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Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about
He’s head and shoulders
above the rest
At the age of 9 or 10, Edward
Witten dreamed of growing to
become an astronomer. After
his parents had given him a
telescope, he was able to see the
rings of Saturn.
At the age of 11, his father, a theoretical physicist
specialising in gravitation and general relativity, introduced
him to calculus. For a while, mathematics became his passion.
Eventually, at the age of 21 he had to choose between
mathematics and theoretical physics after having tried history and economics. As a result, in 1976 he received a Ph.D. in
physics at Princeton.
Surprisingly, in 1990, Witten was awarded the Fields
Medal – an equivalent of the Nobel Prize in mathematics. To
understand this, one should imagine a famous professional
basketball player receiving the highest football award. Witten
was the first physicist to receive this prize, which means he
has a talent of expressing physical ideas in mathematical form.
Mathematics has always been an important tool in physics.
Witten is showing how physics can help understand mathematics
better.
He created M-theory – a combination of 5 superstring
theories and 11-D supergravity. He thinks that there exist not 4
(length, width, height and time) dimensions, but 11. His theory
could connect quantum mechanics and general relativity, and it
could take us closer to the truth about nature. Edward Witten
has made physics a source of inspiration once again!
As Witten had made important contributions to both physics
and mathematics, in 2004 he appeared in the list of TIME
magazine’s 100 most influential people.
His fellow physicists consider him Albert Einstein’s successor
and even the greatest physicist of all time, a person who comes
along once in a century. They claim he has brought light where
there was darkness. Albert Einstein did not manage to create a
theory that would unite relativity and quantum physics into one
mathematical package. Thanks to Edward Witten, physicists
might be close to success.
Witten thinks that physics has many mathematical secrets,
and physicists will continue surprising the mathematical world
with interesting insights. He says humbly, “I have been lucky
to be at the right place at the right time to contribute to part
of this”.
1. Why is Edward Witten well-known among physicists worldwide?
2. What did Edward Witten dream of becoming at the age of 9 or 10?
3. How did Witten’s interest in mathematics begin?
4. At what age did Witten choose between mathematics and physics, and which did he choose?
5. What prestigious award did Witten receive in 1990, and how is it compared to the Nobel Prize?
6. Why is Witten’s receipt of the Fields Medal considered surprising?
7. What is M-theory, and what does it combine?
8. How many dimensions exist according to his theory ?
9. What two major fields does Witten’s work aim to connect?
10. In which year was Witten listed among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people?
11. Why do Witten’s colleagues compare him to Albert Einstein?
12. What was Einstein unable to do that Witten's work might help achieve?
13. How does Witten view the relationship between physics and mathematics?
14. What humble statement does Witten make about his contributions to science?
1. How is the 2021 Google Code Jam winner connected with Belarus?
2. How is the Google Code Jam competition organised?
3. What are the achievements of Gennadi Korotkevich and Belarus in the field of programming?
