Lisa Randall on Coast to Coast Sat. 2/25

[Math Is Hard]

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2006/02/25.html

Joining Art Bell is Prof. of Physics at Harvard University, Lisa Randall, who will be talking about her book Warped Passages, and the fascinating idea that there may be an extra dimension just a few inches away from us.

[zoobyshoe]

Joining Art Bell is Prof. of Physics at Harvard University, Lisa Randall, who will be talking about her book Warped Passages, and the fascinating idea that there may be an extra dimension just a few inches away from us.
Since you brought it up, that's where I'm posting from now: just a few inches away from you.

[franznietzsche]

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2006/02/25.html

Joining Art Bell is Prof. of Physics at Harvard University, Lisa Randall, who will be talking about her book Warped Passages, and the fascinating idea that there may be an extra dimension just a few inches away from us.


OOoooh. She's the attractive one too :tongue2:

[zoobyshoe]

OOoooh. She's the attractive one too :tongue2:
Not so much when she's not all fixed up for a portrait, though:

http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/static/crimson1/randallbrockman.jpg

[selfAdjoint]

I heard her speak on her models at Laurence University in Appleton WI last month. She is indeed attractive and very, very smart. That's a good call by Bell, who I don't usually have much good to say for.

[franznietzsche]

I heard her speak on her models at Laurence University in Appleton WI last month. She is indeed attractive and very, very smart. That's a good call by Bell, who I don't usually have much good to say for.

Brilliant is always important :tongue2:

[zoobyshoe]

I heard her speak on her models at Laurence University in Appleton WI last month. She is indeed attractive and very, very smart. That's a good call by Bell, who I don't usually have much good to say for.
This is what I was wondering about: is it a good call for her to become associated with him?

[Math Is Hard]

I'm surprised he was able to book her at all - but then again, she does have a book to promote. This appearance definitely won't hurt sales.

[Ivan Seeking]

Ten million listeners does help sales.

thanks MIH, I hadn't checked and often forget to these days. [Noory is such a dweeb]

[The_Professional]

Not so much when she's not all fixed up for a portrait, though:

http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/static/crimson1/randallbrockman.jpg

haha, she looks beat. i was about to say she has this jodie foster thing goin until i saw that pic.

[anon2000]

so most physicists feel that she looks great. How come then she never got married? Does it mean that she feels she is too smart for most of the harvard ph.d. men around her? Are female physicists who are not as attractive even more hopeless, since they're less attractive to men, yet they're equally selective because of their intellect?

[Ivan Seeking]

This is what I was wondering about: is it a good call for her to become associated with him?

Bell has quite a few respected physicists in his line up. If Brian Greene is willing who can really object? And note that even though many people have issues with Kaku, he has written one or two books that are required reading for some Ph.D. students. Also, Seth Shostak is a regular - considered a little fringe perhaps, but I think most scientists consider the SETI project worthy of the effort. I know there are at least several other physicists, and certainly a good number of respected scientists from other disciplines interviewed by Bell over the years. In fact, I found Bell through Kaku and not the UFO stuff. Of course that was a great surprise - Bell's shows was pretty much UFO central back then.

[The_Professional]

so most physicists feel that she looks great. How come then she never got married? Does it mean that she feels she is too smart for most of the harvard ph.d. men around her?

maybe she's dating around and haven't found the one yet. who knows. why is this even an issue. if she feels she's too smart for most of the harvard phd men then i'd really be concerned about this kind of attitude but i don't know her, haven't spoken to her and haven't gone out on a date with her so i can't tell. but im sure she's not that shallow.


Are female physicists who are not as attractive even more hopeless, since they're less attractive to men, yet they're equally selective because of their intellect?
well you know even janet "the stormtrooper" reno has her admirers too. albeit from a smaller pool of men. i don't find j-lo attractive but im sure plenty of other guys do. they all have different kinds of men they attract and this goes to guys as well. how many tall, amazonian beauties do you see in the mall with a short guy who's so-so looking? beauty is subjective after all.

[franznietzsche]

maybe she's dating around and haven't found the one yet. who knows. why is this even an issue. if she feels she's too smart for most of the harvard phd men then i'd really be concerned about this kind of attitude but i don't know her, haven't spoken to her and haven't gone out on a date with her so i can't tell. but im sure she's not that shallow.


Its just the brilliant women are so sexy by default, even if they aren't supermodels. Once they start talking theoretical physics and tensor fields, I'm done for.

[The_Professional]

Its just the brilliant women are so sexy by default, even if they aren't supermodels. Once they start talking theoretical physics and tensor fields, I'm done for.

sure that's fine, but all those are the superficial stuff after a while. id check to see if she has a good attitude, high interest level and if she stands by me.

[franznietzsche]

sure that's fine, but all those are the superficial stuff after a while. id check to see if she has a good attitude, high interest level and if she stands by me.


Wait what?

Its shallow if I find the fact that a woman is intelligent and my intellectual equal to be very attractive? Right, ok then. I'll go back to picking dates by cup size then I guess....:rolleyes:

[zoobyshoe]

haha, she looks beat. i was about to say she has this jodie foster thing goin until i saw that pic.
Probably not fair of me to link to that one, it's the worst there was, the snapshot equivalent of a DMV photo.

[zoobyshoe]

Bell has quite a few respected physicists in his line up. If Brian Greene is willing who can really object? And note that even though many people have issues with Kaku, he has written one or two books that are required reading for some Ph.D. students. Also, Seth Shostak is a regular - considered a little fringe perhaps, but I think most scientists consider the SETI project worthy of the effort. I know there are at least several other physicists, and certainly a good number of respected scientists from other disciplines interviewed by Bell over the years. In fact, I found Bell through Kaku and not the UFO stuff. Of course that was a great surprise - Bell's shows was pretty much UFO central back then.
Yeah, I'm not sure what the repercussions would be at all. It just makes me wonder if it's a good move. I can't tell.

[The_Professional]

Wait what?

Its shallow if I find the fact that a woman is intelligent and my intellectual equal to be very attractive? Right, ok then. I'll go back to picking dates by cup size then I guess....:rolleyes:

If you will go long term with a girl you'd want somebody smarter than you with a good attitude and who's loyal.

[Ivan Seeking]

I can't tell.

That's exactly where he wants you. :biggrin:

[zoobyshoe]

That's exactly where he wants you. :biggrin:
Watch it. Remember, I'm just a few inches away from you in an alternate dimension.

[franznietzsche]

If you will go long term with a girl you'd want somebody smarter than you with a good attitude and who's loyal.


Right, intelligence is superficial, i got it. Loyalty, obedience, that's what counts. Gotcha.

I don't bother looking for that, if its there great, if its not it wouldn't work out anyway. So instead I look for things that you can actually identify without wasting a year with a person.

[The_Professional]

Right, intelligence is superficial, i got it. Loyalty, obedience, that's what counts. Gotcha.

I don't bother looking for that, if its there great, if its not it wouldn't work out anyway. So instead I look for things that you can actually identify without wasting a year with a person.

Let me be specific, intelligence to go along with the qualities I mentioned is important. Would you want somebody intelligent but has a bad attitude and who's not loyal? if that's your thing you go do that. And youre talking about wasting a year? if you find "the one" youre supposed to date her for two friggin years and watch their character and attitude closely because this is the one youre going to live with for the next 40 years if you decide to marry this person. But until then, you can date around. Wouldnt it be better to find out about a person's major issues earlier in dating than after youve had 3 kids and a 30 year mortgage. The sooner you find out the better off you are.

[Ivan Seeking]

Zooby, from I can tell she can pretty much do as she pleases. She is beyond that sort of "guilt by association" nonsense. And based on her achievements listed, I doubt that many people would care.

[loseyourname]

Wait what?

Its shallow if I find the fact that a woman is intelligent and my intellectual equal to be very attractive? Right, ok then. I'll go back to picking dates by cup size then I guess....:rolleyes:

Why should any one form of attraction be "deeper" or "shallower" than another? If the only thing that matters to you is that a women is attractive to you, does it really matter what it is that's attracting you?

I'm kind of with the other gentleman on this. I'd take a halfway decent-looking women with an average IQ and a high school education who is a nice person, not fickle, and willing to stay the course over someone who I find hot but might be off with the wind at the drop of a hat. Of course, if you can have both, that's even better.

Of course, this is all in theory. In practice, I've always just gone with the chicks that made me hot. I do imagine that someday I might come to regret doing this, though.

[Ivan Seeking]

Is anyone listening to the show?

She suggested that there might be life in alternate dimensions based on an entirely different rules of chemistry as compared to our universe.

Cool.

Edit: She was clear that this is just speculation and not a theory or hypothesis; it seems conceivable that it might be possible, from her POV, I think is a fair way to represent her statements.

[franznietzsche]

Is anyone listening to the show?

She suggested that there might be life in alternate dimensions based on an entirely different rules of chemistry as compared to our universe.

Cool.


What's the station? I just got back from my concert

edit: Nvm, I'm dumb, its KFI 640.

[franznietzsche]

Why should any one form of attraction be "deeper" or "shallower" than another? If the only thing that matters to you is that a women is attractive to you, does it really matter what it is that's attracting you?

I disagree entirely. I've dated women solely for their looks before. I've dated women because they were intelligent. The second groups are the one where the relationships were worthwhile, where I respected them. Its very difficult for me to respect as an equal someone who is not my intellectual equal. And you can't have a worthwhile relationship with someone you don't respect as an equal. I say this from experience. Maybe you can have relationships with people you don't respect as an equal, but I can't.

[Ivan Seeking]

OH NO! ART!!! Not the Philadelphia Experiment!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[franznietzsche]

Let me be specific, intelligence to go along with the qualities I mentioned is important. Would you want somebody intelligent but has a bad attitude and who's not loyal? if that's your thing you go do that. And youre talking about wasting a year? if you find "the one" youre supposed to date her for two friggin years and watch their character and attitude closely because this is the one youre going to live with for the next 40 years if you decide to marry this person. But until then, you can date around. Wouldnt it be better to find out about a person's major issues earlier in dating than after youve had 3 kids and a 30 year mortgage. The sooner you find out the better off you are.


You misunderstand what I'm saying.

Intelligence is the FIRST thing I look for. If the other things aren't there, the relationship won't work out anyway, and they are not things you can actually 'look' for.

[franznietzsche]

OH NO! ART!!! Not the Philadelphia Experiment!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


I know. I know. Silly, silly art....

[Ivan Seeking]

Great show though...

[franznietzsche]

Great show though...

yup . :rofl:

[zoobyshoe]

Zooby, from I can tell she can pretty much do as she pleases. She is beyond that sort of "guilt by association" nonsense. And based on her achievements listed, I doubt that many people would care.
I'm just thinking "Harvard on Art Bell? Is that making Bell look good or Harvard look bad?"
She suggested that there might be life in alternate dimensions based on an entirely different rules of chemistry as compared to our universe.

Cool.

Edit: She was clear that this is just speculation and not a theory or hypothesis; it seems conceivable that it might be possible, from her POV, I think is a fair way to represent her statements.
Here I'm thinking: "She's playing to his audience."

[Astronuc]

Randall's bio brief - http://physics.harvard.edu/people/facpages/randall.html

I don't listen to Art Bell.

As for "the suggestion that there might be life in alternate dimensions based on an entirely different rules of chemistry as compared to our universe," Sagan used to speculate about matters like life/civilizations on other planets. However, considering other or alternate dimensions seems to be in the realm of science fiction.

[Math Is Hard]

I only listened to the first couple of segments of the interview (couldn't stay up for the whole thing), but I thought she was great! I felt like Art was having a hard time keeping up with her at first, and then he started trying to pull her into directions she clearly wasn't interested in going (to appeal to the tastes of his audience obviously), but she was not having it. She stayed very focused and sincere. I may go out and buy her book.

I am looking forward to hearing the rest of the show. Did she have to stick around and take questions from callers? That was the most annoying part of the last Brian Greene interview. Too many nutball questions from callers. I could tell he was getting irritated.

oh, did you notice Art called her a "female Michio Kaku"?

[franznietzsche]

As for "the suggestion that there might be life in alternate dimensions based on an entirely different rules of chemistry as compared to our universe," Sagan used to speculate about matters like life/civilizations on other planets. However, considering other or alternate dimensions seems to be in the realm of science fiction.


String Theory actually. What she was saying made sense and was not ridiculously speculative. The way its been summarized is the way Art kept saying it, which was not how she said it.

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm just thinking "Harvard on Art Bell? Is that making Bell look good or Harvard look bad?"

Here I'm thinking: "She's playing to his audience."

She wouldn't say that it might be possible if as an expert far beyond anyone here, she didn't think it could be true.

Edit:Again, she made it clear that his is just speculation. I'm not sure if Bell pulled this out of her or if perhaps she even discusses it in her book. But this is why Bell is good. He gets people to say what they really think.

[Ivan Seeking]

I only listened to the first couple of segments of the interview (couldn't stay up for the whole thing), but I thought she was great! I felt like Art was having a hard time keeping up with her at first, and then he started trying to pull her into directions she clearly wasn't interested in going (to appeal to the tastes of his audience obviously), but she was not having it. She stayed very focused and sincere. I may go out and buy her book.

Yes, she was good. She even handled the Phily Experiment question very well. They did allow a few questions from callers, which were, as usual, mostly a waste of time. But when the callers asked nonsense questions, she just side stepped the question and gave an interesting answer for something else. :rofl:

oh, did you notice Art called her a "female Michio Kaku"?

Yes; did you notice that he never said this when she was on the air? :biggrin:

I couldn't believe that she never spoke to the notion of the big bang resulting from the "collapse" of a hyperdimensional surface. She did briefly mention the possibility of a collision of branes, but only for a moment. I even fast blasted, but without Romona, who is tending the fast blast?

Oh yes. Did anyone notice that she seemed pleased and surprised at some of Bell's questions. I think he really surprised her with some of his more lucid and informed comments and questions.

[Astronuc]

String Theory actually. What she was saying made sense and was not ridiculously speculative. The way its been summarized is the way Art kept saying it, which was not how she said it. I didn't listen to the show. I was going on comments quoted on Art Bell's site - http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2006/02/25.html#recap
Extra Dimensions & Global Warming
Professor of Theoretical Physics at Harvard University and author of Warped Passages, Lisa Randall talked about various topics in Physics, including the fascinating idea that there may be extra dimensions.

Note - I did not say ridiculously speculative. However, I did say speculative and referred to the realm of science fiction!

As for referring to Randall as a "female Michio Kaku", sounds like marketing sensationalism, which always makes me cringe.

I am a 'nuts and bolts' engineer with a physics background. I don't care for speculation. I focus on hard reality of nature and the challenges that offers in areas of applied physics and engineering, primarily in nuclear and aerospace technology.

[franznietzsche]

I didn't listen to the show. I was going on comments quoted on Art Bell's site - http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2006/02/25.html#recap


Note - I did not say ridiculously speculative. However, I did say speculative and referred to the realm of science fiction!

As for referring to Randall as a "female Michio Kaku", sounds like marketing sensationalism, which always makes me cringe.

I am a 'nuts and bolts' engineer with a physics background. I don't care for speculation. I focus on hard reality of nature and the challenges that offers in areas of applied physics and engineering, primarily in nuclear and aerospace technology.

The whole point of string theory is the idea that there are extra dimensions. So it sounds like you would call string theory science fiction.

I don't see any quotations from her posted there, so I don't know what you're talking about. What she was talking about was the idea of there being extra spatial dimensions, and potentially in order for us to see something with light it may be that it has to be at the same point in the other dimensions as us, but that this rule may not apply to gravity--so dar k matter could be matter displaced away from us in one (or more) of the extra dimensions. Thats what she was talking about.

[Ivan Seeking]

Note - I did not say ridiculously speculative. However, I did say speculative and referred to the realm of science fiction!

I think this speaks to a higher standard than science fiction. Science fiction does not necessarily need to be plausible, even in a speculative sense, based on our current understanding and theories of science. And of course without speculation, say in the case of speculation about alien life in our 3+1 space, we wouldn't pursue projects like SETI. The greatest ideas begin with "what if".

It is often cited that as a young man, Einstein wondered what the universe would look like if he could ride on a photon.

[Ratzinger]

Does someone know the level and style of the book? Is it more than your average pop science book with the usual intro to relativity and quantum theory plus her theory?

[TheStatutoryApe]

Does someone know the level and style of the book? Is it more than your average pop science book with the usual intro to relativity and quantum theory plus her theory?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060531088/sr=8-1/qid=1141268088/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0705575-8740067?%5Fencoding=UTF8

According to the reviews, yes.

---edit---
Sorry I read that as "more of" rather than "more than" by accident. :redface:

[selfAdjoint]

Yes, the book is a lot more than the usual stuff, if not quite to the level of The Elegant Universe. She gives you the by now familiar intro to the standard model, including some of its less popularly known features. Then she carefully introduces you to her model, which involves extra dimensions which are "warped" in the sense of having not a Euclidean, but an anti-deSitter geometry. The AdS geometry isn't put in by hand; she deduces it from the dynamics of the gravitational behavior: escaping from our four dimensional spacetime into the five dimensional bulk that our universe is just a boundary of. It turns out the gravity is very strong near our spacetime and falls off exponentially as you move away from the boundary in the fifth direction. And when she plugs this fact into Einstein's equations she gets AdS.

I really enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed her talk, which was kind of "Chapter Titles from the Book" with slides.