The Tegmark interview

In dread of the 10-hour Virgin Atlantic flight back from the US last weekend, I tried to purchase as much reading matter as I could at Albuquerque airport. In doing so, I came across this excellent interview in Discover magazine with Mr Multiverse, Max Tegmark. Max's big idea is that physical existence coincides with mathematical existence.

In particular, I reverberated to the wisdom of Max's career strategy:

"I learned pretty early that if I focused exclusively on these big questions I’d end up working at McDonald's," Tegmark explains. "So I developed this Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde strategy where officially, whenever I applied for jobs, I put forth my mainstream work. And then quietly, on the side, I pursued more philosophical interests."