Sabine Hossenfelder: Lost in Math [English]

Today we have the pleasure to interview the theoretical physicist, mathematician and author Sabine Hossenfelder in our first program in English. We ask her about her recent book 'Lost in Math. How Beauty Leads physics astray'. Sabine Hossenfelder has a Bachelor's degree in mathematics and a PhD in physics. She has written more than 60 research articles, mostly dedicated to quantum gravity and physics beyond the standard model. In Hossenfelder's own words: "Nothing is moving in the foundations of physics. One experiment after the other is returning null results: No new particles, no new dimensions, no new symmetries." Lost in Math begins with her frustration that, despite 40 years of failure, researchers in the foundations of physics do not change their methods. She concludes that the problems in her discipline have the same origin as other, recent, crises in different areas of science: Groupthink, peer pressure, and professional hubris. The book finishes with a call to action and a proposal for change.