Daniel Whiteson

It's part of our model.

We've proven that our model describes the universe.

Therefore, it must be part of reality.

And that leap, that step to say, it's not just something we can predict.

It's not just part of our model.

It's there.

It was there before us, right?

It's aliens will see it too.

These are not scientific statements.

They're philosophical statements.

They are.

And people have strong opinions about it.

but they also think philosophy is a foolish waste of time.

So one of the reasons I wrote my book is not just to educate people about these interesting philosophical questions, but other physicists that I hope will read it and be like, oh, these are interesting questions by smart people who have thought about it for hundreds of years.

Maybe I should think about the broader context.

I suspect that more physicists agree with you than admit it.

What do you think?

Could be.

And I think the things are changing.

We've seen a sea change from folks thinking questions at the heart of physics, like quantum foundations.