Lawrence M. Krauss
Lawrence M. Krauss
Lawrence Maxwell Krauss is a Canadian-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who taught at Arizona State University (ASU), Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project in 2008 to investigate fundamental questions about the universe and served as the project's director.
"My area of research is something that in all fairness has no practical usability whatsoever and the thing is Im often asked to apologize for that. It is interesting to me that people ask whats the point of doing that if its not useful? But they never ask that, or do they very rarely ask that about art or literature or music. Those things are not gonna produce a better toaster."
Lawrence M. Krauss"Science simply forces us to revise what is sensible to accommodate the universe, rather than vice versa."
Lawrence M. Krauss"There is a maxim about the universe which I always tell my students: That which is not explicitly forbidden is guaranteed to occur."
Lawrence M. Krauss"If you have nothing in quantum mechanics, you will always have something."
Lawrence M. Krauss"It is a shame when nonsense can substitute for fact with impunity."
Lawrence M. Krauss"The other thing people dont realise about science which differentiates it from religion is that, the most exciting thing about being a scientist is not knowing and being wrong. Because that means there is a lot left to learn."
Lawrence M. Krauss"We only see shadows of reality. We shouldnt expect those shadows to behave sensibly."
Lawrence M. Krauss"... were here because of an environmental accident if there is a multiverse and if the laws of physics are different in the different regions ..."
Lawrence M. Krauss"The amazing thing is that every atom in your body came from a star that exploded, and the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics. You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded because the elements—the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution—weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way they could get... into your body is if these stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today."
Lawrence M. Krauss"Theorists always know the answer. Theyre just sometimes right."
Lawrence M. Krauss"Science is empirical: knowing the answer is nothing. Testing your knowledge means everything."
Lawrence M. Krauss"The Universe must be flat. Why? Well, there is two reasons. Theres the one I normally say, which is: its the only mathematically beautiful universe. Which is true, but theres another reason I dont usually... talk about but Ill talk about here. It turns out that in a flat universe the total energy of the universe is precisely zero because gravity can have negative energy. So the negative energy of gravity balances out the positive energy of matter. Whats so beautiful about a universe with total energy zero? Well, only such a universe can begin from nothing, and that is remarkable because the laws of physics allow a universe to begin from nothing. You dont need a Deity. You have nothing: zero total energy, and quantum fluctuations can produce a universe. So, if the Universe isnt flat were worried, because then youve got energy at... the very beginning of Time."
Lawrence M. Krauss
