There's No Such Thing As Nothing | QI

[@lolatomroflsinnlos]

Sean Lock correctly intervenes as Ben Miller jumps from the standard model to the merely hypothesized string theory.

[@adamgrogory]

Of course. He didn’t want to embarass Ben though so he didn’t mention the specifics

[@EebstertheGreat]

I'm sad that he went up to 10 dimensions but never took the final step to an 11-dimensional M-theory.

[@terryhayward7905]

@@EebstertheGreat Exactly so.

[@markbriten6999]

Yes of course a comedian with no physics knowledge knows more than someone who was two thirds of a physics PhD. In fact he'd done all the work it was just the writing up but got offered a much better job as a comedian

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@@markbriten6999 I’m pretty sure this entire thread is a joke

[@Telstar62a]

Love Rob's approving nodding of the head as if he's following along and agreeing. Lesson: adopt this for all work meetings.

[@TPRM1]

Then at some point, when the person who knows what they’re talking about pauses for breath, chime in with, “It’s all about finding that balance.”

[@wunjowanderers]

alan davies at 2:04 is just the most adorable - he ACTUALLY looks interested 😂

[@LC-le9ew]

Alan is always adorable. 🥰

[@feekygucker2678]

“There are a lot of horse faced people in the world.” - I ❤️ you Stephen!

[@kjamison5951]

Ben Miller - his face when he started speaking about physics… so serious! But it IS a fascinating subject. Stay in school, kids! Learn stuff, THEN get famous.

[@alimanski7941]

He left his pursuit of a PhD in quantum physics for a career in comedy. That's actually impressive!

[@afz3003]

I think Harry Hill went through same way, except his was a MD

[@MrKfadrat]

Which part is imressive?

[@alimanski7941]

@@MrKfadrat both pursuing a PhD in that field, and choosing to leave it for a much riskier career

[@MrKfadrat]

@@alimanski7941 riskier than quantum physics? im not sure you know what scientists have to go through to get any fundings if they want to do something serious. or perhaps he was on phd and his comedy career picked up, and then he resigned from the studies? then it wouldnt be as impressive, would it?

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@afz3003 Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame was a fully qualified physician and served as the doctor on the set of Life of Brian when filming in Tunisia.

[@K1lostream]

Oh I remember seeing this and they've missed the best bit when Rob says 'for those who struggle to tell us apart, I think we've found a way' (or words to that effect). Well, that, and the kiss!

[@kurtinfl]

So glad somebody else pointed that out. I've been mistaking those two for years.

[@booperdee2]

the part where they kiss is still one of the funniest QI moments of the whole series

[@donaldcampbell3043]

Yeah, comedy gold...

[@kek23k]

I wish I'd had teachers at school that were as enthusiastic as Ben is here.

[@anonymousfox7219]

At first a lot of them probably were, and then the fucked up school system sucked out their optimism because the curriculum often has them teach bunk versions of their favorite subject and the looming tests at the end make it difficult to get students actually interested in the subject beyond what's absolutely necessary to get the highest grade possible.

[@Ranger1812]

@@anonymousfox7219 Not to mention the large number of children they need to teach and care for, the lack of downtime including after school hours, and the abysmal pay.

[@anonymousfox7219]

@@Ranger1812 Plus the fact that culturally people consider teaching what one does only if they aren't good enough to make it in their field, so some people do go into it as a last resort and with a jaded outlook already. And then as part of that teaching itself as its own skill beyond knowledge of subjects is undervalued and if a teacher wants to actually be good at it they have to spend a lot of unpaid time teaching themselves how to be a good teacher.

[@Ryno2094]

I get this is a comedy show but that was genuinely interesting, shame no one gave a toss tbh

[@DomWeasel]

In a previous show, Rory McGrath went onto a long tangent and Sean pretended he was being dragged under the desk so he was more restrained this time.

[@iankrasnow5383]

@@DomWeasel I remember that one. In this, Ben gets excited because he thinks he will actually get a chance to share his passion with the show, only to realize that you can't explain the standard model in 60 seconds, and to do so is so absurd that it's actually funny. Rory was just an annoying know-it-all who rightfully got upstaged by Sean and Alan.

[@DomWeasel]

@@iankrasnow5383 Can't argue with that. It's why I like Brian Cox's appearances on the show; he's able to give concise explanations of complicated concepts so he doesn't fray at the limited attention span of the audience (and the other panellists).

[@Ryno2094]

@@DomWeasel I got the impression Rory was desperately trying to be teachers pet there so I did enjoy Sean's response. He did restrain himself in this lol.

[@Ryno2094]

@@DomWeasel 100%

[@AlbertaTrailCams]

As he ramps up, you get this feeling that there is no point or end. That he might ramble on forever.

[@Penkhas]

In this wonderful episode "Future" of the F series, we can see an amazing kiss between Rob and Ben 😘

[@sstills951]

Disgusting

[@klaxoncow]

@@sstills951 Net

[@SaturnusDK]

@@sstills951 Dozen

[@sstills951]

@@SaturnusDK huh?

[@o-_-ojb]

3:15 I should know better than to watch QI at the library 🤭

[@googoogjoobgoogoogjoob]

Rob and Anti-Rob - if they'd touched the chain reaction would have ended time itself.

[@Ukie_Hags_World]

Best supply teacher, ever! :

[@callummc1988]

Makes me feel like such a nerd but I was genuinely interested in what Ben was saying, and almost felt annoyed that the others were mocking him

[@FreakyRufus]

I was, too!

[@themarlboromandalorian]

Bane of intelligence. Everybody's a dick to us.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Me too man, I think particle physics is fascinating.

[@dg-hughes]

That's a trope in many movies and TV shows where the nerd, or geek, the smart person is mocked for just being smart not even showing off. It's so common now it's expected in movies and TV shows you know it's coming. Intelligence is the new "comedy relief" except in the old days it was a buffoon who fell down a lot.

[@BobSmith-fx9sz]

It's a comedy show and Ben isn't exactly succinct when he bludgeons everyone with his physics knowledge. .

[@MrOmnisun]

One of my favorite episodes.

[@areasquirrel]

An incredibly complex concept, which pertains to the equally complex makeup of matter in the dimensions, and simplified to 'hey, those two guys are the same but not!' Classic QI.

[@alex-internetlubber]

Lawrence Krauss brought this to everyone's attention with a video lecture called A Universe From Nothing

[@vacri54]

"No such thing as nothing at any level" and then proceeds to talk solely in terms of physics, excluding various forms of abstract concepts where 'nothing' is a perfectly suitable answer.

[@Karajorma]

Which you then failed to explain yourself.

[@mrbearbear83]

Sean Locke was a hero, and deeply missed

[@linebrunelle1004]

How was he a hero?. because he died? wtf . what is your major malfunction?

[@deadinthebed963]

Yes bit annoying here

[@davwalsr]

I’ve always loved this idea. For a while I’ve had something I’ve thought about; if the universe is expanding, constantly getting bigger, constantly stretching, then what is the universe expanding into? We literally don’t have a name for that in English, because it isn’t nothing, because nothing is something. What is it? Thoughts?

[@Ian_Carolan]

Sabine Hossenfelder has a good video on your question of expansion.

[@Phill0old]

It isn't expanding in to something else. Imagine a balloon that is being blown up. The balloon is the edge of the universe, as you blow more in to it the balloon gets bigger. It expands from the inside.

[@davwalsr]

@@Phill0old What’s on the outside of the balloon though? That’s what I’m getting at. It literally doesn’t exist, as there is no concept of something that cannot be conceived. It isn’t nothing, by which I mean it’s not a vacuum, so what is it? It’s a theoretical question without an answer.

[@Tao_Tology]

@@davwalsr If you really want to blow your own mind, try thinking about why there is anything at all. I mean, really, ......... anything. Even the idea of 'things.....just appear spontaneously' isn't quite there since to have the whole 'just appear out of nothing' you still need a pre-existing arena where you could even concievably say 'there is nothing here'. But try imagining not even having 'the nothing before stuff just appeared/exploded/etc'. Imagine not even having 'nothing'

[@davegold]

@@davwalsr Physics doesn't need anything to be outside our universe, so there is no need for us to believe anything is outside (or that the universe expands into anything).You can think about containers or flying elephants or pink cream outside the universe but none of that is necessary to explain anything whatsoever.

[@the_godfather9974]

Normally i love all their banter and jokes and i loved sean lockt and i love rob brydon but i really wanted to hear what Ben miller had to say xD

[@oliviadaly4795]

Well this is only a 3 min clip, every episode of QI from series A is on iPlayer now

[@joyl7842]

Holy cow that burn came out of nowhere!

[@Shparky]

That was a dirty, dirty trick. I loved that you pulled it on Alan, but that was filthy. Also, some real sick burns from Fry there.

[@marcitos_9329]

RIP Sean Lock 😢

[@mikebeatstsb7030]

Wish these were longer

[@MirandaWheeler79]

Give this man a TED talk

[@GrahamCampbellNZ]

A bit sad the disrespect he was shown when giving the same answer Stephen would have given. Very interesting answer

[@bjornsan]

Humor. Science. Welcome to Star Talk!

[@oscargill423]

This was a very interesting video.

[@Ray-gz5wh]

Nothing is the absence of anything. What Ben is talking about here is merely conjecture & philosophical science. Alhamdu'lillah for Islaam! 👆🏼

[@abigholeinspacetime4974]

Damn Stephen, you won't be able keep booking guests on the show if you murder them in front of everybody.

[@Rog5446]

There is such a thing called nothing, and it can be found in my bank account!

[@sheriemirza6988]

I have just become really fond of Ben 😂

[@gwh3013]

That Rob Brydon knows a lot about science

[@Simqer]

When you have 0 of something, you have nothing of that thing. So there is such a thing as nothing.

[@luminair11]

Both Rob and Ben are hunks in my opinion!

[@kevbrown2532]

To quote Manuel from Barcelona and Faulty Towers, "I know Nothing". Obviously more intelligent than his boss who had no idea most of the time.

[@GrassesOn97]

So, hypothetically, if there is the “Big Crunch,” does that mean nothing will be going on or will there still be “something” which might lead to another Big Bang? Could it mean the universe is like a cyclical pattern of bangs and crunches? Would another Big Bang lead to a universe with the same, similar, or completely different history compared to our own? I don’t know, maybe… but it’s an interesting thought. What do you guys think?

[@Gogoglovitch]

It's a theory that's been proposed! I think that current thinking is that it's not likely -- that there's not enough matter in the universe to reverse its expansion and cause a Big Crunch -- but it's a legitimate theory and new information could make it more likely at any time. The image of an eternal cycle of universes is certainly an interesting one.

[@K1lostream]

Well, that depends- if there is no observer, is anything happening at all? Or, as I've heard it put more succinctly, if a man says something in the woods, and there's no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?!

[@NamelessBody]

Play Outer Wilds, it'll blow your mind :)

[@hecticfreeze]

Whilst The Big Crunch used to be quite a popular theory for how it would all eventually end, ever since the discovery of the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, and indeed the dark energy hypothesised to be driving it, the consensus has been that a Big Crunch is extremely unlikely.

[@tarmaque]

@@K1lostream If a bad joke is made and nobody is there to hear it, does it cause a groan?

[@thehellyousay]

Nothing is a privative, a word to describe a lack of something. 'A cold, dark hole' describes a place by telling us what is not there: no heat, no light, no physical material. Gap is another. Describes what's not there. Quite a clever linguistic trick. Works very well.

[@ericaschner3283]

That was quite interesting

[@zanussidish8144]

I recall a qualified guy on some channel explaining the difference between nothing and absolute nothing. From memory nothing is the absence of something whereas absolute nothing is the complete absence of rules etc that would allow something to exist.

[@billyeveryteen7328]

To be fair to Ben Miller, he's technically also a "qualified guy." He wasn't just talking out of his arse, he was a PhD candidate in particle physics. Yes, he dropped out of school to pursue acting and comedy, but not every rando becomes a PhD candidate in a STEM field at Cambridge.

[@zanussidish8144]

@@billyeveryteen7328 I wasn't referring to Ben here I'm just saying that this clip says there's no such thing as nothing but I've conversely heard that there's two. But as we have different definitions of infinity then we should have different definitions of nothingness!

[@markbriten6999]

@@billyeveryteen7328 had actually done the two years work just got a better offer than writing it up

[@Tao_Tology]

Yep. And to date no theory (physics theory) can deal with how you could go from true 'absolute nothing' (which would by definition mean you couldn't even have a sort of 'pre-existence, empty void' ) to......well, anything.

[@paulmarden3301]

You can ask a guy who's in "deep thought" what he's thinking and he can say "nothing". Believe it. I've literally zoned out and not taken notice of anything around me. You could ask me what I'm thinking and I could say nothing because I couldn't actually remember what it was I was thinking, if anything at all.

[@rachelcookie321]

How? I am jealous. I am constantly thinking. I wish my brain would stop thinking. My brain is constantly going a million miles an hour. I wish I could just relax and not think for once.

[@axelfoley133]

You can tell Rob is the twin that didn't study in school

[@BubbaSmurft]

Why did you cut out the kiss???

[@ewetoob1924]

What is the contents of the empty set?

[@Mubashir_AK]

Cut to Would I Lie To You years later, and someone else compares Rob to a horse. "It's not just the face that ....."

[@happivaras]

Yes he did make "THAT" comparison.

[@jacklovejoy5290]

Anyone else get confused for a moment and think Ben Miller was Rob Brydon for a second?

[@robtudor3785]

Why take the piss? Someone who has this knowledge should be celebrated

[@moobslikejagger5653]

This is why this show pisses me off sometimes. It presents itself as TV for clever people, but this happens all the time. As soon as someone starts talking about something genuinely intellectual and interesting, they get interrupted, shouted down and generally the piss taken out of them.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

It is a lighthearted show, and I think they don't want stuff to drag on for to long, no matter how interesting or correct it is. It is a bunch of comedians they put together after all.

[@moobslikejagger5653]

@@bennylloyd-willner9667 I guess you're right, it just feels hypocritical and frustrates me. I love and laugh and a joke, but I also have the attention span to shut up for ten seconds while someone makes an actual point.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

@@moobslikejagger5653 I agree, but I also get that they need to balance the show to suit a larger audience. I love to see the deeper nerdy stuff myself but the attention span is generally shorter for every year. An old great comedy show comes to mind. I saw an interview with Leslie Nielsen where he said the reason for killing off Police Squad so soon was that it demanded attention from the viewer, and even back in those days the audience couldn't be bothered concentrating enough.

[@ManuTheGreat79]

That candidate was really spot on. Just at the end there's a bit bit of hypothesised things that are probably not real... The rest of it is very real.

[@futtbugly5986]

A colleague of mine kept insisting that space is a vacuum. I explained to them that a vacuum is devoid of matter. I couldn't get them to understand that the Earth is in space. When considering the space between my colleague's ears, there may be our example of nothing.

[@adedow1333]

It might help to pretend that space is in a container - say the outer reaches of the universe. Just as a model for the mental scaffolding this colleague needs in order to understand your point. As far as I understand it, both of you are right.

[@sstills951]

I’m you’re colleague and I don’t appreciate you sharing our discussions on KZbin. What’s next? You’re going to tell everybody about our flat earth debate?

[@futtbugly5986]

@@sstills951 if we talk about the flat Earth then we have to talk about the turtles, this is not a good day for turtle talk.

[@diedampfbrasse98]

while space certainly isnt a vacuum, earth is not part of it by our definition of space. Trying to dismiss the false idea of space being a vacuum with arguing that earth is in space was a stupid move on your part ... we literally define space has being the room between objects like planets, suns etc. ... we even defined where space begins as we leave earth, which means earth cant be part of space ... its just surrounded by space. Sorry to burst your bubble, but its not unusual of both sides in an argument being wrong to considerable extent and having not much in between the ears. But hey, at least you werent wrong about dismissing the vacuum bit ... get yourself half a star sticker for that.

[@futtbugly5986]

@@diedampfbrasse98 you and my colleague would get along very well.

[@Dan-vo7vc]

I can barely tell them apart in the thumbnail lol

[@yucon_man]

Even the concept of nothing doesn't exist, as by naming it you have made it something.

[@stellarhole]

There is No Such Thing as a Thing

[@rachelcookie321]

It depends on the context though. Say someone is sitting there quietly without saying anything and then you go “what did you say?” In that case “nothing” is correct. They said nothing. You can’t do nothing but you can say nothing. You can read nothing, you can play nothing, you can eat nothing. Nothing does exist in those situations.

[@raytaylor6223]

To disprove this. Q: What will be in Dagenham & Redbridge FC's Trophy cabinet this year. A: Nothing.

[@John_Smith_60]

A: Regret. A: Disappointment.

[@malta071]

Me, telling my friends what world is all about, after watching few random yt videos.

[@MuttleyVonErich00]

I've often said: Nothing doesn't exist.

[@EmeroDotNet]

...tells that to my bank account!

[@mistermagnifico]

Is that the dude from Johnny English

[@--Skip--]

Mathematics also has nothing. It is call null or the null set. It is different than zero or nought.

[@kierononeill16]

I know it's a comedy show, but I just wanted everyone to shut up so that I could pay attention 😂

[@U2QuoZepplin]

Is this the one where Ben and Rob kiss? 😂😮😱😱🤯😱🤣

[@Gormathius]

Aww they left out the kiss.

[@darthmarticusLFC]

Well it's not this clip, you want the clip 'Has Britain Ever Been Invaded By Robots?' for the kiss.

[@EebstertheGreat]

"There is no such thing as nothing." Then what is in the set of all things that are nothing?

[@tomperkins6389]

Nothing can exist as a mathematical concept if not in reality.

[@Bazzo61]

Imaginary numbers? :-)

[@Zach1234]

And they did find the Higgs Boson.

[@Chuckf66]

Not sure about anyone else, but Ben's explanation was dead sexy.

[@galgrunfeld9954]

There is nothing like it.

[@angrytedtalks]

Gravity is NOT a force. That is a myth.

[@Elephantstonica]

Right, it’s understood to be a curvature in space-time, but for most intended purposes we can describe it as a force ‘gravitational force’, rather than gravity.

[@John_Smith_60]

Gravity is like "centrifugal force." Neither is an actual force, but both act like and can be mathematically described like a force, so we use "force" as a colloquialism. The sun doesn't "rise" in the morning, but I would bet that's the phrase even you use most of the time to describe what it is doing.

[@angrytedtalks]

@@John_Smith_60 We don't "force" the sun to rise, we "allow" the Earth to rotate by ongoing linear (circular) momentum. In these enlightened times, we should be thinking about saying it like it is so the next generation are not twisted by outdated ideas.

[@zqlimy]

Rip Sean

[@fritzthelibrarygoblin]

Nothing is also the blackest, most metal gift of all!

[@kevanbodsworth9868]

Matter ?Does it matter ?

[@shamurevolt]

This is one of the most annoying videos ever. I’m trying to listen to this interesting and passionate man, and the audience and guests are trying to do everything to avoid thinking, and revert to entertainment. I come to QI to try to avoid crap like that, but it just permeates everything…. almost like a universal ‘field’ of stupidity…

[@Telstar62a]

Oh you're no fun anymore

[@StarkRG]

I have never before noticed how much Ben Miller looks like Rob Brydon. Rob is just a stretched version of Ben Miller.

[@neithere]

I wish they'd let him talk :(

[@rubenmontoya4147]

What they call a “supply teacher” is what we call a “substitute teacher “ in the USA.

[@ppleeatpple]

ooohhh, thank you! I didn't quite get that joke and now I know why

[@JohnyG29]

We don't care what you people call them.

[@davidsmith5523]

That's 2315 things you got wrong. Keeps rising.

[@meetaverma8372]

What if my mind is blank though?

[@duncandownham4726]

So nothing is nothing. Glad we cleared that up. Whats the current deal with the moon/s or lack thereof?

[@peterclarke7240]

Simple. There's 1. No, 2! No, 4..!

[@NomadSoul76]

I think it's actually a blue whale.

[@malcolmrowe9003]

Ben Miller sounds quite a bit like Brian Cox.I was only listening initially and thought it was him until I looked at the video.

[@Bazzo61]

But gravity is not a force. A discussion for another day. ... :-)

[@davidrenton]

i love it when Qi is Wrong, 'nothing' exists at a mathematical abstract level, therefore it exists

[@DevilsAdvocateofnazareth]

If it's abstract doesn't that make it purely theoretical?

[@davidrenton]

@@DevilsAdvocateofnazareth if you can conceptualised something, therefore it exists. Aliens exist they might not exist in reality as a physical thing, but they exist as an idea, therefore Aliens exist in a manner. The very process of thinking about something brings it into existence. You could say all maths is abstract, does 1 exist as a 'thing' or is it simply a mental exercise , entity , a tool to help describe something.

[@dabidibup]

@@davidrenton so Santa Claus is real/exists?

[@davidrenton]

@@dabidibup yes because i leave cookies and milk out for him every year, sadly I still get no presents, I presume he was busy or I was a bad boy.

[@bazza945]

Nothing is no thing.

[@OurnameisLegion66]

My boss says I do nothing all day!!

[@se-kmg355]

Well, you tell him...

[@John_Smith_60]

@@se-kmg355 But then the boss may claim that there is no such thing as a "job" and a "salary."

[@rojavida]

Can you imagine this happening on an American show? Just asking?

[@TheTruthKiwi]

No because talking about science isn't "cool" or "trendy" in 'Murica. There are guys like Neil deGrasse Tyson though who are trying to change that :)

[@Sam-zz7gs]

Why can't they just let him speak

[@sstills951]

Take a guess what's in my wallet right now.

[@darinfoat8410]

The Higgs boson?

[@tarmaque]

Dust? Moths?

[@sstills951]

Nothing

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

Lint? There's always something in my wallet, mostly worthless unfortunately😁

[@lidbass]

Air

[@Phylaetra]

I think it was quite mean to act bored when he was saying something that was truly interesting.

[@johnparker2957]

If you don’t have any money in your bank account, surely the balance is “nothing”?

[@John_Smith_60]

If you don’t have any money in your bank account, surely the balance is "0." "0" is a number. Numbers have a value. Something with a value cannot be "nothing"

[@jamesclark6257]

@@John_Smith_60 zero is neither positive or negative and you can't divide by zero either. In these ways it shares more properties with a banana than any other number. Zero is therefore a fruit! Or does zero have 'nothing' to do with fruit?

[@John_Smith_60]

@@jamesclark6257 I would claim that zero has more resemblance to a kiwi, therefore zero is a number, a fruit, and by derivation, a _bird._

[@Tillyard86]

Well obviously these no such a THING as nothing, because if it was a thing it wouldn’t be nothing! 🤦‍♂️

[@adedow1333]

😂

[@magichands135]

Also, nothing can exist as a concept. By saying "nothing" or using it as an idea like here in this show, you bring it in existence.

[@debd9951]

@@magichands135 The concept of a thing and the thing are not one and the same.

[@debd9951]

Word. There's no such thing as nothing because that's how nothing works: not being.

[@rachelcookie321]

Why are they wearing bands that make them look like alien diplomats?

[@olivertunnah3987]

Sorry Stephen. There is the word nothing, so there is such a thing as nothing. Even if it is just a word.

[@lidbass]

A description of a thing is not the same as the actual thing.

[@theoriginalchefboyoboy6025]

Death In The Television Studio... but this one won't be much of a whodunit

[@vasp99]

What is a supply teacher ???

[@VanessaMagick]

You probably know them as a substitute teacher, a temp or a casual teacher.

[@jb888888888]

Is Ben wearing extra-short socks?

[@NewMessage]

my snack drawer wishes to disagree....

[@tarmaque]

Billy Preston would disagree.

[@ferretyluv]

The audience and those other guys are being jackasses. I wanted to hear what he had to say!