The Never-Ending Dream of Mankind: The Theory of Everything
MRIC 2005/06
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"The Never-Ending Dream of Mankind: The Theory of Everything"
October 11th
Ruprecht Machleidt - Physics
Abstract: One of the most impressive results of modern science is the tremendous progress that has been made in the understanding of nature and the universe in fundamental terms. The so-called "Standard Model" of physics shows how the many phenomena of this world can be explained on the basis of just a few fundamental principals. These recent advances may suggest that the development of a "Theory of Everything" is just an idea of modern times. That is not true. In fact, almost as long as humans have done science, they have tried to find general principals underlying all nature. Ancient Greek philosophers have played an outstanding role: There are amazing parallels between the ideas of Plato and the theories of modern particle physics. Thus, in this colloquium, I will review the basic ideas and changing perceptions of the intellectually most challenging dream of mankind pervading history from the antiquity to modern days: the final theory of all of nature.
Ruprecht Machleidt - Physics
Abstract: One of the most impressive results of modern science is the tremendous progress that has been made in the understanding of nature and the universe in fundamental terms. The so-called "Standard Model" of physics shows how the many phenomena of this world can be explained on the basis of just a few fundamental principals. These recent advances may suggest that the development of a "Theory of Everything" is just an idea of modern times. That is not true. In fact, almost as long as humans have done science, they have tried to find general principals underlying all nature. Ancient Greek philosophers have played an outstanding role: There are amazing parallels between the ideas of Plato and the theories of modern particle physics. Thus, in this colloquium, I will review the basic ideas and changing perceptions of the intellectually most challenging dream of mankind pervading history from the antiquity to modern days: the final theory of all of nature.
Original url: http://www.uidaho.edu/class/mric/archives/pre-2010/fall2005/machleidt