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Lee Smolin

astronomertheoretical physicistnon-fiction writeruniversity teacher
1 appearance ·6 ideas explored ·Wikipedia ·✓ verified

Lee Smolin is an American theoretical physicist, a founding member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo, and a member of the graduate faculty of the philosophy department at the University of Toronto. Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics criticized string theory's viability. He has made contributions to quantum gravity theory, in particular the approach known as loop quantum gravity. He advocates that the two primary approaches to quantum gravity, loop quantum gravity and string theory, can be reconciled as different aspects of the same underlying theory. He also advocates an alternative view on space and time that he calls temporal naturalism. His research interests also include cosmology, elementary particle theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and theoretical biology.

Across 1 conversation, Lee Smolin ranges across realism, general relativity, quantum mechanics. Lee Smolin argues that there is no single scientific method, challenging traditional views on scientific practice. Smolin's concept of cosmological natural selection suggests that the laws of physics could evolve similarly to biological evolution.

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Smolin's cosmological natural selection posits that universes with black holes reproduce, potentially explaining the fine-tuning of physical constants.
#79Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
Loop quantum gravity, co-invented by Smolin, seeks to eliminate background dependence, contrasting with string theory's reliance on fixed spacetime.
#79Lee Smolin: Quantum Gravity and Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
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books

The Trouble with Physics
by Lee Smolin
Einstein's Unfinished Revolution: The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum
by Lee Smolin
The Life of the Cosmos
by Lee Smolin
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machine learning

realism

cosmological natural selection

cosmological natural selection

string theory

quantum gravity
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