PIRSA:14030094

The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Quantum Physics in Modern Mathematics

Dijkgraaf, R. (2014). The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Quantum Physics in Modern Mathematics. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/14030094

Dijkgraaf, Robbert. The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Quantum Physics in Modern Mathematics. Perimeter Institute, Mar. 06, 2014, https://pirsa.org/14030094 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:14030094,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/14030094},
            author = {Dijkgraaf, Robbert},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Quantum Physics in Modern Mathematics},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2014},
            month = {mar},
            note = {PIRSA:14030094 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Robbert Dijkgraaf Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

Collection
Talk Type Public Lectures

Abstract

Mathematics has proven to be "unreasonably effective" in understanding nature. The fundamental laws of physics can be captured in beautiful formulae. In this lecture I want to argue for the reverse effect: Nature is an important source of inspiration for mathematics, even of the purest kind. In recent years ideas from quantum field theory, elementary particles physics and string theory have completely transformed mathematics, leading to solutions of deep problems, suggesting new invariants in geometry and topology, and, perhaps most importantly, putting modern mathematical ideas in a `natural’ context.