Why the quantum? How come existence? It from bit? A participatory universe? What makes meaning? Those are some of the “Really Big Questions” of John Archibald Wheeler. Both Wheeler and his RBQs were the focus of the irresistibly titled “Science & Ultimate Reality” symposium that took place from 15 to 18 March near Princeton, New Jersey.
Wheeler has had a long and remarkable career in physics teaching, research, and public service. In 1939, he and Niels Bohr provided the first theory of nuclear fission. In the 1940s, Wheeler worked on the Manhattan Project, and in the 1950s, he helped develop the hydrogen bomb. He was central to the revival of general relativity in the 1960s; in 1967 he coined the term “black hole” and eventually convinced his colleagues of the phenomenon’s reality. In 1965, he and Bryce DeWitt launched the field of quantum cosmology. The list goes on.
The symposium...
