In quantum mechanics there is A causing B. The equations do not stand outside that usual paradigm of physics. The real issue is that the kinds of things you predict in quantum mechanics are different from the kinds of things you predict using general relativity.
BRIAN GREENEAnd putting together the probabilities of quantum mechanics with the certainty of general relativity, that’s been the big challenge and that’s why we have been excited about string theory, as it’s one of the only approaches that can put it together.
More Brian Greene Quotes
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I believe that through its rational evaluation of truth and indifference to personal belief, science transcends religious and political divisions and so does bind us into a greater, more resilient whole.
BRIAN GREENE -
So many galaxies, so many planets out there in the universe circling so many stars… it just feels like there’s a very good chance that there is another Earth-like planet out there that is able to support some kind of life similar to what we’re familiar with.
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But can we really understand that or put rigorous mathematics or testable experiments against that? Not yet. So one of the big holy grail of physics is to understand why there is something rather than nothing.
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Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding.
BRIAN GREENE -
Assessing existence while failing to embrace the insights of modern physics would be like wrestling in the dark with an unknown opponent.
BRIAN GREENE -
If string theory is right, the microscopic fabric of our universe is a richly intertwined multidimensional labyrinth within which the strings of the universe endlessly twist and vibrate, rhythmically beating out the laws of the cosmos.
BRIAN GREENE -
To tell you the truth, I’ve never met anybody who can envision more than three dimensions. There are some who claim they can, and maybe they can; it’s hard to say.
BRIAN GREENE -
String theory is the most developed theory with the capacity to unite general relativity and quantum mechanics in a consistent manner.
BRIAN GREENE -
That is, you can have nothingness, absolute nothingness for maybe a tiny fraction of a second, if a second can be defined in that arena, but then it falls apart into a something and an anti-something. And that something is then what we call the universe.
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The real question is whether all your pondering and analyses will convince you that life is worth living. That’s what it all comes down to.
BRIAN GREENE -
The number of e-mails and letters that I get from choreographers, from sculptors, from composers who are being inspired by science is huge.
BRIAN GREENE -
For most people, the major hurdle in grasping modern insights into the nature of the universe is that these developments are usually phrased using mathematics.
BRIAN GREENE -
But if you think about a practical implication of enriching your life and giving you a sense of being part of a larger cosmos and possibly being able to use this [gravitational waves] as a tool in the future.
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I’ve seen children’s eyes light up when I tell them about black holes and the Big Bang.
BRIAN GREENE -
Falsifiability for a theory is great, but a theory can still be respectable even if it is not falsifiable, as long as it is verifiable.
BRIAN GREENE