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I went through a phase where I (as a layman) consumed a lot of quantum physics YouTube content. My favorite people to listen to were Brian Greene, Roger Penrose

I went through a phase where I (as a layman) consumed a lot of quantum physics YouTube content. My favorite people to listen to were Brian Greene, Roger Penrose and Leonard Susskind. If there is a video of one of them speaking for more than an hour, I've probably watched it. I also watched some videos with Michio Kaku, including one where he was on a panel with Penrose, and I got major "huckster" vibes from him. It felt like he was trying to sell me something. Maybe that's an unfair interpretation. But it seemed really obvious, especially when contrasted with the others.

wrycoder 3y ago
Spot on, that's been my take on Kaku for the last fifteen years. The problem is, my local library keeps buying his books, to the exclusion of much better stuff. Einstein, Kaku, Feynman, Einstein, Kaku, Feynman....
cshimmin 3y ago
I have a PhD in particle physics (and work in the field). So more than a layman's familiarity with quantum mechanics/field theory. I have no idea who this guy is; I know the name and for some reason I know he looks like a white-haired composer (I guess that's a publicist doing their job well) but other than that I literally have no clue. Is he a professor somewhere? Similarly, I know the name Brian Greene; my grandma bought me one of his books when I was in highschool, which I never read. On the other hand, I know very well who Penrose and Susskind are, familiar with their research, have met them both at normal academic events. So, n=1 but take what you will from that information...
- cthalupa 3y ago
  > Is he a professor somewhere? CCNY, though I'm not sure how much he does for them these days. My (very casual, could very possibly be wrong) understanding is that he did most of his significant research and paper writing in the 70s and 80s, with some in the 90s, before transitioning to mostly doing popular science writing and TV/Podcast/Youtube appearances in the 2000s through today.

wrycoder 3y ago

Spot on, that's been my take on Kaku for the last fifteen years. The problem is, my local library keeps buying his books, to the exclusion of much better stuff. Einstein, Kaku, Feynman, Einstein, Kaku, Feynman....

cshimmin 3y ago

I have a PhD in particle physics (and work in the field). So more than a layman's familiarity with quantum mechanics/field theory. I have no idea who this guy is; I know the name and for some reason I know he looks like a white-haired composer (I guess that's a publicist doing their job well) but other than that I literally have no clue. Is he a professor somewhere? Similarly, I know the name Brian Greene; my grandma bought me one of his books when I was in highschool, which I never read. On the other hand, I know very well who Penrose and Susskind are, familiar with their research, have met them both at normal academic events. So, n=1 but take what you will from that information...

cthalupa 3y ago
> Is he a professor somewhere? CCNY, though I'm not sure how much he does for them these days. My (very casual, could very possibly be wrong) understanding is that he did most of his significant research and paper writing in the 70s and 80s, with some in the 90s, before transitioning to mostly doing popular science writing and TV/Podcast/Youtube appearances in the 2000s through today.