Lawrence Krauss
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“”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 those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.
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| —Lawrence M. Krauss[1] |
Lawrence M. Krauss (1954–) is a Canadian-American theoretical physicist, cosmologist, purveyor of popular science, and being Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Department of Physics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. Previously he was director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, and was director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University. He is fascinated with nothing and dedicates entire tomes to absolutely nothing at all. In recent years, Krauss has unfortunately written articles for the far-right magazine Quillette.[2]
Ideas[edit]
Krauss believes the Universe sprang from nothing, in that nothing is in fact something because if there is the potential for something, via the laws of physics, then nothing can become something therefore you can't have nothing and the laws of physics will always ensure something. His lecture on the subject at the Atheist Alliance International conference in 2009[3] has been viewed over a million times on YouTube and led to a pop science book on the topic of the origins, and fate, of the Universe. His ideas have received criticism from physicist and philosopher David Albert
for using an idiosyncratic definition of "nothing."[4] Unfortunately, Krauss's handling of this criticism wasn't very graceful: calling Albert 'moronic' and, allegedly, having his appearance at an upcoming debate cancelled.[5][6]
Similar criticisms have been leveled at his book on the subject by George Ellis.
He is presenting untested speculative theories of how things came into existence out of a pre-existing complex of entities, including variational principles, quantum field theory, specific symmetry groups, a bubbling vacuum, all the components of the standard model of particle physics, and so on. He does not explain in what way these entities could have pre-existed the coming into being of the universe, why they should have existed at all, or why they should have had the form they did.[7]
Although Krauss is of the opinion that 'no real physicist' has objected to his ideas on the origins of the universe, both David Albert and George Ellis are trained and respected physicists.[7]
Krauss is a defender of scientific skepticism and is fiercely critical of creationism.
Sexual misconduct allegations[edit]
On February 18, 2018, Buzzfeed published an article containing multiple allegations that Krauss had engaged in sexual misconduct, including grabbing a woman's breast without her consent at the 2016 Australian Skeptics' National Convention in Melbourne, and claimed that this was witnessed by multiple individuals present.[8]
On March 6, 2018—two weeks after the Buzzfeed article was published—Krauss was placed on paid administrative leave by Arizona State University (ASU) and was barred from campus pending results of an investigation into his behaviour.[9]
In July 2018, ASU determined that Krauss had violated the university's policy on "discrimination, harassment, and retaliation" by grabbing the woman's breast in the 2016 incident, and they announced that administrative action was being taken against him.[9][10] Krauss was replaced as director of ASU’s Origins Project and as of August 3, 2018 remained on administrative leave from the university.[9] He retired from ASU at the age of 65 in 2019 and does not appear to have been awarded emeritus status.[11][12]
Epstein connection[edit]
The Origins Project received $250,000 in donations from Jeffrey Epstein while Krauss was the director.[13] Naturally, he has defended Epstein even after his 2008 conviction, saying in 2011 "As a scientist I always judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I’ve never seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I would believe him over other people."[14]
Publications[edit]
- The Physics of Star Trek (yes, Star Trek is real) (1995)
- A Universe from Nothing (2012)
- The Edge of Knowledge (2023)
- The Physics of Climate Change (2021)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "A Universe From Nothing" by Lawrence Krauss, AAI 2009 (16:50-17:23)
- ↑ Lawrence M. Krauss
- ↑ The lecture in question. The original had over a million hits before being DMCA'd. Now re-uploaded
- ↑ Review of A Universe from Nothing in the New York Times
- ↑ Has Physics Made Philosophy and Religion Obsolete?, Ross Andersen, The Atlantic 23 April 2012
- ↑ Worlds in Collision: After Tangle Over Physicist's Book, Philosopher's Invitation is Withdrawn, Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times 13 March 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Is Lawrence Krauss a Physicist, or Just a Bad Philosopher?, John Horgan, Scientific American 20 November 2015
- ↑ He Became A Celebrity For Putting Science Before God. Now Lawrence Krauss Faces Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 University finds prominent astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss grabbed a woman’s breast
- ↑ Determination on the investigation into Krauss
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Krauss
- ↑ https://search.asu.edu/profile/1249942
- ↑ Lawrence Krauss, accused of sexual misconduct, received $250K from Jeffrey Epstein, J. Edward Moreno, AZ Central 12 July 2019
- ↑ Private jets, parties and eugenics: Jeffrey Epstein's bizarre world of scientists, Luke Darby, The Guardian 19 August 2019