Why Space Itself May Be Quantum in Nature - with Jim Baggott

I've watched RI lectures since I can't remember (I'm 64). Jim carefully talked his presentation through in such a way that I heard and could digest every word. Perhaps the sound effects weren't necessary, but otherwise he managed to avoid any other dramatic concessions. For an interested layman, I've never seen a better lecture on this or any other subject. Thank you.

If you already listened countless talks about general relativity you can skip to 38:00

He has a wonderful talent for making these extremely difficult concepts (somewhat) understandable while putting the listener at ease about not totally understanding it.😊

As a layman, I found your lecture fascinating. The sound effects were quite alarming; especially for someone who's profoundly deaf in one ear. What sounds I can hear, are extremely distorted and Dalek like. Needless to say, I jumped quiet a few times 🤣. I'll have to watch the video a few more times. Some of the concepts you introduce, are really hard to get one's head around. They simply don't comport to our everyday perception of space and time. As I said, the lecture was fascinating, thank you for sparking my curiosity 😀.

The closed captions (subtitles to you Brits) are great and error-free! Thank you, Royal Institution, for the captions, and the caption representation of the sound effects is helpful. Nothing wrong with those sound effects if they make the lecture interesting.

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour." William Blake

I guess the first half rehash is unavoidable, but the second half was highly effective in guiding me towards a better understanding of the big picture. Cheers to all involved in producing this little gem !

Someone somewhere is working hard to truly push this information into a new era of experience and conductivity! We can help by learning and pushing toward our own goals, no matter how small or large they may be! Cheers to the Roaring 20’s as they happen! So excited to see where all of this information heads 🧘🏽‍♂️🕰❤️

For those familiar with history of physics, loop quantum gravity starts at 36:00

Thank you for this; I've been looking for years for a clear explanation of LQG and now I've found it!

The first time I could follow a scientific explanation from start to finish and able to understand it all the time.

This was such a fantastic explanation. I've watched several videos on loop quantum gravity and I believe this one to be the best so far.

Loved this presentation, I put it at 1.25x speed like the other comments suggested, not sure why everyone is griping about the SFx, I can’t watch regular science shows anymore, I only digest lectures from theoretical physicists. Loop quantum gravity is an alternative to string theory , I recommend Brian Greene’s “the elegant universe” for more on gravity and quantum mechanics. Thanks for posting this RI.

If there's one thing that gets me mad, Jim, it's 'Don't worry about ...', since usually, that's exactly where I do want to go. Not understanding it, means it's what I need to find out about. That aside, an interesting and well-presented talk; thanks. And yes, Jim, I've bought several of your books, the latest included. Be bold, bloody and brave with the next one - and put the damn math in!! I'm sure I'm not the only one with that feeling. Hawking's editor who said every equation halves the sales, was an - ok, let's just say, was misguided.

A sidenote. It seems to me that particle physics is the real interpretation of the universe, while relativity is an approximation on the macro scale. Just like Newton's theory of gravity was a more imprecise approximation before that. I think we need to abandon relativity and try to extrapolate new macro theories from quantum mechanics.

"...have you heard the new album of Cosmic Metronome, Jim..." Brilliant! Thank you mr Baggott and RI for another excellent talk.

Really enjoyed the way Dr Baggot covered all this. Very interesting.

His melancholy is delighting.

RI is a great institution! Humanity at its finest :) I was never really good at physics in high school, but I feel I have gained great insight and understanding by watching these really intuitive lectures. Brian Cox had similar great lectures and TV series. SciShow and similar YouTube shows are similar great resources. I wish I had them when I was in high school in the 90s. Then again it's never too late to learn. I'm currently pursuing a master's in public health and I love it though it would be even better if I had scholarship :) It is nice to see how biology, physics, chemistry and psychology intersect. To understand the universe and use that understanding to make a difference. I would love to see a lecture live in person someday.

WOW Dr. Baggott, thank you so much for the crystal clear explanation. I see Smolin changed his mind about Time, much to Professor Rovelli's annoyance, I suppose. Furthermore, as a layperson, I just hope one day to see string theorists and LQG supporters publicly confront each other, comparing ideas instead of filling square meters of blackboard with math....as I must confess I'm still unable to understand the substantial differences between the two approaches to the problem.