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Theoretical physicists employ their imaginations and their deep understanding of mathematics to decipher the underlying laws of the universe that govern particles, forces and everything in between. More and more often, theorists are doing that work with the help of machine learning.

As might be expected, the group of theorists using machine learning includes people classified as “computational” theorists. But it also includes “formal” theorists, the people interested in the self-consistency of theoretical frameworks, like string theory or quantum gravity. And it includes “phenomenologists,” the theorists who sit next to experimentalists, hypothesizing about new particles or interactions that could be tested by experiments; analyzing the data the experiments collect; and using results to construct new models and dream up how to test them experimentally.

In all areas of theory, machine-learning algorithms are speeding up processes, performing previously impossible calculations, and even causing theorists to rethink the way theoretical physics research is done.

Black holes, white holes, wormholes, anti-universes, and all kinds of awesome relativity weirdness:


Einstein was wrong about black holes, what else? Use code veritasium at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/veritasium.

A massive thank you to Prof. Geraint F. Lewis and Prof. Juan Maldacena for their expertise and help with this video.

A huge thank you to those who helped us understand this complicated topic: Dr. Suddhasattwa Brahma, Prof. Carlo Rovelli, Dr. Hal Haggard, Prof. Martin Bojowald, Dr. Francesca Vidotto, Prof. Andrew Hamilton, and Dr. Carl-Fredrik Nyberg Brodda.

A special thanks to Alessandro Roussel from ScienceClic for his spectacular simulations and feedback on the video. Check out his channel here: https://ve42.co/ScienceClic.

1/ Researchers have found that AI models can solve complex tasks like “3SUM” by using simple dots like “…” instead of sentences.


Researchers have found that specifically trained LLMs can solve complex problems just as well using dots like “…” instead of full sentences. This could make it harder to control what’s happening in these models.

The researchers trained Llama language models to solve a difficult math problem called “3SUM”, where the model has to find three numbers that add up to zero.

Usually, AI models solve such tasks by explaining the steps in full sentences, known as “chain of thought” prompting. But the researchers replaced these natural language explanations with repeated dots, called filler tokens.

Generally, it’s advised not to compare apples to oranges. However, in the field of topology, a branch of mathematics, this comparison is necessary. Apples and oranges, it turns out, are said to be topologically the same since they both lack a hole – in contrast to doughnuts or coffee cups, for instance, which both have one (the handle in the case of the cup) and, hence, are topologically equal.

In a more abstract way, quantum systems in physics can also have a specific apple or doughnut topology, which manifests itself in the energy states and motion of particles. Researchers are very interested in such systems as their topology makes them robust against disorder and other disturbing influences, which are always present in natural physical systems.

Things get particularly interesting if, in addition, the particles in such a system interact, meaning that they attract or repel each other, like electrons in solids. Studying topology and interactions together in solids, however, is extremely difficult. A team of researchers at ETH led by Tilman Esslinger has now managed to detect topological effects in an artificial solid, in which the interactions can be switched on or off using magnetic fields. Their results, which have just been published in the scientific journal Science, could be used in quantum technologies in the future.

Sir Roger Penrose proposes that the universe undergoes repeated cycles of expansion, decay, and rebirth, challenging the traditional notion of a singular Big Bang origin.


Renowned physicist Sir Roger Penrose, hailing from the University of Oxford and a co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, posits a fascinating theory regarding the universe’s cyclical nature. Contrary to prevailing notions, Penrose suggests that our universe has undergone numerous Big Bang events, with another impending in the future.

Penrose’s Nobel-winning contributions revolve around advancing mathematical frameworks that not only validate but also extend Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Moreover, his investigations into black holes elucidated the phenomenon of gravitational collapse, wherein excessively dense entities converge into singularities, infinitely massive points.

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REFERENCES
Video: A Universe from nothing: • What came before the Big Bang? Quantu…
Video: Eternal Inflation: • Eternal Inflation: The BEST MULTIVERS…
Multiverse Theory: https://tinyurl.com/2cv2qxbm.
Math proof universe can come from nothing: https://tinyurl.com/np2vrty.
Paper of above: https://tinyurl.com/223t86z6
What came before big bang: https://tinyurl.com/y7g4pgwp.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Big bang: Lamda-CDM model.
3:09 Sponsor: ESET
4:22 Cyclic universe.
5:33 How likely is cyclic model?
7:53 Multiverse: Eternal Inflation.
11:27 Universe from nothing.
15:23 Why can’t we answer this question?

SUMMARY
What came before the Big Bang? what happened before the big bang? Since time is thought to have started at the big bang, asking what happened \.

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The Future of Humanity Institute announced last week that they have shut down. Located at the University of Oxford in the UK prior to its demise, the institute was one of the few places worldwide studying the risk of human extinction and a few other controversial research areas. Let’s have a look at the events leading to the institute’s closure.

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