26 - Panel discussion

Summary

Deser: We are about to see what is to me at least a unique ‘five fork’ round table here. That is to say we have five people who are amongst the most important creators and makers of quantum field theory. Sidney Coleman is of course the conscience of modern field theory and the greatest teacher in the field. He's done a few nifty things himself besides that. I'm going alphabetically here of course. Shelly Glashow, as we have been told yesterday, is a self-confessed consumer of quantum field theory, but don't let that fool you. The faux naive attitude hides a very profound knowledge of the field as well. David Gross is of course Mr QCD, and unlike Moses, he's also been able to make the transition over to the promised string land, so that we have it both ways with him. Steve Weinberg has really made much of quantum field theory, of what is modern quantum field theory over the decades, and he has used it, in spades. He has now just published a classic textbook on the subject. Finally, in alphabetical order, is Arthur Wightman, who is the father of rigorous quantum field theory amongst many other things, for example things which have now passed into the vernacular, the use of Euclidean techniques to understand quantum field theory and the wisdom of understanding many of the things as you heard in talk, understanding of how quantum field theory was formed.