- Physics & Math
Revealing Reality
This introductory course with Professor Brian Greene covers three main topics: special relativity, general relativity, and quantum mechanics. These topics represent the extremes of speed, mass, and length in nature. As humans, we experience nature in a limited way, and as much as we may believe that we know how the world works, we are limited by only a few orders of magnitude in speed, mass, and length. Our experience is also colored by the way nature behaves within those orders of magnitude. This course addresses the tension between our experience of reality and the true nature of reality.
Brian Greene
Brian Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, where he also serves as the director of Columbia’s Center for Theoretical Physics. Greene is recognized for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in his field of superstring theory, including the co-discovery of mirror symmetry and the discovery of spatial topology change. His books—The Elegant Universe, The Fabric of the Cosmos, and The Hidden Reality—have collectively spent over 67 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and were the basis of two award-winning NOVA mini-series, which he hosted. In 2008, Greene co-founded the World Science Festival, where he serves as Chairman of the Board. His latest book, Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe, was released in 2020.