Physics Is Far Stranger Than You Think - Jim Al-Khalili - #471

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello everybody, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Jim Al-Khalili. He's a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey, a broadcaster and an author. Trying to describe reality in theoretical frameworks is no small task for physicists, but it also turns out that the implications of some theories suggests that reality might be even more bizarre than it seems. The universe is a scary, confusing place to exist, if we exist at all. Expect to learn why you can't walk through brick walls, why a tiny imbalance in the matter and anti-matter just after the Big Bang was very important, just how fine-tuned for life our universe really is, where all the big discoveries in theoretical physics have gone, why faster-than-light neutrinos can't go faster than light, why you shouldn't value opinions over evidence and much more. I love talking about physics. Neil deGrasse Tyson last week was great and Jim is another awesome science communicator. Getting to nerd out about this stuff is endlessly interesting to me. So you're coming along for the ride, okay? We're blasting off. Elon's bothered with Twitter and I'm saving space. I'm gonna focus everyone's attention back on the space because I'm bringing physicists on Modern Wisdom and that. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Upgraded Formulas. If you spend a lot on supplements each month, then you've probably considered just what impact all of that extra input is having on your performance. It'd be great if you knew what you were absorbing, not absorbing and what you were having too much of. Upgraded Formulas is a way to accurately test all of that because you can't be a good biohacker without actually working out what's going on inside of your body. Upgraded Formulas hair test kit and consultation helps you to work out exactly what's going on inside of your body and vanquish any hidden deficiencies that might be affecting you. Also, it just takes a hair mineral analysis. It is super easy to do. All that you do is literally send in a hair sample and they will send you back a list of exactly what is going on. Plus, their consultation will help you to work out how you can change what the problems are and improve your health long term. You can check out the test and the consultation by going to upgradedformulas.com and save 15% on your first test with the code MW15 at checkout. That's upgradedformulas.com and the code MW15 at checkout. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by Craftd London. If you are a guy that is looking to get some jewelry, the first place that you need to look is Crafted London. They have the best pieces, necklaces, chains, pendants, bracelets, rings and earrings. The designs are really cool. They're subtle. You can wear them with smart stuff. You can wear them with casual stuff. They're sweat proof, waterproof, heat proof, gym proof and they come in custom designs with gold and silver colors. They're over half a million happy customers worldwide and there is a lifetime guarantee. So no matter what happens, they will replace your piece for free for the rest of time. They hold stock in the UK and in the USA. Plus they ship internationally. So no matter where you are, you can get this direct to your door and you can get a 15% discount site wide off everything that they make by going to bit.ly slash cdwisdom, the code MW15 for that 15% discount. Go and check out the full range. You can see everything that they sell, bit.ly slash cdwisdom and MW15 at checkout. And in final news, this episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. You do not want websites to be tracking your data or your internet service provider to be selling where you've been going to advertisers or for you to be split tested on prices for products that you are already buying. And every website is doing this. Skyscanner's doing it and Amazon's doing it. Also, if you're already paying for Netflix membership, why not pay an extra one pound 59 per month to 10X the amount of stuff that you have access to. You can use Surfshark on your TV, on your laptop, on your iPad, even on your phone. And you can have it across unlimited devices. It is super easy to download, super easy to use. It is one touch of a button. It doesn't slow down your internet speed and it protects your browsing. And you've got all of that extra access on all of your streaming services to a whole new library of wonderful stuff that you can watch. Go to surfshark.deals.mdw for 83% off, three months free and a 30 day money back guarantee. So you can buy it and try it for 29 days. And if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Surfshark.deals.mdw. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jim Al-Khalili.