Over the past century the Nobel Prize has been coveted not only for monetary reasons but for recognition of major contributions to the art of science. In light of its history, such distinguished recognition is a prize that goes beyond monetary value. Until recently, the Nobel Prize held the highest standard for scientific achievements until the National Academy Of Science (NAS) Of Belarus gave the prize of integrity by risking its international reputation as an institution of science by publishing an article that revealed science, as currently practiced, is an incomplete study of Nature (see peer-reviewed article link "Who Is Telling The Truth, Nature Or Man?"). With the discovery of Albert Einstein's (nonlocal) hidden variables, I wonder when the Noble Committee will realize the old standards of conducting science is about to become history: http://physiology.by/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Morales_WHO-IS-TELLING-T...
The NYT needs to ask (and pay) more Nobel Laureatess to write for it.
Surely I can't be the only reader who is rather fed up with the endlessly dumbed down, scientifically illiterate drivel of reporters with degrees in communications and media studies.
Surely I can't be the only reader who is rather fed up with the endlessly dumbed down, scientifically illiterate drivel of reporters with degrees in communications and media studies.
The NYT needs to ask (and pay) more Nobel Laureates to write for it.
Surely I can't be the only reader who is rather fed up with the endlessly dumbed down, scientifically illiterate drivel of reporters with degrees in communications and media studies.
Surely I can't be the only reader who is rather fed up with the endlessly dumbed down, scientifically illiterate drivel of reporters with degrees in communications and media studies.
12
Congratulations to Haldane, Kosterlitz & Thouless!
At least there's some good news from the world of science.
Good news are in very short supply lately.
More funding for science!
At least there's some good news from the world of science.
Good news are in very short supply lately.
More funding for science!
3
This is a wonderful news.
I consider myself a life-long student of the field and long admirer of the work being honored today. Let me just say this: despite this work may seem obscured behind a veil of relative mathematical complexity, the human ingenuity and insight truly enriches the field, and enhances mankind's ability to see beauty in this world.
Isn't it why we fund fundamental research? To see?
Again, well done.
I consider myself a life-long student of the field and long admirer of the work being honored today. Let me just say this: despite this work may seem obscured behind a veil of relative mathematical complexity, the human ingenuity and insight truly enriches the field, and enhances mankind's ability to see beauty in this world.
Isn't it why we fund fundamental research? To see?
Again, well done.
10
While I am sure this theoretical work is worthy of a Nobel Prize, I was surprised that the fantastic discovery of gravity waves, a magnificent and complex experiment did not receive the prize this year.
7
Probably because these prizes are decided well ahead of their announcement; I'm sure gravity waves will be rewarded in the fullness of time and with more experimental back-up
4
Hi Peter,
the deadline for nominations is Jan 31 each year. The paper documenting the observation of grav waves appeared later, and could not qualify for this year's selection....
the deadline for nominations is Jan 31 each year. The paper documenting the observation of grav waves appeared later, and could not qualify for this year's selection....
5
Hearty Congratulations to Professors Thouless, Kosterlitz and Haldane - very well deserved.
For me personally, this is a blast from the distant past - the closest my own Physics Ph.D. thesis work (of nearly 33 years ago) will come to a Noble Prize! A 1978 paper by Kosterlitz and Thouless was Reference #1 in my thesis! I must have said Kosterlitz-Thouless dozens of times those years - with friends not in this field assuming that Kosterlitz was the first name and Thouless the last!
This morning when I saw the announcement I was thrilled - after so many decades I again read my thesis "Two-Dimensional Critical Behavior of a Quantum Solid / Superfluid Interface : Experimental Study"; still fascinating physics. Their theoretical work was elegant and brilliant; of course, as the quote from Prof. Thouless in my thesis says, theoretical analysis in 2D as compared to 3D is much simpler making this a "theorist's paradise." But extra-ordinary experimental conditions were required to obtain and systematically control a 2D system - and I was one of the first successful experimentalists to do so, resulting in the crowning glory for a physicist - 2 Physical Review Letters publications! Their work, of course, was the key to stimulating this whole field.
Original basic research and discovery are such a tremendous joy that I wish every undergraduate student could experience a year of it. And basic research opens up so many unimaginable vistas that our Government should invest more in it.
For me personally, this is a blast from the distant past - the closest my own Physics Ph.D. thesis work (of nearly 33 years ago) will come to a Noble Prize! A 1978 paper by Kosterlitz and Thouless was Reference #1 in my thesis! I must have said Kosterlitz-Thouless dozens of times those years - with friends not in this field assuming that Kosterlitz was the first name and Thouless the last!
This morning when I saw the announcement I was thrilled - after so many decades I again read my thesis "Two-Dimensional Critical Behavior of a Quantum Solid / Superfluid Interface : Experimental Study"; still fascinating physics. Their theoretical work was elegant and brilliant; of course, as the quote from Prof. Thouless in my thesis says, theoretical analysis in 2D as compared to 3D is much simpler making this a "theorist's paradise." But extra-ordinary experimental conditions were required to obtain and systematically control a 2D system - and I was one of the first successful experimentalists to do so, resulting in the crowning glory for a physicist - 2 Physical Review Letters publications! Their work, of course, was the key to stimulating this whole field.
Original basic research and discovery are such a tremendous joy that I wish every undergraduate student could experience a year of it. And basic research opens up so many unimaginable vistas that our Government should invest more in it.
15
I long for the days when people were awarded Nobel prizes for things that laypersons could actually understand or relate to. As much as I want to appreciate this work, it seems so obscure as to make me wonder why it matters at all.
If the discoveries are worthwhile, they really speak for themselves, though. I mean, if something is really that important, its own name becomes so common that touting the Nobel prize isn't even necessary. I mean, I know of the equation E=mc^2, but couldn't tell you whether the person or persons who worked on it got the Nobel prize or not. But, isn't my knowing E=mc^2, as a layperson, an even greater accomplishment to the author of that equation? Somehow, the reward OF being great seems superior to a reward FOR being great.
But, that is just my own perspective, and perhaps not the same as these individuals. So, congratulations all the same.
If the discoveries are worthwhile, they really speak for themselves, though. I mean, if something is really that important, its own name becomes so common that touting the Nobel prize isn't even necessary. I mean, I know of the equation E=mc^2, but couldn't tell you whether the person or persons who worked on it got the Nobel prize or not. But, isn't my knowing E=mc^2, as a layperson, an even greater accomplishment to the author of that equation? Somehow, the reward OF being great seems superior to a reward FOR being great.
But, that is just my own perspective, and perhaps not the same as these individuals. So, congratulations all the same.
3
So you long for the days when Nobels were awarded for things laypersons could actually understand or relate to, and then as an example, you cite the theory of relativity. Unironically.
Who was that person (or persons) who worked on that equation, anyways??
Who was that person (or persons) who worked on that equation, anyways??
6
by the way, Einstein discovered E=MC2
4
Just some patent clerk in Switzerland. Albert something or other.
9
It's surprising it took so long for the KTB transition to recognized for a Nobel Prize. It is a fundamentally different way of defining order -- and well-deserving of a Nobel Prize, IMO -- and probably should have been awarded before the blue LED or graphene. That said, it's unfortunate that many experimental results still do not clearly demonstrate the phenomena -- especially in superconductors. That's probably why there's no experimental component to this award, I guess.
12
We have more insight into exotic states of matter than we have about why someone would vote for Trump.
16
th brain is too exotic to ever be understood
1
If I may inject a dose of reality, Professors Thouless and Kosterlitz did their collaborative work (on what came to be called the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition) in the UK.
12
How is your comment a "dose of reality"? whatever do you mean?
5
That's true …. The first sentence of the article is:
"Three physicists born in Britain but now working in the United States were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics ..." What reality was missed?
"Three physicists born in Britain but now working in the United States were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics ..." What reality was missed?
3
Many comments here tie their winning the Prize to the open immigration policy of the US. In this specific case, it is not necessarily so.
6
"While the research was largely theoretical, it could have practical applications for items like electronics, superconductors and even computers."
---------------
Hansson explained that experimentalists had successfully tested their theoretical work, "largely theoretical" or not. I would think that it "goes Nobel" only after successful experimentation, like 1919's observation of gravity's effect on light.
---------------
Hansson explained that experimentalists had successfully tested their theoretical work, "largely theoretical" or not. I would think that it "goes Nobel" only after successful experimentation, like 1919's observation of gravity's effect on light.
5
You seem to be under the common misimpression that Einstein received the Nobel prize for his theory of relativity. NOT So. He received it for the photoelectric effect.
16
we at Brown are immensely proud of Dr. Kosterlitz! An award well deserved indeed.
11
Congratulations.
Now can we please find out how they get the caramilk into a caramilk bar ?
Now can we please find out how they get the caramilk into a caramilk bar ?
7
I found I found it interesting that two of the three were Scottish. The Scots have a long history of producing world class engineers and scientists. Steam engines, telephones and penicillin have a Scottish heritage as does the world's finest whisky.
24
Yeah but what could account for Haggis.
4
Beam me aboard Scotty. There's no intelligent life down here.
How does whisky behave at the quantum level when cooled to -273 degrees?
3
All three of these gentlemen are British immigrants who came to this country. One of them got his PhD with Hans Bethe, a German immigrant and legendary Nobel Prize winning physicist who helped build the atomic bomb. In this awful election season, look no further to appreciate the role of immigrants in making this country great.
37
They all did their important work as young men in the UK (Scotland, and England in this instance) before they came to the USA.
All are still UK citizens. They merely have current academic positions in the USA, where they are paid much more than in the UK, as has been commonly the case in physics for almost the last century.
This is a completely different situtation from unskilled, low intelligence, uneducated and illegal Mexican immigrants, for example, driving down wages and working conditions in the California almond industry.
All are still UK citizens. They merely have current academic positions in the USA, where they are paid much more than in the UK, as has been commonly the case in physics for almost the last century.
This is a completely different situtation from unskilled, low intelligence, uneducated and illegal Mexican immigrants, for example, driving down wages and working conditions in the California almond industry.
3
This is an exciting announcement. I was very very pleased that superconductivity was recognized by the Nobel committee. This important property of material will make an important contribution to the economic future of the world.
Already, we see powerful superconducting magnets being applied in magnetic resonance imaging in medical diagnostics, and in the Large Hadron particle accelerator at Cern, and by Japan in their superconducting magnetic levitated transport system based on the 1966 invention of Drs. James Powell & Gordon Danby. The US dropped work on the SC Maglev but Japan continued.
Japan's has proposed that its world speed record 371 mph passenger transport system be used for the North East Corridor from Boston to DC.
Powell & Danby have proposed that the US test their 2nd Gen superconducting Maglev transport, which is capable of carrying trucks as well as passengers at very high speeds and allow it to compete with Japan & other high speed rail systems.
Powell and Danby's 2nd gen system is cheaper to construct and is much more powerful, uniquely can electronically switch & operate on conventional railroad trackage adapted to SC Maglev at low-cost.
This wheelless and electronically non-friction brakeless system is far superior to the antiquated steel-wheel on steel-rail guided surface transportation system. It is limited in speed only by air resistance because its very powerful superconducting Magnets are without electronic or mechanical resistance.
Already, we see powerful superconducting magnets being applied in magnetic resonance imaging in medical diagnostics, and in the Large Hadron particle accelerator at Cern, and by Japan in their superconducting magnetic levitated transport system based on the 1966 invention of Drs. James Powell & Gordon Danby. The US dropped work on the SC Maglev but Japan continued.
Japan's has proposed that its world speed record 371 mph passenger transport system be used for the North East Corridor from Boston to DC.
Powell & Danby have proposed that the US test their 2nd Gen superconducting Maglev transport, which is capable of carrying trucks as well as passengers at very high speeds and allow it to compete with Japan & other high speed rail systems.
Powell and Danby's 2nd gen system is cheaper to construct and is much more powerful, uniquely can electronically switch & operate on conventional railroad trackage adapted to SC Maglev at low-cost.
This wheelless and electronically non-friction brakeless system is far superior to the antiquated steel-wheel on steel-rail guided surface transportation system. It is limited in speed only by air resistance because its very powerful superconducting Magnets are without electronic or mechanical resistance.
8
The prize was not for superconductivity, per se. Superconductivity has already been the subject of eight Nobels, in 1913, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1996, and 2003. See http://ieeecsc.org/pages/nobel-laureates-superconductivity .
3
Darth Vader, Thanks for the links and I unintentionally misread the Times report. Superconductivity was only given as an example of the "topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter" in the article and there is a possibility that the new Laureates are not even aware of superconductivity.
In the use of the superconductivity in the design of magnets, it is still amazing that a superconducting wire can be made into an extremely powerful magnet, that would not be possible with normal conductors simply because the wire would melt. In the books written by Powell and Danby, "The Fight for Maglev", and "Maglev America" we have credited Onnes with the discovery of superconductivity and because or the nature of the superconducting Maglev transport we also gave credit to Faraday for his discoveries in electro-magnetism, and finally we attributed the development of a power system to generate alternating current. These scientists made discoveries that were important to Powell and Danby's systems for surface transport, for launch of payload to space, and storage of electricity.
Powell and Danby were rediscovered in 1987 by Senator Pat Moynihan of NY and he introduced me to his committee's idea to use the Powell and Danby transport to build an 300 mph Maglev network along the rights-of-way of the Interstate Highway System. I thought it was the greatest idea that I had ever heard and have been hooked since. The problem is the strong opposition of the airlines.
In the use of the superconductivity in the design of magnets, it is still amazing that a superconducting wire can be made into an extremely powerful magnet, that would not be possible with normal conductors simply because the wire would melt. In the books written by Powell and Danby, "The Fight for Maglev", and "Maglev America" we have credited Onnes with the discovery of superconductivity and because or the nature of the superconducting Maglev transport we also gave credit to Faraday for his discoveries in electro-magnetism, and finally we attributed the development of a power system to generate alternating current. These scientists made discoveries that were important to Powell and Danby's systems for surface transport, for launch of payload to space, and storage of electricity.
Powell and Danby were rediscovered in 1987 by Senator Pat Moynihan of NY and he introduced me to his committee's idea to use the Powell and Danby transport to build an 300 mph Maglev network along the rights-of-way of the Interstate Highway System. I thought it was the greatest idea that I had ever heard and have been hooked since. The problem is the strong opposition of the airlines.
3
Singer Tom Jones commented: It's Not Unusual For People To Love a Physics Guy: But only during Nobel season.
5
Congratulations to all three of these researchers and to Dr. Ohsumi yesterday. Both sets of Nobel Prizes this year demonstrate the utter value of basic, non-applied research, which can have profound ramifications once applications are subsequently developed.
It's also wonderful to see that one of the most basic, profound and vital languages and tools we have, mathematics, continues to connect may seem like distinct areas of our existence. Most people might not connect topology--strangely defined in this article--and unusual states of matter, but these physicists have shown that in fact, mathematics is a core discipline which can link areas that we might now imagine and look into the future in advance of experimental research that confirms the mathematical leaps.
All in all, a wonderful award, and congratulations to the winners and all who keep pioneering in scientific research!
It's also wonderful to see that one of the most basic, profound and vital languages and tools we have, mathematics, continues to connect may seem like distinct areas of our existence. Most people might not connect topology--strangely defined in this article--and unusual states of matter, but these physicists have shown that in fact, mathematics is a core discipline which can link areas that we might now imagine and look into the future in advance of experimental research that confirms the mathematical leaps.
All in all, a wonderful award, and congratulations to the winners and all who keep pioneering in scientific research!
24
Wowie zowie!
Can we cut out the nasty politics and just for once celebrate a good job well done. This is great stuff, the real deal.
(two are family friends, so I might be prejudiced ... but still ...)
Can we cut out the nasty politics and just for once celebrate a good job well done. This is great stuff, the real deal.
(two are family friends, so I might be prejudiced ... but still ...)
23
Susan Anderson mentions in these comments that her father, P.W. Anderson, is a colleague of Dr. Haldane at Princeton.
New York Times readers should know that Dr. Anderson is also a Nobel Prize winner in physics whose discoveries are widely and justly celebrated.
Congratulations to the 2016 Nobelists and to the distinguished Dr. Philip Warren Anderson.
New York Times readers should know that Dr. Anderson is also a Nobel Prize winner in physics whose discoveries are widely and justly celebrated.
Congratulations to the 2016 Nobelists and to the distinguished Dr. Philip Warren Anderson.
13
Dad's pretty excited, In addition to Thouless and Haldane, he was also a close colleague of Mike Kosterlitz, a notable mountain climber.
12
These Swedes are big dummies. Everyone, except the Nobel Committee, knows a pretzl has THREE HOLES.
1
Scandinavians make pretzels with the third hole vanishingly small. It's a different esthetic. :-)
3
I took one year of Physics in college, and hated it! Electricity terrifies me. But when I read "stuff like this" it makes my head explode. It is so amazing that people think and reason like this, as I guess that that is what they are doing. I hated chemistry too, but I loved Organic - Morrison and Boyd, thank you. Now Biology, that is a different story. The world and the people who populate it are truly amazing.
7
Morrison and Boyd: YES!!
2
Two of the three Nobel winners worked at Bell Labs.
Bell Labs was an outsized contributor to modern life.
The transistor, laser, communication satellite, fiber optics, and tens of thousands of other physics inventions changed life for everyone on earth.
It's a shame that Carly Fiorina's (Former republican presidential candidate) work at Lucent, the parent of Bell Labs, helped trash the company and resulted in its fire sale to a French company.
We will only remain a leader in science if the people running things actually know about science and can assist scientists in meaningful ways.
Bell Labs was an outsized contributor to modern life.
The transistor, laser, communication satellite, fiber optics, and tens of thousands of other physics inventions changed life for everyone on earth.
It's a shame that Carly Fiorina's (Former republican presidential candidate) work at Lucent, the parent of Bell Labs, helped trash the company and resulted in its fire sale to a French company.
We will only remain a leader in science if the people running things actually know about science and can assist scientists in meaningful ways.
43
While the fault is far from entirely FIorina's -- rather, it begins with the deregulation of the telephone industry, a move that also brought benefits -- the dissolution of Bell Labs as one of the world's premier research institutions is indeed lamentable. Bell Labs was a living demonstration of the necessary link between fundamental, curiosity-driven research and technological progress.
17
Oh, how I miss the glory days of Bell Labs and Xerox PARC and IBM Watson. They were the Medicis of 20th century America. What created and sustained them was a strict tax code that hit corporations hard but allowed them to deduct investment in R&D.
7
When you have a doughnut with your cup of coffee in the morning, note that for a topologist the cup and the doughnut are the same topologically -- one hole.
7
"While the research was largely theoretical, it could have practical applications for items like electronics, superconductors and even computers."
A Nobel Prize for conjecture. Surely physics can do better than this? Then again, as unambiguous empirical evidence has shown science, as currently practiced is an incomplete study of Nature. See: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Did_The_National_Academy_Of_Science_Of...
A Nobel Prize for conjecture. Surely physics can do better than this? Then again, as unambiguous empirical evidence has shown science, as currently practiced is an incomplete study of Nature. See: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Did_The_National_Academy_Of_Science_Of...
The outcomes of this research have been amply confirmed by experiment. For example, topological insulators have been observed multiple times over recent years and are based on the ideas of Haldane.
7
Ed, perhaps you are not aware that unambiguous empirical evidence has shown the methods currently used in science are based on a fundamental omission error including the experiments you mentioned. See: http://physiology.by/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Morales_WHO-IS-TELLING-T...
It is not easy for scientists and researchers to get permission from immigration to work in the US.
5
"Topology is a branch of mathematics that describes properties that change only in increments."
This is not even close to being correct. Topology is a branch of geometry that describes properties that are unchanged by continuous transformations. These properties almost never change "in increments."
This is not even close to being correct. Topology is a branch of geometry that describes properties that are unchanged by continuous transformations. These properties almost never change "in increments."
28
The work that was awarded the Nobel described topological phase transitions. I think that it's these transitions that have properties that change in increments. So while the description of topology given is not complete, the idea that the change from one topological order to another happens only in increments is not incorrect.
Congratulations to the Nobel Laureates for their contribution to physics.
Having said that, it is unfortunate they all started in England and ended up in the US. The English economy has devolved into unregulated financial casino and a place to hide ill gotten gains (primarily Russian and Chinese). Even the last shipyard in England closed recently. Hence Brexit.
Having said that, it is unfortunate they all started in England and ended up in the US. The English economy has devolved into unregulated financial casino and a place to hide ill gotten gains (primarily Russian and Chinese). Even the last shipyard in England closed recently. Hence Brexit.
10
The conditions in which the topological invariant applies exists in deep space, an experimental environment worth investing in. Under such conditions, the entire computational needs of humanity could occur off planet, streamed to us. Energy could also be transmitted cheaply, like laser beamed sunlight to high intensity collectors. But is war more beguiling?
4
The descriptions of topology in this article are odd. While not incorrect, the focus on "incremental change" seems to miss the bigger picture, and is also unlike every other one sentence summary I've ever seen. A more thorough example would include the usual comparison of donuts to coffee cups to explain the topological invariant.
9
Esoteric stuff, but far less intriguing than three of the great conservation laws-- conservation of energy/mass, linear momentum and angular momentum. The world would be a much more interesting place, if every person understood these three conservation laws because they do stir wonder and engender amazement.
5
Perhaps the most amazing thing about these Conservation Laws is that by virtue of Emma Noether's Theorem, they are a direct consequence of the fact that nature's laws do not change with time, where you are in space, or in what direction you are pointing.
5
I heard a portion of Yoshinori Ohsumi's statement after hearing of his prize for medicine. He put in a strong pitch for funding basic research that has no known practical effect other than to expand our knowledge. The massive practical benefit of his work became apparent only after a long period of research.
30
At least these guys speak English -- some of American's foreign born professors cannot be understood as they speed through lectures.. but it does give me pause as it would be very difficult for an American to get a job in a European university. Ditto, more women graduate but few teach at the university professor level. A university professorship is a cushy job... and if it's true actually 40% of undergrad courses are taught by underpaid teaching assistants and adjuncts!
Thank you NYTimes for pointing out this little fact!!
Thank you NYTimes for pointing out this little fact!!
8
When was the last time you were a full professor at a prestigious university. Because you made some pretty bold statements.
5
The Air Force sent me to MIT 1962-64 where I earned masters degrees in Meteorology and Aeronautics-Astronautics. The only teaching assistant I encountered teaching a full class was a genius named Sheila Widnall, from whom I took Aerodynamics. I sat next to Charlie Duke who became a crew member on Apollo 16. Widnall became President Clinton's Secretary of the Air Force in the 90s.
Neither Duke nor I felt we were short-changed. Widnall was working on her PhD at the time and was a marvelous instructor.
Neither Duke nor I felt we were short-changed. Widnall was working on her PhD at the time and was a marvelous instructor.
10
You simply have no clue as to how hard faculty work at a research university. That they are largely doing what they love to do should not somehow translate into your snidely dismissive "cushy." Winning research grants simply does not happen for the lazy or faint of heart.
8
Isn't it nice to see that these three physicists did their work in America? Now think where it would have been done if Donald Trump had been president and blocked their coming to America. They have contributed to world science and to our science. Knowledge has no borders but ignorance makes borders.
48
Not to worry. They're Anglo Saxon.
4
Also, great minds sometimes spring from the unlikeliest sources. How many Einsteins and Curies have been lost to the world because of poverty, racism, sexism, greed, religious intolerance, etc?
7
Maybe we should only admit immigrants with PhDs in the hard sciences.
3
Immigrants get the job done.
39
The fact that these scientists are winning Nobels here -- but come from outside the US -- should gives us pause. We benefit from great minds coming to the US. We benefit from great colleges and universities whose research is supported with federal dollars. We benefit from support for blue-sky basic research -- that we hope will have practical application but proof of immediate practical application is not required. Knowledge is enough. We would benefit from much greater support for basic education in every neighoorhood beginning at pre-school. We would benefit again -- as in the 1950s & '60s -- from having the best educated citizens in the world. We have among the best elite universities. But what about the state systems of universities and our commitment as a nation to them? If Know-Nothingism continues to grow in the US, I fear for future of not only basic research but of the pursuit of knowledge. We need once again to grow a system of education where sciences and the humanities are prized and the pursuit of knowledge is among the greatest of human endeavors.
78
These Nobel prize winners belong to a previous generation when American universities did indeed hire the brightest and talented. Now, the system is being abused and universities are used as immigration gates. The recent hires are not talented and bright but friends of previous immigrants that are currently in charge of departments. It's easy to apply for student visas, and when they graduate they beg for a position here. Example: a young recent graduate of an American university and French immigrant confessed to me last year: universities pay more here than in France. Translation: is not easy to get a job there. Has this recent graduate proven his competency? No. It is this situation that is disturbing when the American bright and talented are displaced.
1
What kind of pretzel has two holes?
Congratulations
Congratulations
7
It's a Swedish pretzel.
No, but actually.
No, but actually.
5
This year's Nobel prize for that branch of speculative philosophy known as physics provides further proof that there has been no coherent concept of a physical object since Newton torpedoed it with gravity and action at a distance over 300 years ago.
As Einstein observed, "Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter.”
Just think what that means. Time, space and gravitation are properties of matter. Enter exotic matter, mysterianism and panpsychism.
Modern physicists have lost their standards of intelligibility. What is called intelligible is what fits the theory and the maths. Fact is that Galileo and Newton, Locke and Hume had higher standards of intelligibility than modern physicists.
As Dirac pointed out, leading physicists themselves understand that modern science no longer even tries to present models or pictures of how the world works. What they give us instead are ways of looking at the fundamental laws which make their self-consistency obvious.
Russell concluded that in physics the word ‘intelligible’ should always be used in inverted commas.
Nevertheless, physicists like Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz do well to continue their research, which may even succeed in producing results that have useful functions. For it is perfectly possible to do things which can be useful in practice without comprehending what it is that you are doing.
Should we be revising our research funding priorities?
As Einstein observed, "Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter.”
Just think what that means. Time, space and gravitation are properties of matter. Enter exotic matter, mysterianism and panpsychism.
Modern physicists have lost their standards of intelligibility. What is called intelligible is what fits the theory and the maths. Fact is that Galileo and Newton, Locke and Hume had higher standards of intelligibility than modern physicists.
As Dirac pointed out, leading physicists themselves understand that modern science no longer even tries to present models or pictures of how the world works. What they give us instead are ways of looking at the fundamental laws which make their self-consistency obvious.
Russell concluded that in physics the word ‘intelligible’ should always be used in inverted commas.
Nevertheless, physicists like Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz do well to continue their research, which may even succeed in producing results that have useful functions. For it is perfectly possible to do things which can be useful in practice without comprehending what it is that you are doing.
Should we be revising our research funding priorities?
8
As (physicist) Wolfgang Pauli once said, "that's not even wrong".
14
"...leading physicists themselves understand that modern science no longer even tries to present models or pictures of how the world works. What they give us instead are ways of looking at the fundamental laws which make their self-consistency obvious."
Wot ? -- I think your ideas about what prompts Physicists to do what they do are bassackwards.
Wot ? -- I think your ideas about what prompts Physicists to do what they do are bassackwards.
5
If you are getting any of said funding, then absolutely yes.
5
Congrats to, Sheldon, Leonard, and Rajesh!
15
To tbs: Wrong! These three are condensed matter physicists, their work has nothing to do with the big bang or particle physics.
3
Lately, though, Sheldon, Leonard and Howard have taken to condensed-matter physics with their superfluid gyroscope. ;-)
4
Leonard has been portrayed as a condensed matter physicist since the beginning of the show, or so I thought. Anyway all of their fictional research crosses over multiple fields. The guy who writes the science dialogue has wide ranging interests and likes to plug in lots of recent research topics.
1
This is the American Exceptionalism that the rest of the world looks up to, and actually strives for!
I hope it never ends. There is something about research and academics in the U.S., which allows the best minds of the world to congregate, cooperate, focus and discover, benefiting us all. And for each scientific feat and discovery recognized by a Nobel, there are probably another hundred or some thousands that are not, quietly worked on and then further built upon, all over the U.S., and the world.
I hope it never ends. There is something about research and academics in the U.S., which allows the best minds of the world to congregate, cooperate, focus and discover, benefiting us all. And for each scientific feat and discovery recognized by a Nobel, there are probably another hundred or some thousands that are not, quietly worked on and then further built upon, all over the U.S., and the world.
29
Except the winners are British, they were educated in the UK, and most of the research for which they are being recognized was performed outside the US.
8
taking the best and brightest from around the world and giving them a place to do research (often educating them here, as well) used to be highly valued and drove a lot of discovery and invention. America was exceptional in its willingness to take in lots of people and give them a comfortable life in which to invent. It's become much harder for foreign students and researchers to come to the US, so they go elsewhere and discover and invent there.
3
Exactly. Science shows us how cooperation and brotherhood can benefit the world.
1
Look at the dearth of comments on this article. Yes, it was only just now published, but one wonders how much of a response an article on The Donald's latest inanity would have generated by now.
I was profoundly lucky to grow up in a household with a theoretical physicist father. Although most physics flies over my head, I've learned to appreciate the beauty of what these men and women discover.
Kudos to these three scientists, and may theirs and others work be more greatly appreciated by society as a whole, instead of our current focus on the fat shaming of beauty queens and decades old infidelity scandals.
I was profoundly lucky to grow up in a household with a theoretical physicist father. Although most physics flies over my head, I've learned to appreciate the beauty of what these men and women discover.
Kudos to these three scientists, and may theirs and others work be more greatly appreciated by society as a whole, instead of our current focus on the fat shaming of beauty queens and decades old infidelity scandals.
76
I wouldn't draw any larger conclusion from the dearth of comments. Most of us don't understand this topic whatsoever. It doesn't make it any less important, but really what possible contribution could the average reader make to the conversation? How many different ways can one say "congrats and yay science"?
9
I know the Trump article bout his buisness decisions was posted at 5:00 AM today and this Nobel Prize announcement ame out later, there were 1083 comments to the Trump story which I looked at AFTER I read the News Alert!
To bad for us!
To bad for us!
5
Have hope - this article is trending. It means people are reading it. Hard to comment, though, on something that is beyond what most of us can truly understand. Congratulations to Mssrs. Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz!
7
Super cool :). Go Huskies.
7