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FQXi Administrator Brendan Foster wrote on Oct. 4, 2019 @ 19:42 GMT
And now a quick pause in conference coverage - for a fond farewell. I am sad to say, after almost 10 years in the role, I have retired as FQXi’s Science Programs Consultant.
I had such fun in this multipurpose position, helping coordinate everything from grant reviews to grant writing, conferences to contests, websites and databases, and of course, the fabulous FQXi podcast.
Now, I’ll be focussing my work time on writing — mainly science journalism and possibly some fiction on the side. Around town, you can also find me in the middle of music projects and watching over the health of 20-year-old Puffy the Cat.
Now that I’m on the outside, you’ll know I mean it when I say how much of a positive impact I believe FQXi has had on fundamental physics research. Ten years ago, as I finished my degree, very few positions and next-to-no funding existed in any sort of non-string quantum gravity, quantum foundations, philosophical physics, or really anything that sounded too deep or too grand. As a student, to mention something like Bell’s Theorem, Many Worlds, or black hole thermodynamics as something you wanted to learn about would get you laughed at or more likely ignored by faculty.
I was fortunate to have a series of mentors and unofficial advisors who were committed to these kinds of topics and, while realistic about the prospects, felt willing to encourage younger researchers. I finished my degree debt-free doing exactly what I wanted to, but I saw friends divert into other fields, or take on second jobs to support their work with their chosen advisor (common, I know, for folks in the humanities, but unheard of in the sciences).
All that is why I was excited to discover FQXi and then get the chance to work with them, to support this kind of research and the people who love to do it. I saw the impact as we funded worthy projects that had no other prospects, and helped raise the profile of questions that other funders might have just ignored.
Nowadays, other organizations see the importance of foundational research. FQXi and its sponsors are no longer the sole funders in this direction. It is now common for physics departments to have groups in foundational physics, foundations of quantum mechanics, foundations of everything! We of course must credit the researchers who persisted and kept these topics alive. I am just happy to have had the chance to help out.
Thank you to all of you who have been a part of my FQXi experience the past decade. I hope you all continue to visit the site, apply for the grants, enter the contests. Special thanks of course to my colleagues Zeeya, Kavita, Anthony and Max — I wish you and FQXi much success in every branch of the wavefunction.
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Georgina Woodward wrote on Oct. 4, 2019 @ 22:38 GMT
Hi Brendan, I wish you well in all you chose to do. Thank you so much, mostly for keeping things running behind the scenes for the last 10 years. I don't know if you are replaceable- I hope for our sake you are. All the best, Georgina
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Member Antony Garrett Lisi replied on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 00:41 GMT
Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 08:33 GMT
Hi all,
All the best too from Finland dear Brendan,regards,spherically yours :)
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Member Sabine Hossenfelder wrote on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 07:03 GMT
Wish you all the best!
Sabine
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Steve Dufourny wrote on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 10:21 GMT
Dear Brendan Foster,
I play guitar and piano,so like you I love music.I play rock and blues at Guitar.I love Led Zepelin and Muse.At piano,I prefer classic,Mozart,Bach,Vivaldi mainly :) viva el music so and the vibrations,resonances,oscillations,frequences and its harmony,regards
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FQXi Administrator Zeeya Merali wrote on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 12:47 GMT
A note from all of us at FQXI:
We’re really sorry to see Brendan go and are incredibly grateful for his years of creative, wise, diligent, and capable contribution to FQXi. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish is due to his hard work. We’ll miss him, but wish him the best on his next projects and stand ready to support him if and when we can.
And Brendan-fans can take heart -- Brendan will still be writing for us and contributing to the podcast.
Of course, Brendan’s departure leaves a big hole in FQXi’s operations, and we are just about ready to officially announce a new team member in Brendan’s absence — stay tuned!
Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 15:33 GMT
Dear Zeeya,it's well said,I wish him too all the best in his works and researchs.A real team is Always wonderful when the pure universal altruism is a reality,the friendship is important.Take care so dear Brendan.Friendly
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Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 16:16 GMT
You know Zeeya,the friendship is important and in a team too,like your team and members,but pay attention,all are not Always conscious of what is this universalism and correlated altruism.That's why it exists sometimes thinkers even skillings about details,they are smart but can discriminate others thinkers just due to Vanity,narcissism or others.Or sometimes just due to jealousy too,these persons are easy to recognise.I Don't tell this for FQXi,I just tell that it's a reality on this planet everywhere.It's odd but it's like that,the human nature is a parameter to take into account,a real universal team must understand that all is linked and equal.Be prudent and Always let's judge by ourselves about the real hearts of people.Universally,friendly and spherically yours,.In fact these persons are quickly irritated and even sometimes the hate arrives.But me I have chosen the universal love and forgiveness.:)
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Karl H Coryat wrote on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 19:09 GMT
Thank you for all of your hard work, Brendan! As you know, there am only one visible infinite surface that am illuminated by finite non-surface light...Oops, I just wanted to make sure that someone mentioned that here.
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Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 5, 2019 @ 19:13 GMT
Steve Dufourny wrote on Oct. 7, 2019 @ 08:27 GMT
Dear thinkers,physicists,mathematicians, generalists.Imagine this truth.Imagine if we centralise all these thinkers around a table and forget the isolation,isolated researchs and forget our Vanity needing recognizings.Imagine the results with an universal team sharing the ideas and working in complementarity all together with the skillings of all.Imagine in Europa,USA,India,China,Africa,south america,Asia if we unify,unite all these thinkers instead to be in competition or isolated.The results shall be so relevant globally and generally speaking.An universal relevant team implying a real revolution.This planet is divided and it is not logic,nor rational,deterministic ,nor foundamental.Is it possible ? can we do it,yes we can like we can harmonise and solve this Sphere Earth simply.Take care dear thinkers,be the force with you.If my Words irritate several persons,so they aren t real universal altruistic thinkers,they aren t real generalists understanding the universe,they are just vanitious,the same if the hate arrives in their minds.Don t forget this important foundamental parameter dear all.
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Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Oct. 7, 2019 @ 19:46 GMT
Thanks for everything Brendan...
Yours has been a helpful voice of sanity, amid the chaos. Good luck while pursuing your own endeavors.
Regards,
Jonathan
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Lorraine Ford wrote on Oct. 7, 2019 @ 21:35 GMT
Physics believes that human beings, like everything else, are a product of laws of nature and circumstance: physics believes that the only IMPACT human beings can have on the world is a faux impact because physics believes that the human impact on the world is merely the laws of nature acting on the world.
I.e. physics believes that human beings cannot have contributed to causing climate change: it is merely the action of laws of nature causing climate change. However, physics refuses to “man up” to what they are really saying about the world.
Brendan, I wish you well, but I hope you are not as intellectually dishonest as most physicists, and their yes-men and -women, are.
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Georgina Woodward replied on Oct. 7, 2019 @ 23:09 GMT
Lorraine, physics is a subject of study and investigation, It does not believe anything. Physicists are a diverse collection of people with differing views, specialisms and opinions. There is not one Creed for all unlike the Catholic Church, members of which recite their Creed as a part of their practice. (A class of students singing "we believe in Relativity" to the tune of Yellow submarine is not a declaration of faith of all physicists but a bit of fun.) All that the scientific method can do is show that hypotheses are or are not disproven.
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Lorraine Ford replied on Oct. 8, 2019 @ 12:59 GMT
Georgina, you don’t need to explain physics and “the scientific method” to me. Instead, perhaps you need to put your thinking cap on, and address the actual issue I was referring to: physics’ intellectual dishonesty on the issue of climate change.
Physics has no mechanism or method whereby human beings can have any effect on the world: according to physics only laws of nature and “randomness” can have any effect on outcomes on the world, including climate outcomes. This is physics’ belief about the nature of the world.
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Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 8, 2019 @ 13:04 GMT
Lorraine ,if I can,instead to focus on this problem of climate and its causes,maybe it could be relevant to find the solutions of adaptation no?
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Member Tommaso Bolognesi wrote on Oct. 8, 2019 @ 16:37 GMT
Arrivederci Brendan, thank you for the hard work and good luck for the next phase.
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Lorraine Ford wrote on Oct. 8, 2019 @ 20:51 GMT
Steve D,
This is a major issue about the way the world works:
Do people have an impact on the world (e.g. the climate of the world) OR is it only laws of nature and randomness that have an impact on the world?
Physics says that only laws of nature and randomness have an impact on the world. If physics says that people have an impact on the climate of the world, then it is being intellectually dishonest.
In the light of the recent worldwide climate protests, HONEST physicists will tell the global media what they really think: physics does not have a model of the world which allows people to have an impact on the climate of the world.
I haven’t noticed any concern in the physics community about physics’ model of the world; and I haven’t noticed physicists rushing to reevaluate their way of thinking about the way the world works.
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Steve Dufourny replied on Oct. 19, 2019 @ 18:52 GMT
Hi Lorraine,
Thanks for sharing,we speak about our main global problems,Max Tegmark spoke about an important point about AI and the fact that we are going to be obliged to find new jobs for the people of this planet.Here is a general idea.
we know ,in all case the concious persons,that this planet is sick generally speaking due to stupidity,lack of consciousness and several stupid...
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Hi Lorraine,
Thanks for sharing,we speak about our main global problems,Max Tegmark spoke about an important point about AI and the fact that we are going to be obliged to find new jobs for the people of this planet.Here is a general idea.
we know ,in all case the concious persons,that this planet is sick generally speaking due to stupidity,lack of consciousness and several stupid inventions.The global ecology is sick,the human interactions are under a kind of individualist capitalism forgetting our universal foundamentals.We have created many odd things and the hour is indeed serious.During that several live with opulence and materialism,others don t eat and suffer.
It seems that all this is due to bad governances and others psychologycal parameters.But the most important is that the solutions exist where all wins.We have 197 governments,a world Bank,and an UN.We can solve globally if the high spheres of power takes their responsabilities in liberating the funds of this World bank and in industrialising correctly with sciences and consciousness the solar system,and on Earth we harmonise the ecosystems in improving the interactions between animals and vegetals and minerals,and we work too about the pollution wich is an important parameter too.This global solution will boost and catalyse the 197 governments and they shall be able to give watermfood,energy,jobs ,hopes to majority.
An important point is that all wins without exception,the richest like the poorest.The global consciousness must take its responsabilities Before the add of several chaotical exponentials.It is now that we must act for us and the future generations,without these solutions we cannot reach the points of equilibrium,The UN is obliged to do it and take its responsabilities because it is that or all we loose simply.If they didn t exist these solutions,I could understand but we don t lack matters,energy,space,the humanity and this planet and all its Lifes must open this Earth to this solar system with Concrete deterministic solutions.
The most difficul problem to convice this UN will be the fact that we have divided this Earth instead to really unite it. But it is possible in detailing all the solutions correctly with determinism.I am going to create a group in centralising the real universal altruists having solutions with Concrete sciences.I know that it will not easy but I will try to do it.
They exist these persons in all countries
we must convice this UN and put good governances in all countries and others.If not we are going to pay the price soon.The chaotical exponentials are at our doors.We cannot continue like that.
The problem to take into account is that it exists odd persons having power and they are dangerous in all countries just because they aren t universal and have furthermore a lot of money.These persons must be stopped and it will not be easy.
For the problem of arms and weapons and power without consciousness,I have an idea relevant in all humility,we know that in the theory of game of vonneumann the points of equilibrium are foundamentals,so the USA and CHINA more europa and India must work together in implying the disuasion because they are too much strongs,that will imply so a non necessity to produce more arms and weapons like the point of equilibrium of the theory of game of vonneumann
It is paradoxical but so true,this point of equilibrium is possible to reach with still an universal altruistic consciousness in the high spheres of these main countries.That will imply a kind of disarmement in fact
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