Massey Lectures 2012, Part 4 : The World In An Equation

Summary: Over the past century, physicists have compiled a neat, one-line equation that describes how the world works according to all known physics. By combining the contributions of scientists from all different backgrounds and cultures, this ambitious formula seeks to describe the universe's machinations on every scale, from the subatomic to the largest bodies at the edges of space. It's a testament not only to what we know, but also to who we are. By its very existence, it celebrates the insights and perspectives that our different origins provide. Whether it's Emmy Noether, a Jewish woman teaching physics without pay, or Neil Turok, training the next Einstein at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, we're all in this together. But the formula is not yet complete, and other attempts to find a theory of everything, like string theory, have their own problems. Physics needs to step back, stop trying to squeeze data to arbitrarily fit equations, and find new ways of looking at the magic we have already discovered together.