The Biggest Ideas in the Universe is a series of videos where I talk informally about some of the fundamental concepts that help us understand our natural world. Exceedingly casual, not overly polished, and meant for absolutely everybody. This is Idea #15, "Gauge Theory." We dig a bit more deeply into how spontaneous symmetry breaking and the Higgs mechanism work in the Standard Model, especially to give masses to various particles. My web page: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/ My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/seancarroll Mindscape podcast: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast The Biggest Ideas playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxfgDEc2NxZJcWcrxH3jyjUUrJlnoyzX Blog posts for the series: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/category/biggest-ideas-in-the-universe/ Background image: http://www.desktopwallpaperhd.net/blue-fractal-mirror-nice-background-wallpapers-84056.html #science #physics #ideas #universe #learning #cosmology #philosophy #math #gaugetheory #symmetry