Into the Impossible With Brian Keating
Hosted by Brian Keating
Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
Physicist Carlo Rovelli joins host Brian Keating to discuss his new book, On the Equality of All Things, exploring how modern physics alters our understanding of time, space, order, and free will. Rovelli argues against popular science misconceptions, explaining that entropy does not simply mean disorder, that time is local rather than global, and that properties like velocity and position are strictly relational. The conversation challenges standard dogmas about the block universe, examines the historical blunders of Galileo and Einstein, and considers whether quantum mechanics and general relativity ultimately point toward a deeply perspectival reality. They also touch on AI, the nature of deliberation, and how loop quantum gravity could be tested through dark matter candidates.
The episode opens with introductory remarks and a brief advertisement segment.
Carlo Rovelli introduces himself and outlines his plan to challenge common misconceptions about thermodynamics and free will.
Rovelli explains how entropy and the thermodynamic arrow of time relate to memory, future, and past, and argues that order can arise spontaneously.
Rovelli discusses how loop quantum gravity might shed light on the universe’s low‑entropy initial condition and the nature of time.
Rovelli presents his hypothesis that low entropy is a perspectival property arising from coarse‑graining choices rather than an absolute state.
Rovelli critiques the block‑universe view, emphasizing that time and space are dynamic, relational constructs shaped by observation and experience.
Rovelli explores how measurement in both classical and quantum systems requires dissipation, linking irreversibility to the act of recording information.
The conversation turns to AI chess programs, deliberation, and how these systems illustrate the physics of decision making and freedom.
Rovelli and the host discuss moral considerations when interacting with AI, drawing parallels to treating machines with kindness and respect.
Rovelli outlines potential experimental tests of loop quantum gravity, including predictions about stable micro‑black holes as dark matter candidates.
The episode concludes with a discussion of a recent survey on quantum gravity, reflecting on the lack of consensus and the evolving scientific landscape.
The speaker discusses their preference for relational quantum mechanics and loop quantum gravity.
Nature Often Creates Orderinsight
The guest explains that the common belief that entropy always means disorder is wrong, pointing out that phenomena like oil and water separating show things left alone can order themselves.
The Perspectival Flow of Timeinsight
The guest argues that the grand flow of time is perspectival, much like how early observers thought the entire universe revolved around the Earth before realizing it was simply our own rotation.
Genius Does Not Ensure Claritystory
The guest points out that both Galileo and Einstein made notable blunders and remained confused about aspects of their own theories long after publishing them.
The guest highlights that because time slows down closer to massive bodies like Earth, a person's head ages slightly faster than their feet.
Free Will Without Law Violationinsight
The guest argues that human freedom and deliberation do not require stepping outside the laws of physics, comparing the process to a deterministic chess computer that must evaluate options to decide.
Testing Loop Quantum Gravitystrategy
The guest explains that loop quantum gravity makes solid, testable predictions, specifically proposing that small black hole remnants could act as the elusive dark matter.
“In fact, very often, in nature, things left alone get ordered.”
“The world that come out, it's really, really astonishing and different.”
“If you have a box with balls, you shake, and then you put it there on the table, all the balls go very nicely in order on the bottom.”
“The block universe is a solution of Einstein equation, spacetime, is a story. It's a process. It's like saying, you know, a movie is a, it's what happened before.”
“I think philosophers are good friends, not all of them, but physicists also are good friends, but not all of them.”
“I think 10 years is enough for building a lot of Josephson injunctions.”
“There's no distinction between mind and body, humans and non-humans, animals, plants, stones, numbers, laws, societies, language, they're all part of a single thing.”
“The book we read together was a lot of cooling the legs of philosophers.”
This episode is sponsored by Abacus AI agent: agent.abacus.ai/keating I fed it Carlo's recent papers and asked for the argument, the counterargument, and the evidence that would support or refute each side. Some of the questions and animations in this interview came out of that. It runs the top frontier models in one place, turns a dense PDF into a research report or a presentation with charts, builds interactive dashboards off a spreadsheet, and takes API access if you want it wired into your own tools. Plans start at $10 a month. My link gets you the first month for $7: agent.abacus.ai/keating The physicist who built loop quantum gravity says the second law does not say what you were taught it says, and that freedom does not require breaking a single law of nature. Order builds itself. Your head is older than your feet. And neither one is the strangest thing here. Carlo Rovelli founded the loop quantum gravity program and wrote the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics. We cover: why oil separating from water is not a violation of entropy, what Galileo got wrong about the one discovery he is most famous for, the paper Einstein published denying gravitational waves, why a chess program that deliberates tells you what your own freedom actually is, and what Rovelli would build with ten years and unlimited money. “To imagine that to be free you have to violate the laws of nature is stupid.” — Carlo Rovelli CHAPTERS 00:00 Your head is older than your feet 00:48 Things left alone get ordered. Who ordered them? 07:00 Low entropy might be about you, not the universe 08:38 You can be in two cities at once, just not to you 11:02 Why start with Galileo when Einstein knew more? 19:34 Galileo misunderstood his own discovery 22:32 Einstein published a paper denying gravitational waves 25:08 The definition of time that explains nothing 26:50 Two clocks, two metres apart, two answers 31:06 Nothing gets recorded without something being lost 33:12 The chess program deliberates. So do you. 37:06 Can a machine have Einstein’s happiest thought? 39:52 Thirty minutes versus a month 44:10 Dark matter made of black holes the size of a hair 51:10 Ten years, unlimited money, a room full of junctions Rovelli told me the second law does not say what I was taught it says. Order builds itself. Transcript, bonus content, and my Monday M. A. G. I. C. Message: https://briankeating.com/yt Three moments worth the rewatch: 07:00 The entropy you were taught is a point of view 26:50 Why your head is older than your feet 39:52 The thing Claude did in 30 minutes Get the transcript, fascinating bonus content, and my Monday M. A. G. I. C. Message: https://briankeating.com/yt Have a .edu email and live in the USA? You automatically win a meteorite: https://BrianKeating.com/edu Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 Support Into the Impossible on Patreon, get my weekly M. A. G. I. C. Message, unfiltered bonus content, and live monthly Office Hours with me: https://www.patreon.com/drbriankeating Join this channel for perks, monthly Office Hours, and your name in the Member Roster at the end of every episode: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join Featured Guest: Carlo Rovelli website: https://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~rovelli/ The Relational Universe (book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735216118 Carlo Rovelli on Twitter/X: https://x.com/carlorovelli My books: Losing the Nobel Prize (memoir): http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U Galileo’s Dialogue (first-ever audiobook): https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un Twitter/X: https://x.com/BrianKeating Substack: https://briankeating.substack.com Blog: https://briankeating.com/blog Audio-only: https://briankeating.com/podcast #CarloRovelli #freewill #entropy #physics #quantumgravity #briankeating #intotheimpossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10,448 words · 6 speakers
Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
Page updated · transcript and summary are machine-generated