237 - Tim Maudlin: A Masterclass on Special Relativity

Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. This is Tim’s seventh appearance on the show. He last appeared on episode 210 with David Albert for a discussion of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. In this episode, Tim and Robinson talk about Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity, explaining it from the ground up and elucidating some common misconceptions. More particularly, they get into Einstein’s magnificent mind, how special relativity displaced the theory of the ether, absolute and relative space, the speed and nature of light, the possibility of time travel, relativistic quantum mechanics, and more. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.

Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site

The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

01:59 The Amazing Fertility of Einstein's Mind

08:50 The Mysterious Ether and Why It Isn't All Around Us

25:01 Einstein Versus Relative and Absolute Space

29:58 The Single Most Important Experiment in Physics

45:23 Special Relativity and Absolute Space

53:56 The Conceptual Clarity of Genius Physicists

1:01:05 A Thought Experiment to Explain Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity

1:13:48 Is the Speed of Light an Illusion?

1:23:33 Richard Feynman's Big Mistake About Einstein

1:34:23 On Einstein and the Possibility of Time Travel

1:42:53 Is Special Relativity Compatible with Quantum Mechanics?

1:49:55 Relativistic Bohmian Mechanics

1:57:00 Does Anything Move Faster than Light?

1:59:03 The John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.