Does God Play Dice?

Albert Einstein famously wrote to fellow physicist Max Born: “I, at any rate, am convinced that God is not playing at dice.” A century later, physicists regularly invoke chance and randomness to explain the natural world. What does this mean? Has physics resolved whether the universe fundamentally operates by chance? This talk explores these deep questions at the intersection of physics, cosmology, and philosophy.

On Tuesday 4 August the Einstein Lecture visits Macquarie University in Sydney.
On Wednesday 5 August it heads north of Sydney for the first time, hosted at Warners Bay Theatre by Lake Mac Libraries.

About the Speaker:
Dr Luke A. Barnes is a theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and Senior Lecturer in Physics at Western Sydney University. He received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge in 2009 and is a John Templeton Fellow.

His research focuses on cosmology, galaxy formation, and the fine-tuning of the universe for life. He has modelled galaxy formation using supercomputer simulations, linking theory with observations through radiative transfer modelling, including Lyman-alpha emission and absorption, and realistic IFU observations. His work also explores the effects of alternative physics on stars, the cosmological constant, and the conditions necessary for intelligent life.

Dr Barnes has contributed to the philosophy of science, particularly in examining how multiverse theories can be tested using probability. He is the co-author (with Professor Geraint Lewis) of A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely-Tuned Cosmos and The Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook, both published by Cambridge University Press.