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Steven Weinberg

Nobel Laureate in Physics

Steven Weinberg is a professor of physics at the University of Austin. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for helping unify the weak nuclear force and electromagnetic force. His research interests include particle physics, unification of fundamental interactions, cosmology, astrophysics, supersymmetry, and supergravity.

Experts Most Alike:

Galileo Galilei   Father of Science 100% Agreement / 1
Max Tegmark   Professor of Physics 100% Agreement / 1

Experts Least Alike:

John Polkinghorne   Physics Professor and Reverend 0% Agreement / 2
The Catholic Church   Largest Christian Church 0% Agreement / 2

Steven Weinberg's Opinions

Agree
The final approach is to take the Schrodinger equation seriously... In this way, a measurement causes the history of the universe for practical purposes to diverge into different non-interfering tracks, one for each possible value of the measured quantity. ... I prefer this last approach.
01 Oct 1994    Source


Agree
The human mind remains extraordinarily difficult to understand, but so is the weather. We can't predict whether it will rain one month from today, but we do know the rules that govern the rain, even though we can't always calculate their consequences. I see nothing about the human mind any more than about the weather that stands out as beyond the hope of understanding as a consequence of impersonal laws acting over billions of years. There do not seem to be any exceptions to this natural order.
21 Oct 1999    Source


Disagree
Mark Twain described his mother as a genuinely good person, whose soft heart pitied even Satan, but who had no doubt about the legitimacy of slavery, because in years of living in antebellum Missouri she had never heard any sermon opposing slavery, but only countless sermons preaching that slavery was God's will. With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion.
01 Apr 1999    Source


Agree
...it seems to me that physics is in a better position to give us a partly satisfying explanation of the world than religion can ever do, because although physicists won't be able to explain why the laws of nature are what they are and not something completely different, at least we may be able to explain why they are not slightly different. ... Religious theories, on the other hand, seem to be infinitely flexible, with nothing to prevent the invention of deities of any conceivable sort.
01 Apr 1999    Source


Disagree
In essence, [the Cosmological Argument] argues that everything has a cause, and since this chain of causality cannot go on forever, it must terminate in a first cause, which we call God. The idea of an ultimate cause is deeply attractive, and indeed the dream of elementary particle physics is to find the final theory at the root of all chains of explanation of what we see in nature. The trouble is that such a mathematical final theory would hardly be what anyone means by God.
17 Jan 2007    Source


Disagree
There do not seem to be any exceptions to this natural order, any miracles. I have the impression that these days most theologians are embarrassed by talk of miracles, but the great monotheistic faiths are founded on miracle stories—the burning bush, the empty tomb, an angel dictating the Koran to Mohammed—and some of these faiths teach that miracles continue at the present day.
21 Oct 1999    Source


Agree
...by doubling the amount of CO2 ... we're doing things that have an obvious potential for producing great harm. We ought to be pretty sure we're not doing harm before we are sanguine about continuing to do these things. I really think we should control the amount of CO2 we're putting into the atmosphere, even if we're not certain.
26 May 2008    Source


Comparisons to Other Experts

Agree
Galileo Galilei
Father of Science
100% / 1 opinions

Max Tegmark
Professor of Physics
100% / 1 opinions

Steven Pinker
Psychology Professor
100% / 1 opinions

Elton John
Musician, Pop Icon
100% / 1 opinions

Richard Feynman
Nobel Laureate in Physics
100% / 1 opinions

Eliezer Yudkowsky
Artificial Intelligence Researcher
100% / 1 opinions

Austin Cline
Philosopher
100% / 1 opinions

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of California 2003-
100% / 1 opinions

Richard Dawkins
Evolutionary Biologist, Writer, Atheism Activist
100% / 1 opinions

Bill Maher
Political T.V. Host, Comedian
100% / 1 opinions

Bertrand Russell
Iconic Philosopher of 20th Century
100% / 1 opinions

John Stuart Mill
Philosopher, Political Economist, 19th Century
100% / 1 opinions

Mostly Agree
Paul Collins
Catholic Priest, Author, Radio Host
75% / 1 opinions

The Economist
Politics and Business Magazine
75% / 1 opinions

In-Between
Mostly Disagree
Bjorn Lomborg
Politics Professor, Economist, Writer
25% / 1 opinions

Albert Einstein
Physicist, Icon of the 20th Century
25% / 1 opinions

B.P. Radhakrishna
Geologist, President of the Geological Society of India
25% / 1 opinions

Disagree
John Polkinghorne
Physics Professor and Reverend
0% / 2 opinions

The Catholic Church
Largest Christian Church
0% / 2 opinions

Peter Woit
Physicist
0% / 1 opinions

Roger Penrose
Mathematics Professor
0% / 1 opinions

New Testament
Christian Specific Bible
0% / 1 opinions

Napoleon Bonaparte
Emperor of France
0% / 1 opinions

Andrew Newberg
Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry & Religion
0% / 1 opinions

John Clayton
Christian Teacher
0% / 1 opinions

Antonello Colangeli
Doctor
0% / 1 opinions

Luiz Sérgio Solimeo
Christian Writer
0% / 1 opinions

Mani Norland
Homeopathy Teacher
0% / 1 opinions

Roy Spencer
Meteorologist
0% / 1 opinions

Don Aitkin
Politics Professor
0% / 1 opinions