November 05, 2023

Leonard Susskind: What REALLY Happens Inside a Black Hole? (#364)

1 hour 23 minutes

What's really going on in a black hole? Why are there so many theories of everything? And did Leonard Susskind, the father of string theory, ever feel like an impostor?

Find out in this thrilling interview with none other than Susskind himself. Susskind is an American physicist and a professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University. He is also the founding director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. In 1995, Susskind was the first to give a precise string-theoretic interpretation of the holographic principle and the first to introduce the idea of the string theory landscape in 2003.

In this interview, we discuss Susskind's popular science book, The Black Hole War, which covers the black hole information paradox and the related scientific dispute between Stephen Hawking and Susskind himself. We also talk about other developments in modern physics and more!

Tune in!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

The difference between writing for broad and small audiences (05:56)

Impostor syndrome (08:58)

The first image of a black hole (19:33)

The horizon of a black hole and the existence of a singularity (22:05)

Mathematician envy (36:51)

Why are there so many theories of everything? (44:07)

Three things that would push him to believe in the Multiverse (48:25)

Audience questions (57:06)

Who would Lenny have for coffee? (1:05:33)

What would he put in his ethical will? (1:10:51)

Outro (1:17:34)

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Additional resources:

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📚 The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind: https://a.co/d/a9WGKAc

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