Is it me, or is Michio Kaku a total buffoon?

[humanino]

"if you can't do the exercises based on what is presented here you aren't trying hard enough"

Interesting indeed. The editions I have exactly says

Often, students complain that they understand the material but cannot do the problems. We feel that this is a contradiction in terms. If one cannot do the exercises, then one does not really fully understand the material.

And then, he goes on discussing on the fact the he purposedely avoided two extreme, too much or too little details. Maybe it is just a matter of taste in the end.

 

[jostpuur]

Interesting indeed. The editions I have exactly says

Often, students complain that they understand the material but cannot do the problems. We feel that this is a contradiction in terms. If one cannot do the exercises, then one does not really fully understand the material.

And then, he goes on discussing on the fact the he purposedely avoided two extreme, too much or too little details. Maybe it is just a matter of taste in the end.

I would complain, that I still have no understanding about what a fermion field is. I have, however, calculated amplitudes for some QED processes with Feynman rules very successfully. Perhaps my kind is not so common then?

 

[Tekno]

I would complain, that I still have no understanding about what a fermion field is. I have, however, calculated amplitudes for some QED processes with Feynman rules very successfully. Perhaps my kind is not so common then?

You've hit the nail on the head! Dr. Kaku is like I am to some degree personality wise. He will seek to awaken a thirst to understand but he will seldom hand you the answer. We often learn a lesson better when we are forced to take the journey and search for the solution! This is the path of enlightenment.

 

[tribdog]

You've hit the nail on the head! Dr. Kaku is like I am to some degree personality wise. He will seek to awaken a thirst to understand but he will seldom hand you the answer. We often learn a lesson better when we are forced to take the journey and search for the solution! This is the path of enlightenment.

you forgot to call him grasshopper

 

[Tekno]

you forgot to call him grasshopper

LOL... same type philosophy ;-)

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

You've hit the nail on the head! Dr. Kaku is like I am to some degree personality wise. He will seek to awaken a thirst to understand but he will seldom hand you the answer. We often learn a lesson better when we are forced to take the journey and search for the solution! This is the path of enlightenment.

Well no one thinks string theory is a complete waste of time, well no one I've seen. Of course any sort of avenue whether it is wrong or not furthers understanding. But shouldn't String Theory be resigned to maths depts, and not researched in physics dept, until it has some verifiable experimental data?

I'm big fan of him as a person, as scientist, ie one who uses scientific method not so much.

 

[ranger]

I've had the opportunity to speak to him on several occasions and even got a few books signed. He holds a Chair at my college. Its just amazing to listen to him give lectures and talks. I don't know why there's so much animosity for him around here. I think people are confusing him as a theoretical physicists and futurist, then conveniently look at only one side and make judgments. For example calling him a sellout and so on.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Dr. Kaku is on Coast to Coast AM next Friday discussing his book Physics of the Impossible. Art Bell is hosting.

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/03/28.html

 

[George Jones]

An http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2007-2008/mp3/qq-2008-03-22_01.mp3" with Kaku aired yesterday on the CBC programme Quirks and Quarks.

 

[Moonbear]

Dr. Kaku is on Coast to Coast AM next Friday discussing his book Physics of the Impossible. Art Bell is hosting.

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/03/28.html

I can't see that as helping his credibility at all.

 

[OmCheeto]

I can't see that as helping his credibility at all.

Well, given some of the guests and topics on that show, I have to agree. But I will be listening. His last show was kind of funny. Art asked one of those out of the world questions. I can't remember what it was. Perhaps; "Do you think Yeti's are alien invaders?" Prof. Kaku paused for a moment and went off on a totally different direction without ever acknowledging the question.

There are a few reviews out regarding his new book:

A fascinating exploration of the interface between science and science fiction, extremely well researched, lively, and tremendously entertaining. – Fritjof Capra

I have to admit, I've never read any of his books, but I do love listening to him.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I can't see that as helping his credibility at all.

Brian Greene makes occasional appearances, and I believe that Lisa Randall has been on as well.

...no better way to sell a book.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Brian Greene makes occasional appearances, and I believe that Lisa Randall has been on as well.

...no better way to sell a book.

When Lisa Randall was on, Art introduced her as a "female Michio Kaku". I seem to recall that didn't go over very well.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

When Lisa Randall was on, Art introduced her as a "female Michio Kaku". I seem to recall that didn't go over very well.

Maybe someone should have told her that Bell also labeled Kaku as the new Carl Sagan.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Not to derail the thread, but did I hear that Bell was getting divorced from his new child bride?

 

[cepheid]

An http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2007-2008/mp3/qq-2008-03-22_01.mp3" with Kaku aired yesterday on the CBC programme Quirks and Quarks.

I just listened to this, and I see what people are saying. Btw, I don't like them comparing this guy to Sagan at all!

"In physics, there is a statement that anything that is not impossible is mandatory."

What does he mean? Is he just saying that if a claim is not falsifiable, then whatever is being claimed must, in principle, be possible?

He also states some things very confidently, such as the fact that it is possible to survive a trip through a black hole under certain conditions, or that a trip through a black hole definitely leads to a parallel universe, whatever that means. Not having studied GR, I am not in a position to evaluate his claims, but they seem sort of far-fetched. I didn't think that physicists were 100% sure that there even WERE parallel universes.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Yeah he says a lot of things with confidence that turn out to be hypothetical rather than theoretical; that's Kaku though in my experience.

Since as far as I know no one has survived a trip through a black hole, I'd take that statement as being in the hypothetical camp, equally parallel Universes are hypothetical.

 

[Poop-Loops]

"In physics, there is a statement that anything that is not impossible is mandatory."

What does he mean? Is he just saying that if a claim is not falsifiable, then whatever is being claimed must, in principle, be possible?

No, he's saying that if you can't rule out something happening, then it WILL happen. For example there is nothing against flipping a coin so that it lands on its side rather than heads or tails, so eventually you'd expect it to happen. Something along those lines.

Not that if it's not falsifiable it has to happen, but if you've proven that it's not impossible, then it has to happen. Very vague statement.

He also states some things very confidently, such as the fact that it is possible to survive a trip through a black hole under certain conditions, or that a trip through a black hole definitely leads to a parallel universe, whatever that means. Not having studied GR, I am not in a position to evaluate his claims, but they seem sort of far-fetched. I didn't think that physicists were 100% sure that there even WERE parallel universes.

He's a string theorist. He HAS to be sure there are parallel universes or else his entire work would be meaningless. :p

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Sounds more like a belief than a science.

 

[Cyrus]

An http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2007-2008/mp3/qq-2008-03-22_01.mp3" with Kaku aired yesterday on the CBC programme Quirks and Quarks.

Interesting, negative energy!

 

[cepheid]

Interesting, negative energy!

Right! That was the other thing that seemed crazy, although I haven't looked up the Kasimir effect that he alluded to.

 

[mikelepore]

Something bothers me. Once the scientific method began with observations. People said, "I wonder why this happens", "I wonder why it looks this way." Hypothesis. Experiment. But today, with some of the way-out ideas, like wormholes, the process begins with "I would be real cool if this were true." Nothing observed and wondered about. Just inspiration from sci-fi novels, and "it would be so cool" ... "so let's devote our careers, and the money of university benefactors, and sometimes taxpayer money, to modeling it."

Then the supposed "testing" of the idea is to check that it's not (yet) found to be mathematically inconsistent. I don't see how that achieves anything important. There are a lot of things that aren't true even though there are no self-contradictions in them. There would be no logical or mathematical self-contradictions in me being a rich and famous movie star, but that doesn't make it true, or even worthy of being suspected. How does the fact that the mathematics is self-consistent, when they consider wormholes, eleven dimensional space, or time running backwards, give some people any confidence in such ideas? The only thing logical consistency achieves is: "This idea hasn't yet been proven wrong."

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

I've said that numerous times before, the last time was in relation to MWI. "You're theory is crazy but not crazy enough to be true!", to quote Bohr.

 

[Quincy]

Michio Kaku is indeed really smart - he built a particle accelerator at age 17, graduated at the top of his class from Harvard - and explains things really well but he is a sell-out...

 

[Cyrus]

I agree, he is smart. He's using his brain to make money. Why the HELL not? Is he supposed to please a bunch of people on a physics forum? Gimme a break folks.

Kudos to him for getting rich in the process of doing what you love. I hope I can do the same someday.

 

[cepheid]

but he is a sell-out...

Several people have said this in this thread. What does it MEAN? He's a scientist. How can a physicist "sell out" his colleagues?

The importance of promoting basic scientific literacy amongst the general populace, as well as inspiring the imaginations of the next generation of scientists cannot be underestimated.

Maybe Michio Kaku is not very effective at doing the former, but it sounds like he has done some of the latter.

I say this despite some of the reservations I had about what he was saying in the CBC interview.

 

[Tekno]

Several people have said this in this thread. What does it MEAN? He's a scientist. How can a physicist "sell out" his colleagues?

LOL... I'd like to hear their definition of sell out as well!

Let me defend Dr. Kaku as well, since he's not here to speak for himself. Dr. Kaku uses imagination and then sees if it can be ruled out mathematically & scientifically. He follows an example set by Einstein - "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

The concept E=mc2 didn't just pop into his head one day. Einstein himself had some pretty crazy theories that he eventually ruled out. He simply lived in a time with a culture that didn't really allow him to speak out on them.

I would say that Michio will best be known in the end not for his genius, certainly well Earned, but rather for the huge numbers of people he has inspired to seek out their imagination and thus a desire to understand and learn.

http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i1652454_WeavingaStarInspirational2.jpg

Is how I put it with an artistic touch... LOL

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

He's no Feynman. But he's no http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Fleischmann either.

Agree with this. ^

 

[Mk]

Not to derail the thread, but did I hear that Bell was getting divorced from his new child bride?

Oh man, I don't want to hear about it.

Poor guy. Needs to settle down by himself a while.

 

[Mk]

Several people have said this in this thread. What does it MEAN? He's a scientist. How can a physicist "sell out" his colleagues?

Yeah, wait a second, I'm starting to get the cynical idea that this guy is kind of charismatic and is getting rich. Sure, he's selling popular science, but he does write papers and texts. Hawking has done both, and no body says he's a sell out.