Recorded Talks

This is a collection of some talks I've given that were recorded and made available online. (It's probably not a complete list; I agree routinely to be recorded and don't often keep track of where the recording goes.)

Talks aimed at a general audience

• 'Emergence and Naturalness (O'Hara lecture, University of Washington, 2019; about 1 hour 25 minutes including questions).
• The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Royal Institution, 2012; 30 min). A general introduction to the Many-Worlds Interpretation (part of a longer event with authors Stephen Baxter and Sir Terry Pratchett).
• The Emergent Multiverse: the Plurality of Worlds (Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 2014; 60 minutes). Part one of a longer introduction to the Many-Worlds interpretation, focussing on general features of the theory.
• The Emergent Multiverse: the Probability Puzzle (Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 2014; 60 minutes). Part two, focussing on the problem of probability.

Talks aimed at an academic audience

• Quantum gravity at low energies (Oxford Philosophy of Physics seminar series, 2021; 60 minutes).
• Thermodynamics as Control Theory (Annual UWO Philosophy of Physics conference, 2018; 1 hr 10 mins including discussion).
• 'What is a solution to the measurement problem? (BSPS annual conference, 2018; about 15 minutes; see also Carlo Rovelli's talk at the same conference, which I was sort-of responding to).
• Debate on the Many-Worlds Theory with David Albert (FQXI conference, 2011; about an hour). The twist is that David defends, and I criticise, the Everett interpretation. (Reasonably accessible.)
• Statistical Mechanics I: Inferential vs Dynamical Conceptions of Physics (UWO summer school, Canada, 2013; about 2 hours including discussion). The first part of a two-part series on foundations of statistical mechanics.
• Statistical Mechanics II: The logic of statistical mechnanics (UWO summer school, Canada, 2013; about 2 hours including discussion). The second part of that series.
• The nature of the past hypothesis (Tenerife, 2014; about an hour including discussion). A discussion of inter-theoretic reduction in physics and of what Past Hypothesis is needed to secure the time-asymmetric features of that reduction. (Fairly accessible.)
• Taking Particle Physics seriously (UWO, 2009; about 90 minutes including discussion). A critique of algebraic approaches to quantum field theory. (Fairly technical)