When I give this talk to a physics audience, I remove the quotes from my 'Theorem'. Brian Greene More Quotes by Brian Greene More Quotes From Brian Greene I would say in one sentence my goal is to at least be part of the journey to find the unified theory that Einstein himself was really the first to look for. Brian Greene goal journey looks For most people, the major hurdle in grasping modern insights into the nature of the universe is that these developments are usually phrased using mathematics. Brian Greene modern development people I think the relationship between memory and time is a very deep and tricky one, to tell you the truth. I don't consider memory another sense. I do consider memory that which allows us to think that time flows. Brian Greene flow memories thinking I think it's too fast to say that all sci-fi ultimately winds up having some place in science. On the other hand, imaginative minds working outside of science as storytellers certainly have come upon ideas that, with the passing decades, have either materialized of come close to materializing. Brian Greene wind hands thinking When you know the answer you want, it is often all too easy to figure out a way of getting it. Brian Greene answers want way Gravity is matter’s sugar daddy. Brian Greene daddy sugar matter Black holes, we all know, are these regions where if an object falls in, it can't get out, but the puzzle that many struggled with over the decades is, what happens to the information that an object contains when it falls into a black hole. Is it simply lost? Brian Greene information black fall There's a picture of my dorm room in the college yearbook as the most messy, most disgusting room on the Harvard campus, where I was an undergraduate. Brian Greene yearbook college rooms There are many of us thinking of one version of parallel universe theory or another. If it's all a lot of nonsense, then it's a lot of wasted effort going into this far-out idea. But if this idea is correct, it is a fantastic upheaval in our understanding. Brian Greene effort ideas thinking I believe the process of going from confusion to understanding is a precious, even emotional, experience that can be the foundation of self-confidence. Brian Greene self-confidence emotional believe I believe that through its rational evaluation of truth and indifference to personal belief, science transcends religious and political divisions and so does bind us into a greater, more resilient whole. Brian Greene political religious believe All mathematics is is a language that is well tuned, finely honed, to describe patterns; be it patterns in a star, which has five points that are regularly arranged, be it patterns in numbers like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 that follow very regular progression. Brian Greene patterns stars numbers Far from being accidental details, the properties of nature's basic building blocks are deeply entwined with the fabric of space and time. Brian Greene details block space We are living through a remarkably privileged era when certain deep truths about the cosmos are still within reach of the human spirit of exploration. Brian Greene cosmos eras spirit Einstein comes along and says, space and time can warp and curve, that's what gravity is. Now string theory comes along and says, yes, gravity, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism - all together in one package, but only if the universe has more dimensions than the ones that we see. Brian Greene curves motivation inspiration Energy is the ultimate convertable currency. Brian Greene currency ultimate energy A watch worn by a particle of light would not tick at all. Light realizes the dreams of Ponce de Leon and the cosmetics industry: it doesn't age. Brian Greene light age dream The central idea of string theory is quite straightforward. If you examine any piece of matter ever more finely, at first you'll find molecules, atoms, sub-atomic particles. Probe the smaller particles, you'll find something else, a tiny vibrating filament of energy, a little tiny vibrating string. Brian Greene molecules energy ideas So: if you buy the notion that reality consists of the things in your freeze-frame mental image right now, and if you agree that your now is no more valid than the now of someone located far away in space who can move freely, then reality encompasses all of the events in spacetime. Brian Greene space reality moving The revelation we've come to is that we can trust our memories of a past with lower, not higher, entropy only if the big bang - the process, event, or happening that brought the universe into existence - started off the universe in an extraordinarily special, highly ordered state of low entropy. Brian Greene special memories past
