The Search for a Theory of Everything – with Yang-Hui He

The search for a theory of everything spans centuries, from Kepler, Galileo and Newton, to Faraday and Maxwell, to Einstein, Bohr, Dirac, and C.N.Yang, to recent advances in superstring theory.

This event is in collaboration with the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

To many people, the phrase “the theory of everything” conjures memories of the Oscar-winning film about the life and science of Prof. Stephen Hawking. Yet the quest referred to in that title goes back much further. It is nothing less than the search for the holy grail of science: an elegant unified theory, encompassing all matter, forces and space-time itself.

Prof. Yang-Hui He presents the story as a dance of discovery between data, physics and mathematics, each anticipating the other’s moves. They have all taken the lead at different times, yet for many today, including Prof. He, the guiding principle is the rigour and beauty of mathematics. It is fitting that this event is held at the Royal Institution, where Faraday uncovered the principles of electromagnetism. These inspired Maxwell's equations, a key component of any unifying theory.

Yang-Hui He is a Fellow at the London Institute, Professor at City University, Chang-Jiang Chair at NanKai University and Lecturer at Merton College, Oxford. He studied at Princeton, Cambridge and MIT and works at the interface of string theory, geometry and machine learning.

This talk was filmed on 1 December 2021.

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[lucapontiggia]

Yang was one of my collaborators on a few papers I wrote in my Ph.D. Funniest and most spirited person I had met in the physics community. We shared a plate of eating mopane worms in South Africa a few years ago. It was really awesome to watch this talk. His way of delivering physics to a public audience is exactly what got me into physics in the first place! Great stuff

[crimsonkhan]

I watched lots of "string theory physicist" presentations, first time i watched the same idea in the eyes of a mathematician..was informative and elegant..thanks RI.

[AngadSingh-bvvn]

Yang-Hui He you are so childlike in your excitement while being very eloquent and capable of granting the history of science its due reverence, it is very enjoyable watching your talk :)

[Procksy]

It's so nice to see a presentation from within the Royal Institute again!

[nationalheritagenaturepark]

Your wonderful talk has added new dimensions to my enjoyment of life. Thank you so much.

[andycordy]

I would defy anyone to find a single person with less mathematical aptitude than me. I was completely enthralled by this talk. That's how good it was!

[DH-bfxb]

"I'm not a philosopher"

Talks about the relationship between beauty and truth for 20 minutes.

[philtinn]

“Equations are to be enjoyed like art.” 😌

[hungrytomato]

Some people cry at the shear beauty of music or a piece of art. This lecture made me cry at the beauty of mathematics, physics and the Universe. Thank you, and all those who came before for making these ideas comprehensible enough to my feeble mind to at least get a glimpse of that beauty.

[vast]

The most amazing thing is that they can move that desk.

[esod]

I absolutely love this channel for so many reasons. But the “Theories of everything”, IMO, are exercises in futility. It’s hubris. We will always keep learning more. There is no theory of everything just the best we can do at the moment.

[jamie_ar]

As others have said, I'm so glad to see these events happening in-person with an audience. Added to Watch Later!

[piercebros]

This was brilliant. Thank you so much!

[BalvinderSingh-uhmy]

For someone like me a lay person. I find his style of educating very engaging.

[denisvalente]

really interesting lecture and fantastically delivered too

[Danny-hbzb]

One of the best presentations I’ve seen on the channel.. brilliant 👌🏻

[adamphilip]

Very good talk! I'm uncomfortable with comparing science to religion or religious experiences, not only because I feel it's wholly inaccurate but in this era of science denial, accusations of reliance on belief and dogma are rife among those seeking to discredit the scientific process and we really don't need to be giving those people ammunition.

[ME-lfby]

What an interesting lecture! Need to find that interview with Sir Penrose that Yang mentions

[dragovian]

Great Vids! keep up the good work!
Please, and I think I speak for everyone, start uploading in 4K!

[ThePaulTM]

Thank You ! The Theory of everything using mathematics can also be illustrated using Quad Step 288 Helical Order and Quantum Sequence which is very simple to understand.