Philipp Strasberg
@philipp-strasberg.bsky.social
Theoretical physicist and lazy blogger (https://boltzmannsbrain.blog/), pondering whether the Universe can evolve unitarily... Enthusiastic about nature, degrowth & dinosaurs.
Reposted by Philipp Strasberg
Taken from the wonderful new webpage globalinequality.org, here is the picture that my dear European politicians and their supporters have to explain me in view of the next militarization wave. 3x more military spending? No, thank you!
June 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Taken from the wonderful new webpage globalinequality.org, here is the picture that my dear European politicians and their supporters have to explain me in view of the next militarization wave. 3x more military spending? No, thank you!
Reposted by Philipp Strasberg
www.sufficiencywellbeing.com/p/the-myth-o...
Studies, such as a report from The Nature of Americans, reveal that people often experience nature as a concept rather than a relationship. Many believe that "real" nature requires travel, gear, or leisure time.
Studies, such as a report from The Nature of Americans, reveal that people often experience nature as a concept rather than a relationship. Many believe that "real" nature requires travel, gear, or leisure time.
The myth of separation
by Maia Bergeron
www.sufficiencywellbeing.com
June 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
www.sufficiencywellbeing.com/p/the-myth-o...
Studies, such as a report from The Nature of Americans, reveal that people often experience nature as a concept rather than a relationship. Many believe that "real" nature requires travel, gear, or leisure time.
Studies, such as a report from The Nature of Americans, reveal that people often experience nature as a concept rather than a relationship. Many believe that "real" nature requires travel, gear, or leisure time.
Pure insanity! The NATO just decided, in a most undemocratic way without asking the population or revealing any details, to extremely increase their military spending. 🤬🤬🤬 Because having spent for decades over 50% of the worlds military budget for 10% of the worlds population is clearly not enough.
June 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Pure insanity! The NATO just decided, in a most undemocratic way without asking the population or revealing any details, to extremely increase their military spending. 🤬🤬🤬 Because having spent for decades over 50% of the worlds military budget for 10% of the worlds population is clearly not enough.
Very happy that the (maybe) first (?) paper systematically investigating the difference of decoherence between chaotic and integrable systems made it into PRL. 🤗
Surprisingly (?), and similar to thermalization, decoherence robustly happens only in chaotic systems!
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Surprisingly (?), and similar to thermalization, decoherence robustly happens only in chaotic systems!
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Decoherence of Histories: Chaotic Versus Integrable Systems
We study the emergence of decoherent histories in isolated systems based on exact numerical integration of the Schr\"odinger equation for a Heisenberg chain. We reveal that the nature of the system, w...
journals.aps.org
June 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Very happy that the (maybe) first (?) paper systematically investigating the difference of decoherence between chaotic and integrable systems made it into PRL. 🤗
Surprisingly (?), and similar to thermalization, decoherence robustly happens only in chaotic systems!
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Surprisingly (?), and similar to thermalization, decoherence robustly happens only in chaotic systems!
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Just read a nice interview from @fqxi.org about a journal that introduced "post-publication peer review". Love it.
But deer FQxI, do your homework: peer review is not established since "centuries". 😣 It's a recent thing! Nature introduced peer review only in 1973!
qspace.fqxi.org/articles/272...
But deer FQxI, do your homework: peer review is not established since "centuries". 😣 It's a recent thing! Nature introduced peer review only in 1973!
qspace.fqxi.org/articles/272...
FQxI Article: Rethinking Gatekeeping in Science: Q&A with eLife’s Timothy Behrens
The Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of science, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a dee...
qspace.fqxi.org
June 5, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Just read a nice interview from @fqxi.org about a journal that introduced "post-publication peer review". Love it.
But deer FQxI, do your homework: peer review is not established since "centuries". 😣 It's a recent thing! Nature introduced peer review only in 1973!
qspace.fqxi.org/articles/272...
But deer FQxI, do your homework: peer review is not established since "centuries". 😣 It's a recent thing! Nature introduced peer review only in 1973!
qspace.fqxi.org/articles/272...
Shit! Did you also get the email that #SciPost is about to shut down? 😱😭 And only a few weeks ago I got an email from CSIC (my parent institute) where they celebrated another extension of their contracts with Elsevier, Springer & Co. It's simply disgusting...
May 16, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Shit! Did you also get the email that #SciPost is about to shut down? 😱😭 And only a few weeks ago I got an email from CSIC (my parent institute) where they celebrated another extension of their contracts with Elsevier, Springer & Co. It's simply disgusting...
I'm definitely part of the green bar...
This graph (via @albrgr.bsky.social ) is one I think about regularly: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
April 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I'm definitely part of the green bar...
Stop #fastscience:
After talking to young folk, I realized Overleaf is the perfect micromanagement tool, allowing to track every step of the PhD student. Sentences like "You didn't work on the draft tonight even though I told you to change section X" are a scary reality!
Lmk what you think...
After talking to young folk, I realized Overleaf is the perfect micromanagement tool, allowing to track every step of the PhD student. Sentences like "You didn't work on the draft tonight even though I told you to change section X" are a scary reality!
Lmk what you think...
April 28, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Stop #fastscience:
After talking to young folk, I realized Overleaf is the perfect micromanagement tool, allowing to track every step of the PhD student. Sentences like "You didn't work on the draft tonight even though I told you to change section X" are a scary reality!
Lmk what you think...
After talking to young folk, I realized Overleaf is the perfect micromanagement tool, allowing to track every step of the PhD student. Sentences like "You didn't work on the draft tonight even though I told you to change section X" are a scary reality!
Lmk what you think...
My work on the typicality of 2nd laws with @jcsphysics.bsky.social is out now as a Letter in PRE. Check it out at journals.aps.org/pre/abstract... and let me know if you have questions/feedback. I'm also happy to share that it was a quick and fair review and editorial process.
Typical positivity of nonequilibrium entropy production for pure states
We establish that the nonequilibrium dynamics of most pure states gives rise to the same entropy production (EP) as that of the corresponding ensemble, provided the effective dimension of the ensemble...
journals.aps.org
April 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
My work on the typicality of 2nd laws with @jcsphysics.bsky.social is out now as a Letter in PRE. Check it out at journals.aps.org/pre/abstract... and let me know if you have questions/feedback. I'm also happy to share that it was a quick and fair review and editorial process.
Reposted by Philipp Strasberg
Fantastic new paper by Schindler et al. generalizing the notion of "observational" entropy. I've previously claimed obs. entropy is just the right way to think about "entropy" physics, as it encompasses/unifies many other versions. This is the even more right way.
arxiv.org/pdf/2503.15612.
arxiv.org/pdf/2503.15612.
arxiv.org
March 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Fantastic new paper by Schindler et al. generalizing the notion of "observational" entropy. I've previously claimed obs. entropy is just the right way to think about "entropy" physics, as it encompasses/unifies many other versions. This is the even more right way.
arxiv.org/pdf/2503.15612.
arxiv.org/pdf/2503.15612.
Hm... The intelligence of an octopus combined with the senses and power of a shark could be the next stage of evolution. Good that we are doing our best to kill all sharks and octopi, just to be on the safe side...
Sharktopus lives!
March 22, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Hm... The intelligence of an octopus combined with the senses and power of a shark could be the next stage of evolution. Good that we are doing our best to kill all sharks and octopi, just to be on the safe side...
Thanks to Joey (who put in most of the work) and Niklas, Andreas and Michael for the pleasant collaboration. 😊
Happy that this paper arxiv.org/abs/2503.15612 made it over the finishing line after years of drafting. :)
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
Unification of observational entropy with maximum entropy principles
We introduce a definition of coarse-grained entropy that unifies measurement-based (observational entropy) and max-entropy-based (Jaynes) approaches to coarse-graining, by identifying physical constra...
arxiv.org
March 21, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Thanks to Joey (who put in most of the work) and Niklas, Andreas and Michael for the pleasant collaboration. 😊
Happy that this paper arxiv.org/abs/2503.15612 made it over the finishing line after years of drafting. :)
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
Unification of observational entropy with maximum entropy principles
We introduce a definition of coarse-grained entropy that unifies measurement-based (observational entropy) and max-entropy-based (Jaynes) approaches to coarse-graining, by identifying physical constra...
arxiv.org
March 21, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Happy that this paper arxiv.org/abs/2503.15612 made it over the finishing line after years of drafting. :)
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
In short, Shannon/von Neumann/canonical/surface/volume/entanglement/diagonal/etc. entropies are all the same, they just differ with respect to the reference prior and measurements you choose.
Anyone on the DPG spring conference next week in Bonn? 🙃
March 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Anyone on the DPG spring conference next week in Bonn? 🙃
Wow! That's the first time I see a government seriously talking about the only sustainable solution we have. Great news. Still, "Quebec remains to this day resolutely committed to the model of economic growth", but I guess they had to write this to not scare off our benevolent investors...
Government of Canada website, posted Jan 29, 2025:
Will degrowth become necessary by itself?
www.canada.ca/en/economic-...
Will degrowth become necessary by itself?
www.canada.ca/en/economic-...
Will degrowth become necessary by itself? - Canada.ca
Degrowth is a form of economy in which the economic wealth produced does not increase.
www.canada.ca
February 26, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Wow! That's the first time I see a government seriously talking about the only sustainable solution we have. Great news. Still, "Quebec remains to this day resolutely committed to the model of economic growth", but I guess they had to write this to not scare off our benevolent investors...
Does emergence exist? Is it a useful concept? Liam Graham argues in his new interesting book "Physics Fixes All the Facts" (link.springer.com/book/10.1007...) that we are better off abandoning "emergence". I discuss with him on my blog why. Check it out at boltzmannsbrain.blog/dialogue-wit...
Dialogue with Liam Graham about Emergence - Boltzmann's Brain
Emergence, a word whose Latin roots are ex = "out" + mergere = "merge, sink", has 19 different meaning according to Oxford's English Dictionary. While emergence is also widely used in quantum statisti...
boltzmannsbrain.blog
February 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Does emergence exist? Is it a useful concept? Liam Graham argues in his new interesting book "Physics Fixes All the Facts" (link.springer.com/book/10.1007...) that we are better off abandoning "emergence". I discuss with him on my blog why. Check it out at boltzmannsbrain.blog/dialogue-wit...
Reposted by Philipp Strasberg
When the US ruling class says that something poses a threat to the "American way of life", what they actually mean is it poses a threat to the interests of US capital accumulation.
January 27, 2025 at 9:38 AM
When the US ruling class says that something poses a threat to the "American way of life", what they actually mean is it poses a threat to the interests of US capital accumulation.
A *2-day* symposium (cas-nor.no/index.php/ev...) in Norway with invited speakers from USA, Brasil, India, ... "Can Ice Be Described from First principles?" Made me wonder whether there will be much ice left when scientists continue to destroy the planet like that...
Are we so stupid?
Are we so stupid?
Symposium "Can Ice Be Described from First Principles?” | CAS
The event will take place on 27-28 March 2025 at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The aim of the symposium is to gather scientists to discuss the most exciting advances and challenges in ...
cas-nor.no
January 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A *2-day* symposium (cas-nor.no/index.php/ev...) in Norway with invited speakers from USA, Brasil, India, ... "Can Ice Be Described from First principles?" Made me wonder whether there will be much ice left when scientists continue to destroy the planet like that...
Are we so stupid?
Are we so stupid?
Love it!
January 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Love it!
Growth rate of article publishing (currently exponential) overshoots increase in PhD students. Hooray!
Who is going to read all this on a lifeless planet?!?
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Who is going to read all this on a lifeless planet?!?
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
The strain on scientific publishing
Abstract. Scientists are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. The total number of articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science has grown exponentially in recent years; ...
direct.mit.edu
January 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Growth rate of article publishing (currently exponential) overshoots increase in PhD students. Hooray!
Who is going to read all this on a lifeless planet?!?
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Who is going to read all this on a lifeless planet?!?
direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Just finished my week by reading these pleasant lecture notes arxiv.org/abs/2307.02986 of Brian Skinner about entanglement dynamics and measurement phase transitions. It was a pleasure. :-) Happy weekend!
Lecture Notes: Introduction to random unitary circuits and the measurement-induced entanglement phase transition
These are lecture notes compiled for a short lecture series at the 2023 Condensed Matter Summer School at the University of Minnesota. They are designed to be conversational and fun, and not to take t...
arxiv.org
January 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Just finished my week by reading these pleasant lecture notes arxiv.org/abs/2307.02986 of Brian Skinner about entanglement dynamics and measurement phase transitions. It was a pleasure. :-) Happy weekend!
Reposted by Philipp Strasberg
Criticism intensifies after big oil admits ‘gaslighting’ public over green aims.
Fury as ‘explosive’ files reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Fury as ‘explosive’ files reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Criticism intensifies after big oil admits ‘gaslighting’ public over green aims
Fury as ‘explosive’ documents reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Criticism intensifies after big oil admits ‘gaslighting’ public over green aims.
Fury as ‘explosive’ files reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Fury as ‘explosive’ files reveal largest oil companies contradicted public statements and wished bedbugs upon critical activists.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I was more than astonished, when a friend told me that Sabine Hossenfelder produced a video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxe3...) about my recent paper (journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...). In a desperate attempt I commented on it to clear up some mysteries. Let's see whether this idea was fruitful...
Physicists Claim They Solved Schrödinger's Cat Problem
YouTube video by Sabine Hossenfelder
www.youtube.com
December 30, 2024 at 10:34 AM
I was more than astonished, when a friend told me that Sabine Hossenfelder produced a video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxe3...) about my recent paper (journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...). In a desperate attempt I commented on it to clear up some mysteries. Let's see whether this idea was fruitful...
Is anyone also increasingly worried about how disconnected some (many?) elite top thinkers are from problems of mundane reality? I explain more in a comment related to Sabine Hossenfelder's recent youtube video on the state of Germany.
boltzmannsbrain.blog/why-i-am-emb...
boltzmannsbrain.blog/why-i-am-emb...
Why I am embarrassed about Sabine Hossenfelder being embarrassed to be German - Boltzmann's Brain
Sabine Hossenfelder's recent political video is an affront against the majority of Germans. Here I explain why.
boltzmannsbrain.blog
December 16, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Is anyone also increasingly worried about how disconnected some (many?) elite top thinkers are from problems of mundane reality? I explain more in a comment related to Sabine Hossenfelder's recent youtube video on the state of Germany.
boltzmannsbrain.blog/why-i-am-emb...
boltzmannsbrain.blog/why-i-am-emb...