IlyaShpitser comments on Open thread, January 25- February 1 - Less Wrong

8 Post author: NancyLebovitz 25 January 2014 02:52PM

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Comment author: IlyaShpitser 29 January 2014 01:55:15PM 3 points [-]

I mean Edward Witten, one of the most prominent physicists alive. The fact that his name does not ring a bell is precisely my point. The names that do ring a bell are the names of folks who are "good at the media," not necessarily folks who are the best in their field.

Comment author: ChristianKl 29 January 2014 02:09:00PM 0 points [-]

Okay, given that the subject is theoretical physics and I'm not much into that field I understand why I have no recognition.

When looking at his Wikipedia I see he made Time 100 so it still might be worth knowing the name.

Comment author: Ander 30 January 2014 11:14:37PM 1 point [-]

Witten is one of the greatest physicists alive, if not the greatest. He is the one who unified the various string theories into M-theory. He is also the only physicist to receive a Fields Medal.