199 - Lawrence Krauss: God, String Theory, and the State of Physics

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7

Lawrence Krauss is a theoretical physicist who has taught at Yale, Arizona State University, and Case Western, and is the founder of ASU’s Origins Project. He is a prominent public intellectual and best-selling author, and has written about the origins of the universe, atheism, and many other topics. He is also the host of the Origins Podcast. In this episode, Robinson and Lawrence have a wide-ranging conversation about the current state of physics—and whether or not there is a crisis—the potential shortcomings of string theory, whether or not the world is a hologram, arguments for the existence of god, and the role of science in ethics. Lawrence’s most recent book is The Edge of Knowledge (Post Hill Press, 2023).

Lawrence’s Website: https://lawrencemkrauss.com

The Edge of Knowledge: https://a.co/d/6tIrJzy

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

04:04 Theory versus Experiment

10:13 Is There a Crisis in Physics? 

22:43 On the State of Quantum Gravity

25:40 What’s Wrong with String Theory?

40:58 Cormac McCarthy

50:22 Is the World a Hologram?

1:02:14 God and the Fine-Tuned Universe

1:19:33 Does Science Help Us with Morality?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.