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Physics

The physicist who argues that there are no objective laws of physics

Daniele Oriti’s pursuit of a theory of quantum gravity has led him to the startling conclusion that the laws of nature don’t exist independently of us – a perspective shift that could yield fresh breakthroughs

By Thomas Lewton

7 October 2024

×îÐÂÂé¶¹ÊÓÆµ. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Marta Zafra

Most physicists operate under the assumption that there is a world out there that is entirely independent of us, an objective reality in which more-or-less well-defined things behave according to immutable physical laws. Yet over the past century, ever since the development of quantum theory, there have been discombobulating questions about the role of observers – not least ourselves – in the makings of reality.

These questions are often brushed under the carpet, but , a theorist at the Complutense University of Madrid, prefers to confront them. Arguably, he has been pushed to do so by his work on one…

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