ajb Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 String theory pioneer Edward Witten has won the 2010 Isaac Newton Medal of the Institute of Physics for "his many profound contributions that have transformed areas of particle theory, quantum field theory and general relativity". [/Quote] Just about every area of theoretical physics and plenty of mathematics also, I personally have looked at Edward Witten at some time has contributed in some way. He has an amazing ability to connect physical ideas with deep mathematics in both directions. The physicsworld.com report can be found here. The IOP announcement can be found here. The Wikipeadia entry can be found here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydasaint Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I can't understand the Mathematics, barely understand the theories but still admire the brilliance of this man. From what I have heard (but still not fully understood), he is a successor to Einstein. A well-deserved prize for a gifted and talented man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 .. he is a successor to Einstein. I never really understood what such statements mean. For sure, he has been one of the most influential theoretical physicists over the past few decades. One big point here is that he as also been very influential over pure mathematicians, especially those working in the areas of geometry and topology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydasaint Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Is he a 'meta' mathematician? Someone who understands and draws together disparate theories into a coherent 'unified' model? IMHO, biological sciences have made a venture into 'niches' of study, which may not be a healthy trend. For example, scientists can spend 20 worthwhile years investigating the action of a single enzyme from the wing of a moth. A wonderful exercise in solving a problem or elucidating a topic but perhaps taking the eye off the ball. In short, seeing the trees but missing the woods. It would be nice to see 'meta' biologists or 'meta' chemists, all of whom are generalists in a subject. However, grant requests probably favour specialisation as a trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 Is he a 'meta' mathematician? Someone who understands and draws together disparate theories into a coherent 'unified' model? I think you could say that. He is able to see physical ideas in mathematics and vice versa. He is quite adapt at using physics to get a handle on pure mathematics. For example, his work on the Jones polynomial in Knot theory and Chern-Simons theory. Another example is using supersymmetric quantum mechanics to understand Morse theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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