A Record Setting Thirteen Hour Graduate Level Physics Lecture

[ohwilleke]

The Amplitudes 2020 Conference (on the physics of calculating probability amplitudes in quantum mechanics) was to be held in Michigan this year. But, this year, the conference was cancelled, for obvious reasons, and held via Zoom for Zoomplitudes 2020 instead. Physics blogger 4gravitons explains one of the highlights of the conference in his most recent post:

Usually, Amplitudes is accompanied by a one-week school for Master’s and PhD students. That wasn’t feasible this year, but to fill the gap Nima Arkani-Hamed gave a livestreamed lecture the Friday before, which apparently clocked in at thirteen hours!

The link is to the YouTube of the lecture if you want to watch it yourself (put on your adult diapers, and stock up on your snacks, first!).

Is this a new record? Andrew Torget at the University of North Texas has delivered a 26 hour 33 minute lecture on the history of Texas, for which he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. But, I've never heard of anyone in a STEM field doing this or anything close.

Is this proof that Nima Arkana-Hamed (one of the biggest names in string theory) is actually an alien or a cyborg?

Would online education work better if semester long classes were taught in three thirteen hour lectures, instead of three one hour lectures a week, leaving students time to forget the material from previous lectures in between classes?

What is the longest lecture you've given, or attended?

 

[PhanthomJay]

I always felt that a one hour STEM lecture was too short, and a 2 hour lecture was too long. 13 hours? Students would be tuned out after hour 2, and even if not, absolutely no learning would take place. Nothing at all.

 

[phinds]

I always felt that a one hour STEM lecture was too short, and a 2 hour lecture was too long. 13 hours? Students would be tuned out after hour 2, and even if not, absolutely no learning would take place. Nothing at all.

 

[phinds]

Well, maybe not "nothing at all" but certainly no way would anything like 13 hours of lecture be absorbed.

 

[ZapperZ]

The Amplitudes 2020 Conference (on the physics of calculating probability amplitudes in quantum mechanics) was to be held in Michigan this year. But, this year, the conference was cancelled, for obvious reasons, and held via Zoom for Zoomplitudes 2020 instead. Physics blogger 4gravitons explains one of the highlights of the conference in his most recent post:
The link is to the YouTube of the lecture if you want to watch it yourself (put on your adult diapers, and stock up on your snacks, first!).

Is this a new record? Andrew Torget at the University of North Texas has delivered a 26 hour 33 minute lecture on the history of Texas, for which he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. But, I've never of anyone in a STEM field doing this or anything close.

Is this proof that Nima Arkana-Hamed (one of the biggest names in string theory) is actually an alien or a cyborg?

Would online education work better if semester long classes were taught in three thirteen hour lectures, instead of three one hour lectures a week, leaving students time to forget the material from previous lectures in between classes?

What is the longest lecture you've given, or attended?

These appear to be an exercise in ego-stoking without giving any consideration on whether what they are delivering is effective.

Zz.

 

[Vanadium 50]

When I read the headline, my first thought was "Whoever they are, Nima can outdo them."

 

[Keith_McClary]