Sean Carroll on Physics, the Multiverse, and Quantum Mechanics | Closer To Truth Chats

Why is matter solid? Why is there antimatter? Where do the sizes of atoms come from? Theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in his new book, "Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe". In this interview, Carroll uses the basics of quantum mechanics itself to explain measurement and entanglement before exploring how the world is really made of fields.

Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is host of the Mindscape podcast, and author of several bestselling books. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the American Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of London, and many others.

Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[AngusRockford]

Excellent interview. No time wasted. Just the facts (with a tiny bit of speculation, clearly identified as such) and zero bullshit. Thanks Robert and Sean!

[ashm-wlxg]

RLK asks questions in the most poignant and encompassing manner and Sean answers them in the most clear, understandable and respectful manner ( in my opinion) which makes the interview and conversation a most interesting and “dare I say” enlightening experience…
THE BEST TEACHERS …!!!

[atbh]

Sean - the most brilliant and clearest 'explainer' of Physics/Science/Nature today!

[Mordecai_Allen_VanAllen_OShea]

I don’t know much of “contributions”, but Sean is the most effective science communicator I’m aware of and his talent as an educator is world class. His books are hard because of the subject matter, but his lectures are the clearest science education available in my opinion.

[joseleon]

Dr Carroll"s work will get him a nobel prize on 20 years. Amazing theory!

[robertgreen]

Great discussion. Closer to Truth is one of my favorite channels on YouTube.

[architectinth]

When we think classically we think particles and when we think of quantum, we think of the quantum state, then particles.
So obvious, and yet I never thought about that until now. Thank you for that one.

[billzemek]

That was absolutely the best video on the subject ever !! Interviewer and interviewee delivered wonderful content with great clarity. So then I immediately ordered the book, even though I wont get it until October. Sean is always good, and the pairing with RLK was brilliant.

[Robinson]

Two top guys, RLK and Sean themselves. Let Sean interview RLK one day please, as he must be omnisicient by now!

[galaxyin]

Given that most here (including me) would be lacking the prerequisites to make sense of a conventional text on Quantum Field Theory. Sean's book offers atleast a small but honest window into the reality of QFT. One that is very likely to provide the crucial motivation, pushing us to reach out and equip ourselves with the missing prerequisites and move into more definitive mathematical readings of QFT.

[juantkastellar]

Esta entrevista fue enormemente interesante. Carroll es uno de los más grandes científicos de nuestro tiempo.

[dajandroid]

Sean Carroll, thanks for answering “all” their questions!

[williamvanleuven]

Very interesting interview. Thank you for that.

[saingsodanin]

This is very good presentation of the book. Appreciate 👍

[alecpurcell]

Great conversation. Things got a little heated!

[sheidak.]

Thank you for asking such great questions that expose the current limits of our knowledge in physics. Too often, physicists talk about the universe and what exists as if they already know everything there is and can exist even while discussing the many unanswered questions about the universe and nature of reality. Your questions clarify the many details and gaps in understanding that are not so obvious in many other talks and interviews, which help give a clearer picture of everything.

[johngrundowski]

Good program( i shall down load to RE-WATCH) because of the density of subjects.
A new book ( alright !) ; with machine learning seems like break throughs are popping ALL OVER humanities endeavors. THANKS, great work ! Reference quality📚🌐

[ericemerick]

Robert, please invest in a decent podcasting mic, it really does make a difference. Love your shows.

[rodrigolabarre]

That was a great interview with one of my favorite guests!

One thing I might want to add is that I think Sean came more prepared to the question "how many worlds are there?" Than 10 years ago. I think intuitions shouldn't play a role in deciding if a description of the world is correct or not. Intuition is very important in moral questions and we should consider them since it's the only way to decide on what's good or not but we are not wired to perceive/sense truth but to survive and leave descendents.

I think Robert pushed unnecessarily on intuitions to dismiss the many worlds interpretation, that regardless if true or not, the amount of worlds shouldn't be part of the decision making to decide to accept or reject the theory. There's no difference between having two or 10⁵⁰⁰ since the discussion is about the procedure and not the outcome. It's like dismissing the idea of different infinities because it's counterintuitive since you can't count them instead of looking at the procedure that makes one bigger than the other.

Also, I think Sean was a little bit upset, not only considering the way he responded about how many worlds are there but also because he gave an explanation on the AMA about whether the wave function is real or a description of reality which was also one of the questions about the minimal amount of categories to describe the world a decade ago.

[RealQuInnMallory]

The Big IDEAS in the universe Quanta Field Sean M Carrroll number one on book list to get