From: mk_thisisit
The creation of the world, for physicist Krzysztof Majner, refers to the creation of the laws of physics itself, not just the world that surrounds us [00:00:06]. These laws are fundamental, unchanging, and universal, governing the material world here, in distant galaxies, and billions of years ago [00:05:08]. They are considered Platonic ideas—objective, perfect, and universal properties of the world [00:05:59].
Einstein’s Theory of Gravity (General Relativity)
Einstein’s theory of gravity, also known as general relativity, is described as incredibly beautiful in its equations [00:00:31]. It perfectly describes everything currently known about gravity [00:06:34]. The theory is a “fantastic approximation” because there are no known phenomena that are not described by Einstein’s equations [00:07:08]. While it is likely not the final word, as it is a classical theory and not a quantum one, it is considered “perfect” for what is currently known [00:06:39], [00:07:20].
Gravity and Black Holes
While the source of gravity is not fully understood, its effects are well-described by the laws of physics [00:06:13]. When considering black holes, extending the solutions of Einstein’s theory to the interior of a black hole suggests that an object would be torn apart at the singularity in finite time [00:15:24]. There is a hypothesis of “cosmic censorship,” meaning it’s impossible to look under the event horizon of a black hole [00:15:46]. Nevertheless, the very existence of black holes indicates incredibly different behaviors of space-time [00:16:17].
Relativity in Everyday Life: GPS
The concept of absolute time is not accurate; time runs differently depending on motion and gravitational fields [00:16:29]. For example, if one person is on the tenth floor and another on the second, their times run differently due to their distance from Earth’s gravity [00:16:47].
This phenomenon is crucial for technologies like GPS satellites [00:17:01]. Two main relativistic effects must be accounted for:
- Special Relativity Effect: Satellites move faster than us, causing time to slow down for them [00:17:13].
- General Relativity Effect: Satellites are further from Earth’s gravitational pull, meaning time runs faster for them compared to observers on Earth [00:17:22].
These effects, although partially canceling each other, require daily corrections of approximately 35 microseconds to ensure GPS accuracy; otherwise, navigation would be significantly off [00:17:29], [00:17:44], [00:18:00].
String Theory: A Failed Attempt at Unification
Professor Majner spent 17 years researching string theory, even writing his doctoral thesis on the topic [00:00:21], [00:01:31]. String theory emerged around 1984, touted as the “theory of everything” [00:01:51], [00:02:01]. This claim, however, turned out to be “completely senseless” [00:02:05].
Criticisms of String Theory
Despite its initial promise to combine general relativity and quantum mechanics into a single theory [00:03:17], Majner found that string theory:
- Failed to Answer Basic Questions: It did not provide answers to fundamental questions he posed [00:00:24], [00:01:38].
- Ruined General Relativity’s Beauty: In his opinion, it “ruins the beauty of the general theory of relativity,” making gravity just one of many manifestations without any distinct beauty or distinction [00:03:23], [00:03:36].
- Lack of Correspondence to Reality: No version of string theory has yet been created that accurately describes the observed world [00:00:38], [00:02:26].
- Too Many Theories: It was initially thought there was one string theory, but it turned out there are many [00:02:09].
- Conceptual Issues: What are called “strings” are actually more like “rods”—rigid objects billions of times smaller than an atomic nucleus, effectively point objects at low energies [00:02:34].
- Early Universe Problems: It did not answer questions about the very early universe, where the theory of elementary particles breaks down [00:03:05].
- Too Simple: While an interesting idea, it was ultimately too simple to solve the fundamental problems [00:04:10].
- Limited Contribution to Physics: Despite its mathematical elegance (e.g., contributing to a Fields Medal in mathematics), string theory has contributed “basically nothing” to the understanding physics aims to achieve [00:04:23], [00:04:37].
Due to these reasons, Majner abandoned string theory in the 1990s [00:03:51].
“I dealt with string theory for 17 years and I found that it does not answer basic questions it ruins general relativity which is incredible the beauty of Einstein’s theory in his equations is incredible to this day No theory has been created that at the moment when we look at our world corresponds to what we see” [00:00:21]
Physics and Transcendence
Physics, by its nature, is a “simple science” because it describes repeatable, identical components of matter (electrons, protons, etc.) [00:08:11], [00:13:37]. However, the complexity of life, with its functional organization and interconnected processes (like DNA, RNA, proteins, cell membranes), goes beyond the scope of ordinary physics [00:09:01], [00:10:01], [00:11:35]. The existence of self-organizing areas of very low entropy in living systems is not merely a result of the inherent interactions of particles [00:11:10].
While physics describes the material world and its laws, it cannot directly address concepts like God, faith, transcendent ethics, salvation, or good and evil [00:20:43]. However, Majner feels that physics “touches transcendence”—the idea that something exists beyond the material world [00:19:18]. The existence of universal, unchanging, elegant, and beautiful laws of physics points towards Platonic ideas, and for him, their existence implies a being beyond the material world that justifies them [00:20:02], [00:20:28]. Whether one believes in this “Transcendence” or not, physics remains consistent with both views; it changes our vision of the world but not the physical description itself [00:21:20].
Current Research
Professor Majner is currently working on two main topics:
- With Roger Penrose: Researching clues and traces left by previous “aeons” (universes) in our current one, with a second “very convincing” work expected to be published [00:21:47].
- With Professor Hermann Nicolai: Proposing a very heavy dark matter particle that might be detectable in underground experiments [00:22:12]. This particle would be too heavy to produce at CERN but could have been created in the early universe, capable of breaking through Earth like neutrinos [00:22:32].