imaginative storyteller whose topic is quantum physics.

[@DH-rj2kv]

@@rubicunduseratiudas1264 No new results or findings is not something anyone has ever said about Witten. 🤣 M-theory might turn out wrong, but so did Maxwell's assumptions of luminiferous ether and he _still_ revolutionised the understanding of electromagnetism and Maxwell equation are still used about everywhere...

[@gibbogle]

Witten wins the popularity contest.

[@hasanmollaoglu6861]

The most replayed part is at minute 25.33 because, when you open the video, it's the most probable point(or random?) to fast forward among all the awesome moments

[@emmanuelmartin1238]

I can listen to him like I would a classical pianist. The notes of his voice and the even the rhythm of his chalk tapping the board are very pleasant... naturally I couldn't play a note of it myself.

[@FredGSanford-hu1uk]

The intelligence of some people is really mind blowing.

[@frede1905]

I've been learning about causal structure and the various singularity theorems of GR on my own for some time now. They don't teach this at my university. So it was very nice to see that there's several lectures on this from Princeton, even by none other than Ed Witten! Definitely going to take a look at these.

[@ulriklm1]

I always wanted to see him give a full lecture

[@Elsanta666]

When the teachers ask you , What part did you not understand..the whole thing

[@pcm7315]

Or, have you started already?

[@francishunt562]

The teacher has to expect that most students are going to have difficulty understanding all of it. Not many people understand this area thoroughly.

[@childrenoftolkien]

He is having a conversation but it isn't with his students.

[@lunam7249]

👏😳👏😳😳😳👏💋❤️👏🥰

[@RAMONSANTAANA]

This man speaks in a language terms with deeply compressed subject intellect to teach physics... excellent.

[@Michael-cb5nm]

I hope you’re a bot…if not it’s time to learn English.

[@generichuman_]

The way he expels air after answering questions, it's like he's saying "I wish you peasants could understand this the way I do"

[@Humza_3.14]

My gosh. After a whole year of taking Real Analysis and Algebra, I now actually know what he's talking about. Or at least I understand the definitions of the words. Takes a lot of work to be able to speak math!

[@tonyli8703]

i lets celebrate for you can understand but u can accomplish, anyone who can read will understand

[@Robinson8491]

Who doesn't like timelike geodesics? Let's go!

[@tommynoble678]

😂😂😂

[@SOLORANKGAMING]

followed because hes the best in my lifetime.

[@francishunt562]

I prefer to call Professor Witten a mathematical physicist. There's no question he has fantastic ability at mathematics and his ability to manipulate equations into a controversial theory. It has to be said many theorists are moving away from string theory, it has several deep problems.

[@syz911]

Can anyone imagine how much information he retains in his brain at any point of time that he can simply write them on the board as if he is writing a story?

[@holliswilliams8426]

It's just practice, that's all he does.

[@Supercatzs]

Thousands of hours of practice.

[@simonwalsh6804]

This is hypnotic to listen to. I have 2 PhDs and used to think I was quite smart. Now I know that I am a literally several points behind this guy on the human evolutionary scale 😂.

[@77bronc14]

I am a retired mechanical engineer, many, many hours of math and physics in college, over 45 years ago and I have to say this discussion is so over my head now...I literally dont know what the hell he is talking about.

[@jema021]

Witten: do we have any questions? Biggest understatement of ALL TIME.

[@neilmcintosh5150]

Witten is quite possibly the smartest person in the world alive today.

[@johnf6594]

I was told the same thing!

[@juanriojas1926]

Terry Tao says Hi

[@neilmcintosh5150]

@@juanriojas1926 So does David Deutsch

[@wyqtor]

I respect the man, but his path in life is a waste of talent IMHO. M-Theory yielded 0 useful predictions to improve our lives so far. Meanwhile, the people who invented the transformer over at Google may not have Witten's IQ, but they have paved the way for the future creation of machines with Ed Witten's intellect, machines that will help us figure out not only physics but change everything about how our society works.

[@bryanfrancis3356]

' Probability'....maby just in his field ....mathematical physics...might be a complete jackass in Chemistry or Biology ! 😎

[@scottcarpenter9993]

Ed's voice is mesmerizing and soothing in the same way as Bob Ross's was in the Joy of Painting series.

[@JOSEPHCHARLESCOLIN2024]

So in other words, the universe is expanding on a dark matter lattice, and we are travelling in one direction at 200k a sec with atoms blinking out of the distance on the lattice as a gas state and with atoms, and you and I are suspended in space with everything in a gas state with light reacting to us to see the gas, and everything 1 mm out of reach is gas, and the atoms we touch react as a solid with string theory with force back on us, giving the illusion of life, and all atoms blinking out of the distance of 200k a sec behind us in the movement of our life riding on a dark matter multi-g-hexagon lattice = like a movie. Its how Joseph Charles Colin, The new Face of Art, see's our Lives .

[@2024SLCLUBBERS]

HA HA no wait

[@noam65]

I recognized Witten because of TOE with Curt Jaimungal. Whether I personally understand it, or not, I'm terribly grateful it's here to be had for free, for those settings the world who are capable of understanding it, wherever they are in the world.

[@Zodgee]

As a chemical engineer who watches JRE, clicked on this to see how he teaches basic physics, only to under 20% of what they’re saying. Incredible.

[@lysikasaito]

For what it's worth, this is not basic physics. This is a graduate-level course.

[@456dave7]

How much I would dread sitting in that lecture theater... and I say that as a fellow grad student in theoretical physics...

[@francishunt562]

I guess it reminds us that we can always learn something new.

[@psychedelictacos9118]

Jeesus, Imagine having Edward Witten as your physics lecturer!

[@chiknsld3856]

i enjoy listening to this just as music, i might not understand every...or anything that he is saying and yet i feel at home :)

[@xOsKaHH]

I was going to say it's a sad feeling looking at something that excites me greatly knowing I'll never fully understand it. Or maybe the excitement IS because it so outwardly mysterious to me and it will disappear if I spend the inordinate ammount of time it would take for someone of average IQ to learn this stuff with zero practical application in return. Like the excitement I felt watching the first season of Lost knowing so little, it will all have disapaared and replaced with mild disappointment knowing all the answers at the finale. Also I wanna see this guy on Joe Rogans supplement/nootropic stack and diet and see what happens. These guys are eating jam sandwiches and solving space time. We gotta supercharge these guys

[@TheMushroomOfficial]

Brought to you by Onnit 😂

[@kaimarmalade9660]

You know that's all pseudoscience, right? Listen to what Louis C.K. said about, "saunas and cold plunges" in a recent episode. There's a reason high level physicists eat jam sandwiches and guys that don't do physics take AlphaBrain. Think about it.

[@xOsKaHH]

Watching someone unravel unimaginably complex answers to fundamental questions and mysteries of reality is exiting, even if I don't understand the maths I can still understand its implications or concepts. Also the idea of there always being another layer to peel back each revealing increasingly higher resolution of understanding is very appealing. Mystery is exciting.

[@xOsKaHH]

@@markhall2414 I get what you're saying and obviously i have that thought aswell, but I know so little that i gain alot of understanding just from the things that are observationally true that make up the overarching theoretical conclusions that may turn out to be false

[@semontreal6907]

The reason you don't understand it is because it's complete and utter nonsense don't be fooled use your better judgment

[@scottcarpenter9993]

"Any questions about last weeks lecture?" Me: Yes, can you please repeat last week's lecture, but in English-for-Dummies?

[@hejsan5839290485]

He is a living caricature of a smart person.

[@tonyli8703]

a smart person that lives in his own logic, non of his theory is approved by experiement

[@steveurquell3031]

Bro I don't know anything about physics nor math yet I am sitting here watching. There is something magnetic and magical about watching one of the greatest talking about something so advanced

[@magfam9717]

no reason to be afraid of the fella he is an insperation to the world

[@Mojo16011973]

1:21:36 "I don't want to rush" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@chancerogers69]

🤣🤣

[@mynameisawesomeman]

Everyone is going on and on about how they don't understand all this stuff and how amazing it is that these people do. Remember, they didn't get here overnight. They worked hard to understand the fundamentals and learned them incrementally. Is it hard? yes, of course, but anything worth doing is hard.

[@harrysmith6502]

I have no shame in saying that I have completely no idea what he’s talking about so I’m going back to JRE

[@tieneeddoawestruck2036]

Let me get this right. If i run to a point at the ideal time and take an ideal path, I will still not have a clue what he said.

[@schmetterling4477]

I wish I could live in Edward Witten's mind for just one minute. That would probably exceed my entire logical thoughts of a lifetime. ;-)

[@waynewayne9693]

Rocking the old old old school black boards from the 30’s.

[@pyropulseIXXI]

those are clearly newer

[@jamesa2482]

That’s because witten was the same age as he is now in the 1930s

[@Aleksandra-yg3sv]

This teacher is underrated😮

[@elijahgtp]

His teaching skills are terrible.

[@mertonhirsch4734]

Edward Witten is giving this lecture to a past version of himself through a wormhole time machine.

[@holliswilliams8426]

For the people criticising his responses, it can be really difficult to teach elementary classes when you are engaged in very advanced research where many things are taken for granted.

[@bcs1793]

This is a fields course in the PhD program. It could be argued that this is the least elementary class that exists lol

[@holliswilliams8426]

@@bcs1793 Anything taught on a PhD program is generally considered to be fairly elementary. I am telling you this material is elementary if you do research on gravitation.

[@Jeropa]

if there are no questions it means that: 1) every one of them clearly understood, 2) everything discussed in the class was clear and obvious in the first time 3) the students are as clever as the prof and 4) they have no idea about this all. I would say: 4)

[@hbrandon947]

The greatest instructors can take the most complex subjects and break it down simple enough for the students to understand and build upon. As well as being able to povide further explanation and show true understanding of bridging the gap of knowledge. College and it's lack of regulation for professors and students as well as being so free will and a large money land fill, these egos and poor socialized instructors get away with being harsh and not understanding to the basic students needs.

[@starguy2012]

This is a 500 level graduate Princeton Physics course, with certainly 10s of prereqs. I think you're not giving the students enough credit, and giving to much to the layman watching a youtube video that doesn't nearly have the education necessary to follow the lecture.

[@hbrandon947]

@Erik Okay. Enjoy living in a world where instead of going to class and wanting to be engaged, you mess up and ask the wrong question. Only to get a guy like this who has poor social skills, so he intimidates people rather then embraces their curiosity. They are so quiet whenever he ask if there are any questions after the first guy is berated. With knowledge like this, there should be engagement, not discipline and passive mockery towards the students in your class. He clearly has a sense of superiority in this field because we reward poor social behavior as "mysterious" and "intellectual" when in actuality, it is a form of gatekeeping, and bullying. This is very common in advanced courses and should be frowned upon.

[@Simplyveej]

I agree

[@krishnashukla9154]

​@@hbrandon947 Bruv have you ever been in a stem class? Studying and understanding mathematical science take times and often time it's hard for the human brain to absorb the information right away it takes some time.

[@hbrandon947]

@Krishna Shukla I didn't bring up the absorption of knowledge at all, I brought up lack of social skills and passive aggression. I'm not sure why you brought that up but you're not wrong.

[@ptyeueiiwjd]

This is the metaphorical equivalent of time traveling to Neanderthals and dropping off an Iphone. In this scenario I am a Dung Beatle crawling on the ground nearby...

[@robsonlunar8161]

How do you solve the homeless problem

[@Henryprofile.]

e=mc2 X v = Δs/Δt duh

[@SkydivingSquid]

A job would be a good start.

[@dlife7427]

Start prescribing proper pain meds

[@AlexHuner-cc7ew]

This guy is so smart you can see him trying to dumb down his thought process.

[@chrillerkiller]

And he still makes me feel like I am a severe retard.

[@kutonmichael1125]

Joe just promote the greatest physics of all time

[@robj144]

He's not the greatest physicist.

[@MrJtin69]

The man who puts fear in the math and science community

[@KeyserSoseRulz]

I feel blessed to have easy access to this incredible lecture and not have to understand a single thing he said. Being normal is truly a wonderful thing.

[@YTDumpsterBaby]

Am i getting this right? He is talking about Space time and time dilation and the maths behind it like its 5th grade maths to him? My head is fried. I wish i was smart enough to make this guy's coffee.

[@DrakeLarson-js9px]

The singularity assumption is a giant leap of faith...the video speaks volumes with the students comments...

[@josearias5902]

He is such great professor. I am currently taking this class at another institution and my professor doesn’t really explain concepts this well

[@markthebldr6834]

I'm sure if I just watch the 1st. And 2nd lectures this will make perfect sense.

[@josh35292]

Yea sure😂

[@crazypolite]

Imagine having the balls to ask him a question 😂 Jesus every time he basically just says "you're annoying me with your lack of effort and/or intelligence"

[@holliswilliams8426]

His answers seem pretty reasonable to me.

[@crazypolite]

@@holliswilliams8426 perhaps you are an overtly intelligent OR dilligent physics student/graduate. OR.. you're just that guy.

[@francishunt562]

Perhaps, but I think he respects the fact that someone didn't quite understand something and try and get him to clarify it. Much better than sitting there with no clue.

[@Snap_Crackle_Pop_Grock]

"The questions make me worry that that wasn't as obvious as I thought it would be... Any other questions?" LMAO.

[@Joooools]

Would be cool if when he asked if anyone had any questions someone blurted out, “what’s your favorite food?!”

[@holliswilliams8426]

imagine the baffled silence

[@FabioRodrigues-xs8vf]

Why would that be cool?

[@dontbother7355]

Because it’s recorded and the people wanna know! LOL

[@DaryaDilFx]

All the of the great minds including Brain Greene, Sean carroll etc are of the view that Wittten has the best mind among us.

[@cordos2362]

Bloody Genius.