YouTube link: https://youtu.be/rJz_Badd43c


Dror Bar-Natan is a Professor of mathematic who's interests include knot theory, QFT, and Khovanov homology


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LINKS MENTIONED:
PDF link of notes: https://tinyurl.com/4u4ru2yh


TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:29 Quantum Field Theory and Knot Theory
00:10:19 Another QFT / Knot Theory connection or analogy
00:20:46 Knot Theory and Gravity + Bar-Natan's PhD on Chern-Simons
00:24:08 Homology and Cohomology
00:32:54 Dror's average day / routines / laziness
00:35:23 What is "work" for a Professor? How much of it is thinking vs. reading etc.?
00:36:50 All the research is to support teaching
00:41:34 Motivated examples are what's missing in math teaching 
00:47:35 Are you more creative when younger or older?
00:48:43 Being "systematic" with learning and research
00:50:37 Rant against theorems and proofs (emphasis)
00:54:51 What understanding a mathematical concept looks like
01:03:35 On laziness, strengths, and weaknesses in mathematics
01:07:47 Advice for the struggling mathematician
01:09:30 What did Dror learn from studying with Ed Witten
01:12:12 On Eric Weinstein
01:19:32 Knot Theory and Physics (again)
01:20:10 Why can't physics of 2 or 3 dimensions be extended to 4 easily?
01:34:21 Hard Problem of Consciousness
01:35:54 The problems Dror thinks about daily
01:37:49 What direction would he like mathematics research to head in?
01:40:26 Philosophy of math (ultra-finitism)
01:44:45 Pure mathematics in service to applied mathematics
01:47:14 How to learn a new field of mathematics
01:47:15 [the scientific mystical philosopher] Unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics
01:48:28 [Romain Gicquad] On IQ
01:51:06 [Tori Ko] ​What do you think about biology / psychology / philosophy
01:54:03 [Phill Thomas] What led him into the field of mathematics? Can anyone can learn advanced math?
02:03:52 [Tyler Goldstein] Do we need to make new research institutions not linked to academia?
02:06:04 Bias in academia
02:10:15 What's a mathematician? Who's a mathematician and who's not?
02:14:31 [Ashley Shipp] Does he think there is a connection between knot theory and protein folding?
02:19:49 [Jack Dysart] Is math a human construct?
02:22:50 [cx777o] Does he believe in a concept of god?
05:19:49 [Bill McGonigle] Ramanujan and his Goddess
02:23:47 Revealed story that Dror has about Curt and the Prisoner's Dilemma
02:30:27 [Harinivas P] Bible Code and applying advanced math in one's life
02:37:26 [Roy Dopson] Why does it take 360 pages to "prove" that 1+1=2?


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Just wrapped (April 2021) a documentary called Better Left Unsaid http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com on the topic of "when does the left go too far?" Visit that site if you'd like to watch it.

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