The video discusses Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and its implications for the nature of the universe. Initially, Einstein's theory suggested that the universe was not static and implied a beginning. This is supported by the observation that if the universe is currently expanding, it must have been smaller and denser in the past. The video highlights the work of Georges Lemaître, who, independently of Einstein in the early 1920s, also deduced from the equations that the universe might be expanding. Lemaître famously wrote to Einstein, suggesting his theory implied 'a day without a yesterday.' Einstein, however, initially resisted this idea and introduced a cosmological constant (an 'allowed term') into his equation to maintain a static universe, a move he later regretted and called his 'biggest blunder.' The video concludes that Einstein missed the prediction of the Big Bang inherent in his own theory, which clearly indicated that the universe was either expanding or contracting, not static.

NotEnoughSpaceTalk

Before we'd observed anything, Einstein had a theory that suggested that the universe is just not static. Really strongly suggests that there's a beginning. You can see that if the universe is stretching today, then it must have been smaller in the past, right? Everything must have been closer together.

Let's say that there's a man actually called George Lmetra who worked independently of Einstein. But at the same time, in the early 1920s before we even knew there were other galaxies beyond the Milky Way, and they noticed the equation suggests the universe might be stretching. And so he wrote to Einstein and said, "Your theory suggests there was a day without a yesterday."

And Einstein tried to dodge it and put this allowed term into his equation. Can I put something in to make it stretch a bit to balance it all out so it can be eternal? You can't you can't make it eternal that way. Then he took it out and called it his biggest blunder. What he'd done was miss the prediction of the Big Bang. His own theory was screaming to him, which is that no, the universe expands or contracts. And he missed it.

Einstein’s Biggest Mistake That Changed the Universe Forever 🤯 w/ Brian Cox

Before we'd observed anything, Einstein
[music] had a theory that suggested that
the universe is just not static. Really
strongly suggests that there's [music] a
beginning. You can see that if the
universe is stretching today, then it
must have been smaller in the [music]
past, right? Everything must have been
closer together. Let's say that there's
a man actually called George Lmetra who
[music] worked independently of
Einstein. But at the same time, in the
early 1920s before we even knew there
were other galaxies beyond the Milky
Way, and they noticed [music] the
equation suggests the universe might be
stretching. And so he wrote to Einstein
and said, "Your theory suggests [music]
there was a day without a yesterday."
And Einstein tried to dodge it and put
this allowed term into his equation. Can
I put something in to make it stretch a
bit to balance it all out so it can be
eternal? You can't you can't make it
eternal that way. Then he took it out
and called it his biggest blunder. What
he'd done was miss the prediction of
[music] the Big Bang. His own theory was
screaming to him, which is that no, the
universe expands [music] or contracts.
and he missed it.

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Einstein’s Biggest Mistake That Changed the Universe Forever 🤯 w/ Brian Cox

Transcription