Steven Weinberg: On The Shoulders Of Giants

Each generation benefits from the insights and discoveries of those who came before. “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants,” wrote Isaac Newton. In a new annual series, World Science Festival audiences are invited to stand on the shoulders of modern-day giants. For this year’s inaugural address, “The Future of Big Science,” Nobel laureate and physicist Steven Weinberg considers the future of fundamental physics, especially as funding for basic research is reduced. Weinberg will explore physics’ small origins, starting with the discovery of the atomic nucleus 100 years ago by a single scientist, and moving to the present-day, when collaborations involve hundreds of researchers and billions of dollars. What has motivated this growth spurt? What results has it yielded? And what would we stand to lose if Big Science were to suffer? Weinberg, one of the most revered voices in science, offers a distinguished vantage point for this crucial discussion.
The World Science Festival gathers great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that allows a broad general audience to engage with scientific discoveries. Our mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.
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Original Program Date: June 4, 2011
PARTICIPANT: Steven Weinberg
Brian Greene Introduction. 00:15
Steven Weinberg Introduction. 03:28
100th anniversary of the nucleus of the atom. 04:08
Building accelerators after WWII 07:42
The Bevatron and the new particle. 12:10
The Large Hadron Collider. 14:30
We are forced into the mold of BIG science. 20:58
The new set of fields... the Higgs Boson 23:35
The pessimism of the SSC 26:44
What the senate said about big science. 29:26
There is no alternative to spending more money to advance science. 33:48
Technological spin offs of science. 39:30
Astronomy has a whole different set of problems. 43:31
The DIY of scientists. 47:05
A tremendously exciting time for science. 50:39
Colliders vs the ISS 54:00
Big science and its competition for position. 56:47

[@WorldScienceFestival]

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[@joanyoon4672]

"Society that only supports the applied science and not support the pure science will end up with neither". What an insightful statement by Dr. Weinberg.

[@unscient]

He is a person who understands society as perfect as science. Such persons getting rarer.

[@joanyoon4672]

@@unscient As the public school teacher, it is my hope and confidence that our communities will continue to yield such individuals. The educational reform measures include a lot of critical thinking skills. However, the foundation of the success like we have seen in Dr. Weinberg is the self discipline and commitment. It is these qualities of character that threaten the potential of our youth.

[@ashburnian]

RIP Sir. You are a true legend.

[@baraskparas9559]

RIP SW. You were one of those giants. Thanks for the unification theory of the weak and em force. I read your 1967 paper A Model of Leptons and when we meet in the afterlife you can explain it to me in plain language.

[@georgepaul5843]

Most delightful speaker, so clear in his thinking. You learn without trying. I could listen to him for hours.

[@spandankundu6794]

REST IN PEACE STEVEN WEINBERG. WE WILL MISS HIM.

[@DrAtomics]

Truly a loss for the world, but his work will live on in the minds of thousands of physicists for decades to come and be manifested into other works that continue to push the envelope of human scientific advancement.

[@Trp44]

I hang on every word you say... I’m a painter and feel comfortable with both the information and your delivery...💯💯💯

[@katiekat4457]

He is so interesting to listen to. I wish he was my grandfather so that I could hear all his stories throughout my life. I love how his stories move forward. I'm worried about him though. I need to grab his newest book to read.

[@sortof3337]

yes today is sad day.

[@FourTetTrack]

RiP Mr Weinberg. I had the feeling Mr Weinberg wasn't very comfortable behind a podium and was wondering he was looking for a big whiteboard :). What a legend.

[@michiamojoe]

Our country needs more visionaries like Mr. Steven Weinberg. Politicians seem incapable of taking the long view when it comes to doing what's right for our country. The Superconducting Super Collider project that was cancelled by short-sighted politicians is a perfect example. America's best days may be behind us, unless we can unite in a progressive vision for our future.

[@dreed7312]

Thanks to the Democrat controlled 103rd congress and Bill Clinton.

[@dreamindreamoutnow9151]

Thank you, uncle Weinberg.

[@marios8016]

These are the gods, the gods of humanity. People gifted with brilliant minds, doing the hard difficult work, to attempt to find out, based on facts and evidence, what nature is and how it works. Much respect and admiration, for him and all like him……

[@JedMontesTheDarkXXXHunter]

great talk from the great steven weinberg as always

[@vicplichota]

More, please! PS don't forget to tag them "on the shoulders of giants", so they can be searched for easily...

[@russellbarndt6579]

Man I respect this human being every bit as much as I do a trusted friend girl I know highly educated working in a simple convient store and a triple major working as an interior trim carpenter ,3 most intelligent people I have learned from ......

[@soubhikmukherjee6871]

Weinberg is a great thinker.

[@MrSlovanprofessor]

very interesting lecture, great scientist and a great speaker

[@olenaerhardt7725]

Thank you for posting this outstanding lecture. I had a pleasure to listen to Steven Weinberg talk during the 27th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, which took place in 2013 in Dallas. This talk and presence of Dr. Weinberg made the Symposium very special. It was the best from the three I attended: 2013 - Dallas TX, 2015 - Geneva Switzerland, 2019 - Portsmouth UK (I should remark here that this Texas Symposium circulates the world in the manner of Olympic games).

[@spaveevo]

A great address.

[@PrayagPandey]

A true Legend..The best of his time. RIP

[@majorravindran8084]

Very insightful

[@pobinr]

People never envisaged how the impact of knowledge of the electron etc could so hugely transform our lives. So how do we know that better understanding of dark matter & dark energy etc won't be of equal practical importance? Might not seem like it now, but as i mentioned, it didn't seem like it in the case of the electron

[@khurmiful]

Great talk

[@stt9379]

what is the correct facts on green energy?

[@muditracks3640]

Rest in peace

[@bubayou]

"Unlike the SSC, the LHC project had solid project management throughout by a single physicist, (Lyn Evans) who had decades of experience with proton colliders. Despite major problems and cost overruns that eventually exceeded 40 percent, Evans enjoyed the strong support of the CERN management, as well as from a deeply experienced cadre of physicists and engineers who worked together without the cultural clashes that occurred at the SSC Lab. And on the LHC project, engineers reported ultimately to physicists, the users of the machine best able to make the required tradeoffs when events did not play out as originally planned. The LHC project encountered daunting difficulties, serious delays and major cost overruns, too, but its core management team led by Evans held together and worked through these problems. They also shared a common technological culture - as well as understood and supported the project’s principal scientific goals. Similar observations cannot be made regarding the military-industrial engineers who came to dominate SSC construction."

[@stianaslaksen5799]

What a great speech.

[@joanyoon4672]

Dr. Weinberg also plays a politician in articulating why his project needs to be funded for the economical advancement of communities.

[@10083607]

pure genius

[@KirksReport]

RIP and thank you

[@KirksReport]

I wrote to him after reading his book, To explain the world and was surprised when he wrote me back.

[@AtheistSid]

When was this talk given? He talks about LHC as in the future.

[@katiekat4457]

2011

[@TeodorAngelov]

43:20 - Maybe it's the other way around countries that are capable of stopping relegious fanaticism are the ones that are capable of developing scientifically.

[@alexllopart9541]

Hello again old chap well seems I’ve been a bit of a nuisance in the recent past here and it’s nothing to do with anything other than I’ve spoken and somehow managed to engulf my lower extremity as it were for you see the children’s books of which I referred to were extremely illuminating and I suspect my bias was from a lack of effort please pass along my warmest compliments to you or the gentleman with whom you share your moniker with whom writes children books with a bloke by the name Jon scieszka i hereby absolve myself of all transgressions and imbue all responsibility for the proper corrections and apologies upon you.. and what ever deputations must occur…you are the man of the hour in my humble opinion and an especially deep regard to any extra footwork you may have to undertake to solve this issue for me but I’m sure you understand a man of my status cannot be troubled beyond his first effort…so on and so forth…Cheerio and tata…

[@jeffcolorado]

RIP Professor Weinberg.

[@Torrriate]

Best Christopher Walken ever!

[@ukaszsurzycki845]

cool

[@ukaszsurzycki845]

it'st riviali my note but truethfull that Stephen Weinberg is important loud voice in void of short thinking representatives...unfortunattely

[@paulwilkinson1539]

I get the feeling that this is an "old" video. Can anyone confirm date of original recording?

[@pcamnesty7518]

Paul Wilkinson did you check the description?

[@paulwilkinson1539]

Bob Onitt Ahhh yes. I stand corrected.

[@lt4954]

1:00:00 Thank You (to Mr. Weinberg). Some views at first seem to be statistic (etatistic), but they are not. By ownership law we protect all legal persons - except society. Because being unable of defining society(ies) as legal person(s) not managers. Not managers! Thus obliging to whole all managers, being private or not, even a manager State, defining a whole in front of legal persons particulars, in front of managers (where State is also just a particular). We confuse society(ies) with a manager State, confuse society(ies) with local authorities, confuse it (them) with private managers, allowing managers or minority(ies) to identity them with all others, to legally steal identity(ies) from others... We wrongly think e.g. that socialism is left, when in constitutions for example it can't define society(ies) separately of managers. As legal person(s) owners, which is (are) do not manage by its own. In fact socialism is false left - and is right like all other right politics. Real left, not confused with labourers, syndicates and so on, is rare. Nowadays it is said that society is manager. Thus it is allowed managers, even a manager State, a minority, to take over a law identity of all others. Really liberal is confused with radical, managers are given too permanent authorisations and so on (when permanent authorisations are not to be confused with long term tasks, of which it was spoken).

[@oldskeptic1513]

... I've noticed 55 'thumbs down'... I would dearly love to talk to those people and hear what are their objections to this video content.. what are the bases of their dislike...

[@jimsteen911]

Why is Brian Green here?

[@arunenquiry]

He seems to be struggling to stand (as of 10:21). It'd have been nice to offer him a chair for this speech.

[@loren-emmerich]

L/MPCX1/2xC/E=MC2-1, i forgot the C, tsssss

[@FakeZappa]

24:00 Higgs will be found at LHC? Nice prediction.

[@dusanstosic3380]

filosofija i fizika

[@ManyHeavens42]

So we Discover , Going forward is coming full Circle.Back to a Program Waiting for the New Template.Soft drive, Hard drive, Instructions.We are Returning Home, and going Home. But the Road is our Home,If your not Hungry. Then you have no place Here ! And No Tomorrow. Stay hungry my Friends. Hahaha"See you there ! I should know I was Reborn between Two Cosmic Fields. And so was a lot of You.and you don't even Know It ? Keep looking.Higher Energy Is" Higher LOVE !That's my Take .

[@SardarBhaiForever]

7:11

[@qualquan]

not bad

[@loren-emmerich]

{L/MPCX1/2xE=MC2-1} and we humans can travel thru the universe!

[@katiekat4457]

How old is this? He has 2 Nobels, not just one

[@GH-oi2jf]

It was 2011. One Nobel, in 1979, is mentioned in the NYT obituary.

[@khurmiful]

Big science technological spin offs better than Big war spin offs. Hmmm, interesting.

[@Sportliveonline]

The self cannot see itself as not being

[@howcanihelp8134]

I HOPE SOMEONE COULD GET TRUMP TO WATCH THIS. IF HE WANTS TO MAKE US GREAT AGAIN

[@BobQuigley]

Trump doesn't read

[@katiekat4457]

I love America but America was never great to start with so how you are going to get back to something that never was idk. We have always had problems since the beginning of our history. It drives me nuts to hear that says about making America great again.

[@davidwilkie9551]

Science is a process, not an institution all of itself.When the applications of science are put to the purpose of dispelling misunderstood phenomena, the process begins, as an example back in history, with the restatement of how polar-cartesian coordinates were originally derived from the "circle of infinity" , (but then covered up with the obfuscation of mis-attribution to "God". Along with the Devil, always used as an excuse for lack of responsibility). The concept of quanta is closely related both as a primal description of the phenomena of infinity, ..identified by the properties of circles in eternal existence, and the obfuscation of "learned, institutional, preservation of mystery". Science is a process without attribution or institutional preference, (because the actual universe is the function of time, that projects the establishment of spatial phenomena as timespace). It "takes time": From an origin of defined first principles, the illumination of phenomena proceeds by hypothesis, theory and experimental methodology to establish a reasonable probability of fit to the theory. Ie, the process is not effective unless defined in the basic elements, no preferences or distractions.

[@cantonioflores7504]

I adore Weinberg, but this talk shows me that even the greatest savant can be wrong. In fact, it is quite obvious that his ¨raisin taxes strategy¨ will result in another International Space Station or equivalent and not in ¨Big science¨ funds.

[@alexllopart9541]

Sorry old chap don’t know if you’re the right Fellow or not but the other bloke…Sciezka, I believe his name is…is terribly difficult to comment towards therefore finding a name of some What of a common nature I made an attempt admittedly a rather asinine attempt but still an attempt nonetheless there fore if you are not the co-author of the children’s series of books called Astro Nuts …well unfortunately the responsibility now falls upon your shoulders to find these rascals and inform them of the following Consultation Free of charge for the betterment of humanity And damn the devils… Okay some of these children’s books are okay but they could be better especially if you explain a little bit behind the terms you’re using for example the Hawk in Astro nuts is said to be able to creak dark energy with its wings but you should explain dark energy is energy which gets between bodies of matter and repels it it’s the check against gravity so a nemesis would perhaps be a gravity power based character and and then you have the laser shark ego would be the electromagnetically aligned character… get it? And his nemesis would be a thermal character who drains the shark by forcing him to short out and produce heat which wastefully uses up his energy and hurts the environment… and his sidekick whom facilitates this effect would be crypto Carvin C. (Or triple c for short) who is like a mob boss making horrible things happen around the world and producing waste heat with his evil horde of “coin mining” henchmen and their servers of doom…and that’s on the house Jon sciezka and Steven Weinberg And so I leave it to you my good man as surely these words should not fall upon deaf ears for the sake of the species and what have you good sir…until we communicate again… fair seasons…and happy hunting…

[@stt9379]

I am that I am began that I am please list digits 0"00"000"0000

[@2Uahoj]

God love him, he's with the Lord now.

[@cinder544]

...is he proposing to remove more money from the common people and redirecting it to the doctors?

[@RonJohn63]

59:46 "help shift the balance of our economy more away from private goods in the direction of public goods" Someone as smart as Professor Weinberg doesn't realize that shift never ends, and you wind up in the Soviet Union.

[@1trafalger1]

Someone as wise and experienced as Weinberg doesn't fall for "slippery slope" logic like this. Listen to Weinberg: what he describes is a political process likely found everywhere, and unavoidable. Only by public support, which needs a well-educated public, can big science be maintained.

[@RonJohn63]

Brian Coyle _Someone as wise and experienced as Weinberg doesn't fall for "slippery slope" logic like this._ *Everyone* has areas of their thinking that are chock full of "wish". *Everyone*. Even someone as intelligent and rational as Dr. Weinberg. The difference between people is how big the "area of wish".

[@user-wi6uf3xy6n]

RonJohn63 is an idiot.

[@hongyuzhang5631]

As of science, I am sorta glad that China has became a competitor to US and EU. Maybe the new cold war can bring more advancement in science than without.

[@dfhj4556]

Spiel for funding his pet projects

[@janklaas6885]

🇺🇳45:31

[@apburner1]

tl;dr Tax the sheep and spend it how we smart people know it should be spent.

[@1trafalger1]

A right-wing troll.

[@jamesmayer5043]

Articulating the perceivable particles of material existence will never EVER be known and understood by humans. All the impressive scenarios are nothing more than exaltation of the human effort in vain attempts to describe our perceptions, which with its serious limitations disallows an insight into the physical structure of material existence. Good Luck in your pursuit, nevertheless.

[@johnsmith1474]

You said nothing.

[@dreed7312]

Smart guy but he doesnt know much about economics. To have taxes, you need revenues, and they come from the private sector, where things like consumer electronics are produced and sold. Raising taxes doesnt pay for anything, it makes it less likely producers will generate the revenue needed for the tax.

[@bucles2000]

The House of Representatives did good.

[@bjorntorlarsson]

So the solution is higher taxes? And the wisdom of the political class. I.e. Soviet style. It is astonishing how brilliant physicists know nothing at all about economics, politics or history! That lack of knowledge is the obvious explanation for why so very little is invested in basic physics research. Guys like this one don't understand and actually act to make the problem worse.

[@1trafalger1]

Did you watch the video? Weinberg is intensely involved in politics, economics, and history. He's not ideological, but astute: the U.S. has the 3rd or 4th lowest tax burden of 32 OECD countries. According to a right-wing ideologue, Canada, Germany, the UK, Poland, France, and all the Scandinavians must be communist, since they've increased taxes well beyond the U.S.

[@dsanzo]

If you're going to say that, at least explain your brilliant plan. Explain exactly why he is so wrong.

[@hyf-sd1yc]

Wow, sounds like you must be so brilliant and knowledgable in economics, politics or history.

[@2Uahoj]

God love him, he's with the Lord now.