Sandbox

SWING THAT STRING

April 24th, 2008 by Nico Luchsinger

I’m sure you know that feeling: You hear people talking about something over and over again, but you just don’t really get what it’s all about, what’s really behind it and how it actually works. Everything sounds complicated and confusing – until somebody comes along, explains it to you in an understandable way, and in a matter of minutes, everything becomes crystal clear.

I have been reading and hearing about the so-called “superstring theory” quite often, but I was always sure that this is something that only theoretical physicists could even begin to understand. After all, the idea that the universe consists of tiny strings that vibrate in 11 dimensions (some of which are “rolled up”) does sound rather weird, doesn’t it?

But then I saw this video from the TED conference. Here at Sandbox, we admire TED for the way they manage to bring different people together, and for their high-quality presentations. This presentation from string theorist Brian Greene is a perfect example: Within 20 minutes, Greene manages to explain the theory in a simple, non-technical way. Now I really feel that I understood what it’s all about. Sort of.

What do you think of the presentation? Are there other theories or phenomena that you would like to have explained in this way?

PS. In unrelated news, Sandbox founder Antoine just turned 25 yesterday. Happy birthday from the rest of the team! If you want to congratulate Antoine as well, post a comment here or send him a message on Twitter.