My study plan in college was simple: Learn as much as I could.
Much to my mother's chagrin, this plan didn't include considering how well classes would serve me in the workforce once college was over, but rather scheduling them based on my personal interests. As much as I could, I chose classes that I thought would give me some clue for understanding an aspect of the universe that had been a mystery to me.
Physics was top on my list of interests, of course, but I also picked up a minor in Philosophy. While Physics is a degree that draws a lot of respect and demand in the workforce, Philosophy doesn't so much.
However, I found the two areas of study strangely complementary. While Physics teaches the specifics of how to think about problems scientifically, Philosophy goes beyond that to the more general question of how to think logically, even about questions which are not inherently scientific. (Of course, some would argue that there are no questions that aren't scientific ... but that, too, is a philosophical question.)
These days, I find that method of thinking logically to be very helpful. Science, after all, got its start in the realm of "natural philosophy." I apply the thinking skills from philosophy not only to scientific questions, but to the realm of politics (where logical thinking is woefully absent) and to other aspects of my own life.
And, miraculously, I've found some way to put this thinking to productive use ... and tie it directly into my scientific writing! (My mother is very proud.) In fact,?this month I'm pleased to appear in two different books which blend philosophical and scientific thinking.
Time Traveling Warlords
The first of these volumes is The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers, which contains my essay:
"Can Kang Kill His Past Self? The Paradox of Time Travel"
Readers of The Avengers comic book will be familiar with Kang, a time-hopping conqueror from the distant future, who exists (and has existed and will exist) in various versions and iterations throughout the colorful history (and future) of the series. In this essay, I explore a bit of the science behind time travel as well as the paradoxes related to it, including a variation of the famous Twin Paradox featuring the superheroic twins Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.
This essay was a lot of fun to write. These ideas are typically very esoteric, so explaining them in the context of a fictional scenario like The Avengers, which is already familiar to readers, is a great opportunity. Kang was an especially good choice, because he specifically sought to destroy alternate versions of himself. With over forty years of comic stories to pull from, an essay on time paradoxes virtually wrote itself!
Quantum Gravity Sitcom
Just today I received my contributor's copies of The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle, Locke, which contains my essay:
"Sheldon, Leonard, and Leslie: The Three Faces of Quantum Gravity"
If you've watched the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory for any length of time, you likely know that Sheldon Cooper's area of expertise is string theory. But string theory is not the only approach toward a theory of quantum gravity--a theory that tries to unify the concepts of quantum physics with those of general relativity.
Probably the second most popular approach is loop quantum gravity. In the series, this is the theory studied by Leslie Winkle, one of Sheldon's numerous nemeses.?In the middle of these two warring theoretical physicists is the character of Leonard, who is clearly identified as an experimental physicist.
Against this backdrop, I use the circumstances of Leonard and Leslie's tumultuous relationship (especially the dramatic break-up from the Season 2 episode "The Codpiece Topology") to explain some of the core scientific challenges facing scientists searching for a viable theory of quantum gravity.
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