Sabine Hossenfelder's Blog, page 8

Did MIT Researchers Just Prove Einstein Wrong?

In 1927, Einstein used a variant of the double slit experiment – at that time only a thought experiment – to argue that quantum mechanics are wrong. Up until recently, researchers have been unable to fully disprove his claims. Now, though, a group of physicists from MIT claim they’ve proven that Einstein was wrong about quantum physics by actually carrying out the experiment. Let’s take a look.

Stunning! AI “Creativity” Is Highly Predictable, Researchers Find

Is AI truly creative or is it, as Noam Chomsky put it, merely “high-tech plagiarism?” Multiple studies have documented that AI is more creative and more efficient at creative tasks than humans. But in a stunning paper that just appeared, researchers demonstrate that images produced with (simple) convolutional neural nets are 90% predictable by purely analytical methods. So how creative is AI

Black Holes Can Eat Stars from Within, Physicists Claim

According to a team of physicists, black holes can form inside of stars, slowly consuming them from the inside until they collapse. While this might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, it’s not complete nonsense. Let’s take a look. This video comes with a quiz which you can take here:

How Quantum Physics Changes Our View Of Reality

The discovery of quantum mechanics has fundamentally changed not just the field of physics but also our understanding of what reality is. Let’s take a look at just what makes quantum physics so weird and why it is so hard to reconcile with our perception of physical reality.

New Theory: Space Has Memory, Stores Information

Gravitational memory” is the idea that gravity’s ability to duplicate information from other forces should somehow store that information in certain masses. A group of physicists has now published a series of papers claiming that this idea might solve the black hole information loss problem and explain dark matter. Really? Let’s take a look.

We Are Underestimating AI

Already tired of hearing about how AI is going to change the world? Well, I think they’re right and we are underestimating AI. Let’s take a look at what AI experts, super-predictors, consultants, and investors are all predicting about the future of AI.

More Controversy Over Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Claims

Earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled its new Majorana quantum processor which supposedly used topological qubits which are less susceptible to noise. Unfortunately for the company, that claim was quickly disputed by quantum researchers. Now, though, Microsoft researchers have published yet another paper to the arXiv claiming that they’ve made another quantum breakthrough. Let’s take a look.

The 10 Biggest Physics Paradoxes and Problems

In today’s video, I have a brief rundown of my 10 favorite physics paradoxes and big problems. If you have trouble sleeping at night, this will give you something to think about.

Africa Is Getting a New Ocean, And We Finally Know Why

The African continental plate is cracking and will probably get a new ocean. Geologists can see the cracks forming in real time but it has so far remained unclear just what is causing this. In a new paper that just appeared, scientists say they have figured out what is going on. And that also gives us a clue to what might happen next.

Nuclear Fusion Can Create Gold, Nuclear Startup Claims

Nuclear fusion technology is barely able to create net positive energy at the moment, but a fusion startup claims it will make the technology profitable by generating gold in fusion reactions. Really? Let’s take a look at some modern-day alchemy.