John Moffat: The 88-Year-Old Physicist Who Challenges Dark Matter
These interviews can be extremely technically dense at times but I'm not willing to sacrifice depth, nor my personal engrossment, for views. The latter half of this video is primarily for posterity and I think you'll find it intriguiging only if you care about the history of physics around the time of Einstein, Dirac, and Feynman, which is why I put the answers to the more contemporary questions up front. John Moffat is an 88 year old luminary, which means there's a tendency to drone / ramble, since he doesn't perform much public speaking. But the content is there. Enjoy. - Curt Patreon *NEW*: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluthefilm 0:00:00 On "Modified Gravity" (or MOG) and how new theories are born 0:24:58 Does MOG agree with the data? 0:29:53 Black holes are characterized by "mass, spin, and alpha" not "mass, spin, and charge" 0:32:49 His thoughts on current Theories of Everything, including Weinstien's and Wolfram's 0:34:56 The problem with quantum gravity 0:43:16 Modifying Quantum Field Theory and Moffat's method for learning 0:55:27 The advent of the Higgs, due to the non-renormalizability of SU(2) x U(1) 1:00:16 The Higgs is needed for unitarity, not renormalizing (in Moffat's theory) 1:04:54 On the Arrow of Time 1:06:44 When Moffat met Feynman (brief story) 1:07:36 Why modifying gravity is so difficult, apart from quantum gravity 1:10:58 What Moffat is currently working on 1:12:01 Non-technical books Moffat has written, explaining all his theories 1:14:04 Black hole singularity points often being dependent on coordinate choice 1:18:55 Moffat's start in math and physics from a painter with PTSD who had no previous predilection for mathematics 1:30:16 The history of Einstein's first attempts at a Theory of Everything (or Unified Field Theory) 1:41:04 Bohr and Schrödinger hating on Einstein 1:52:17 Attending Dirac's course 2:02:44 Some love for Prof. Brian Keating from Moffat
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal · Theories of Everything
Show Notes
- 0:00:00 - Modified Gravity and theory origins
- 0:24:58 - Does MOG match data?
- 0:29:53 - Black holes: mass, spin, alpha
- 0:32:49 - Thoughts on TOE, Weinberg and Wolfram
- 0:34:56 - Problem with quantum gravity
- 0:43:16 - Modifying QFT and learning method
- 0:55:27 - Higgs emergence from non‑renormalizable SU(2)xU(1)
- 1:00:16 - Higgs needed for unitarity in Moffat's theory
- 1:04:54 - Arrow of Time
- 1:06:44 - Meeting Feynman (brief story)
- 1:07:36 - Difficulty of modifying gravity
- 1:10:58 - Current research focus
- 1:12:01 - Non‑technical books by Moffat
- 1:14:04 - Black hole singularities and coordinates
- 1:18:55 - Early math/physics start from painter with PTSD
- 1:30:16 - Einstein's early TOE attempts
- 1:41:04 - Bohr and Schrödinger vs Einstein
- 1:52:17 - Attending Dirac's course
- 2:02:44 - Appreciation for Prof. Brian Keating
SPONSORS:
- Patreon: NEW https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluthefilm
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.
SPONSOR: I subscribe to The Economist for their science and tech coverage. As a TOE listener, get 35% off! No other podcast has this: https://economist.com/TOE
FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices