David Albert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Z. Albert
David Albert
Born	1954 (age 69–70)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University The Rockefeller University
Scientific career
Fields	Philosophy of physics
Institutions	Columbia University
Thesis	Determination of the critical exponents of the n-vector model by Borel resummation (1981)
Doctoral advisor	Nicola Khuri

David Z. Albert (born 1954) is Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy and Director of the MA Program in The Philosophical Foundations of Physics at Columbia University in New York.

Education and career

He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Columbia College (1976) and his PhD in theoretical physics from The Rockefeller University (1981) under Professor Nicola Khuri. Afterwards he worked with Yakir Aharonov of Tel Aviv University. He has spent most of his career in the philosophy department at Columbia University, although he has also been a frequent visiting professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Philosophical work

Albert has published four books—Quantum Mechanics and Experience (1992), Time and Chance (2000), After Physics (2015), and A Guess at the Riddle (2023)—as well as numerous articles on quantum mechanics. His books have been both praised and criticized for their informal, conversational style.

Public philosophy

Appearance in What the Bleep Do We Know!?

Albert appeared in the controversial movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004). According to an article published in Popular Science, he was "outraged at the final product." The article states that Albert granted the filmmakers a near-four hour interview about quantum mechanics being unrelated to consciousness or spirituality. His interview was then edited and incorporated into the film in a way that misrepresented his views. In the article, Albert also expresses his feelings of gullibility after having been "taken" by the filmmakers. Although Albert is listed as a scientist taking part in the sequel to What the Bleep, called "Down the Rabbit Hole", this sequel is a "director's cut", composed of extra footage from the filming of the first movie.

See also

• Past hypothesis