Big Ideas

Acknowledging the scientists who blazed intellectual trails before him, Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen a little further it was by standing on the shoulders of giants.” In this special annual series, we invite our audience to stand on the shoulders of a modern-day giant. In 2015, we were honored to present an address by a titan of physics, Edward Witten. Professor Witten is a leading light of superstring theory and the only physicist to have won the vaunted Fields Medal, mathematics' highest honor. Known for advancing a number of novel approaches in mathematics and physics, Witten opened up new vistas in 1995 when he unified five seemingly competing superstring theories into M-theory, which seeks to unify Einstein’s general theory of relativity with quantum mechanics.Learn More

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TOPICS: Art & Science, Biology & Origins of Life, Earth & Environment, Mind & Brain, Physics & Math, Science in Society, Science Unplugged, Space & The Cosmos, Technology & Engineering, Your Daily Equation, Youth & Education

TAGS: 2016, best science talks, Edward Witten, General Relativity (Field Of Study), Institute for Advanced Study, mathematical physics, New York City, NYC, On the Shoulders of Giants, physics, Quantum gravity, string theory, Superstring theory, supersymmetric quantum field theories, theoretical physicist, Theory Of Relativity (Literature Subject), 2016, best science talks, Edward Witten, General Relativity (Field Of Study), Institute for Advanced Study, mathematical physics, New York City, NYC, On the Shoulders of Giants, physics, Quantum gravity, string theory, Superstring theory, supersymmetric quantum field theories, theoretical physicist, Theory Of Relativity (Literature Subject)

PLAYLISTS: Big Ideas, Physics & Mathematics, One on One with Genius

Video Duration: 00:48:49

Original Program Date: Saturday, May 30, 2015

Participants: Edward Witten

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