236 | Thomas Hertog on Quantum Cosmology and Hawking's Final Theory

<p>Is there a multiverse, and if so, how should we think of ourselves within it? In many modern cosmological models, the universe includes more than one realm, with possibly different laws of physics, and these realms may or may not include intelligent observers. There is a longstanding puzzle about how, in such a scenario, we should calculate what we, as presumably intelligent observers ourselves, should expect to see. Today's guest, Thomas Hertog, is a physicist and longstanding collaborator of Stephen Hawking. They worked together (often with James Hartle) to address these questions, and the work is still ongoing.</p><p>S<em>upport Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Thomas Hertog received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge. He is currently a professor of theoretical physics at KU Leuven. His new book is&nbsp;<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-the-origin-of-time-stephen-hawking-s-final-theory-thomas-hertog/17818314?ean=9780593128442" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking's Final Theory</em></a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00010845" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KU Leuven web page</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hertog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=juBJS5UAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>