nyssos

17 ms·

1. 211.▲
   by nyssos 3y ago

   > just happens to be invisible and undetectable except by how it just happens to make our existing models/math/explanations work. That describes all of physics: there's no such thing as "direct" detection in the
2. 212.▲
   by nyssos 3y ago

   > As the Higgs field is what gives particles mass Mass is a generic property of particles in a QFT. Unless there are symmetry considerations constraining them (gauge bosons like the photon, for instance, must be massless to avoid violati
3. 213.▲
   by nyssos 3y ago

   > the "hierarchy problem" and various allergies to fine tuning are really human preferences or things like The hierarchy problem is a real problem. The bare Higgs mass, for instance, might be a brute fact (but then again, it m
4. 214.▲
   by nyssos 3y ago

   > Because in my layperson's eyes that's the difference between math and theoretical physics. Not really. The distinction, to the extent that there even is one, is mostly a matter of motivation and methodology. Broadly generaliz
5. 215.▲
   by nyssos 3y ago

   One of the most significant living physicists, and the only one to have won a Fields Medal (arguably the most prestigious award in mathematics). Known for Chern-Simons theory, contributions to AdS/CFT, and of course M-theory, among man