Edward Frenkel: Infinity, Ai, String Theory, Death, The Self
Math professor Edward Frenkel discusses his work on the Langlands Program while reflecting on the profound themes of infinity, limits of computation / Ai, death, and self-understanding. He also talks about the failure of string theory.
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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
Not Even Wrong (Peter Woit): https://amzn.to/44XJlBx
The Trouble with Physics (Lee Smolin): https://amzn.to/3sXpmG6
Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray (Sabine Hossenfelder): https://amzn.to/3Pna7xy
ARTICLES MENTIONED:
Computing Machinery and Intelligence (Alan Turing): https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~dprecup/cou...
Solvable and Unsolvable Problems (Alan Turing): https://academic.oup.com/book/42030/c...
VIDEOS MENTIONED:
Debate w/ Sabine Λ Bernardo on Superdeterminism: • Bernardo Kastrup Λ Sabine Hossenfelde...
Podcast w/ Norman Wildberger TOE: • Norman Wildberger: The Problem with I...
Podcast w/ Dror Bar Natan on TOE: • Dror Bar Natan: Knot Theory & Quantum...
Podcast w/ Lex Fridman and Frenkel: • Edward Frenkel: Reality is a Paradox ...
Podcast w/ Richard Borcherds on TOE: • Richard Borcherds: E8, Witten, Langla... (Part 2) and • Richard Borcherds: Monster Group, Str... (Part 1)
Podcast w/ Sabine Hossenfelder on TOE: • Sabine Hossenfelder: Superdeterminism...
Podcast w/ Bernardo Kastrup on TOE: • Escaping the Illusion: Bernardo Kastr...
Podcast w/ Eric Weinstein on TOE: • Eric Weinstein: Geometric Unity & Noo...
Angela Collier on String Theory: • string theory lied to us and now scie...
Mike Wallace's Interview of Aldous Huxley (1958): • Aldous Huxley interviewed by Mike Wal...
WEBSITES MENTIONED:
Edward Frenkel's Official Site: https://edwardfrenkel.com
Edward Frenkel's Soundcloud (DJ Moonshine): / moonstein
Twitter (Edward Frenkel): / edfrenkel
YouTube (Edward Frenkel): / edfrenkel
Instagram (Edward Frenkel): / edfrenkel
Peter Woit's Blog: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/w...
ARTICLES MENTIONED:
AI Safety: A First-Person Perspective (Edward Frenkel): https://www.edwardfrenkel.com/ai-safe...
Computing Machinery and Intelligence (Alan Turing): https://www.edwardfrenkel.com/turing-...
Strominger's Quote about String Theory: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/w...
Interview Extract with David E. Kaplan: https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/w...
NOT MENTIONED BUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN:
Peak Math YouTube Channel: / @peakmathlandscape | I can't recommend this channel enough. It's raised the bar for math content on YouTube!
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 artificial intelligence
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)