Comments on: The String Theory Backlash http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:16 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: The Adventures of Tobasco da Gama » Good Vibrations: Revising My Opinion of String Theory http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17913 The Adventures of Tobasco da Gama » Good Vibrations: Revising My Opinion of String Theory Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:04:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17913 [...] The next article I saw was this one. It reiterates the gravity-prediction quality above, but gives more of a historical background on how exactly string theory got to its current position of dominance. There’s not the “Oh, duh” moment of the previous one, but there’s good information for anyone interested, arguments for both pro and con, as well as links to some current (as of last summer) research. [...] [...] The next article I saw was this one. It reiterates the gravity-prediction quality above, but gives more of a historical background on how exactly string theory got to its current position of dominance. There’s not the “Oh, duh” moment of the previous one, but there’s good information for anyone interested, arguments for both pro and con, as well as links to some current (as of last summer) research. [...]

]]> By: String Theory is Losing the Public Debate | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17911 String Theory is Losing the Public Debate | Cosmic Variance Sat, 31 Mar 2007 20:25:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17911 [...] I have a long-percolating post that I hope to finish soon (when everything else is finished!) on “Why String Theory Must Be Right.” Not because it actually must be right, of course; it’s an hypothesis that will ultimately have to be tested against data. But there are very good reasons to think that something like string theory is going to be part of the ultimate understanding of quantum gravity, and it would be nice if more people knew what those reasons were. [...] [...] I have a long-percolating post that I hope to finish soon (when everything else is finished!) on “Why String Theory Must Be Right.” Not because it actually must be right, of course; it’s an hypothesis that will ultimately have to be tested against data. But there are very good reasons to think that something like string theory is going to be part of the ultimate understanding of quantum gravity, and it would be nice if more people knew what those reasons were. [...]

]]> By: Arbitrary Chronological Signifiers | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17912 Arbitrary Chronological Signifiers | Cosmic Variance Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:39:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17912 [...] The String Theory Backlash [...] [...] The String Theory Backlash [...]

]]> By: Guest Blogger: Joe Polchinski on the String Debates | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17910 Guest Blogger: Joe Polchinski on the String Debates | Cosmic Variance Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:34:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17910 [...] You may have read here and there about the genteel discussions concerning the status of string theory within contemporary theoretical physics. We’ve discussed it on CV here, here, and even way back here, and Clifford has hosted a multipart discussion at Asymptotia (I, II, III, IV, V, VI). [...] [...] You may have read here and there about the genteel discussions concerning the status of string theory within contemporary theoretical physics. We’ve discussed it on CV here, here, and even way back here, and Clifford has hosted a multipart discussion at Asymptotia (I, II, III, IV, V, VI). [...]

]]> By: Guest Post: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17896 Guest Post: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein | Cosmic Variance Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:09:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17896 [...] I first met Chanda (briefly) when she was visiting the University of Chicago as a summer undergraduate research student. Since then we’ve corresponded occasionally about life as a physicist and which general relativity textbook is the best. She emailed me a thoughtful response to a couple of posts about string theory and the state of physics (here and here), and I thought it would be good to have those thoughts presented as a full-blown guest post rather than just a comment; happily, Chanda agreed. [...] [...] I first met Chanda (briefly) when she was visiting the University of Chicago as a summer undergraduate research student. Since then we’ve corresponded occasionally about life as a physicist and which general relativity textbook is the best. She emailed me a thoughtful response to a couple of posts about string theory and the state of physics (here and here), and I thought it would be good to have those thoughts presented as a full-blown guest post rather than just a comment; happily, Chanda agreed. [...]

]]> By: The Trouble With Physics | Cosmic Variance http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17898 The Trouble With Physics | Cosmic Variance Tue, 03 Oct 2006 05:05:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17898 [...] It is perhaps not surprising that there has been a backlash against string theory. Lee Smolin’s The Trouble With Physics is a paradigmatic example, along with Peter Woit’s new book Not Even Wrong. Both books were foreshadowed by Roger Penrose’s massive work, The Road to Reality. But string theorists have not been silent; several years ago, Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe was a surprise bestseller, and more recently Leonard Susskind’s The Cosmic Landscape has focused on the opportunities presented by a theory with 10500 different phases. Alex Vilenkin’s Many Worlds in One also discusses the multiverse, and Lisa Randall’s Warped Passages enthuses over the possibility of extra dimensions of spacetime â€" while Lawrence Krauss’s Hiding in the Mirror strikes a skeptical note. Perhaps surprisingly, these books have not been published by vanity presses â€" there is apparently a huge market for popular discussions of the problems and prospects of string theory and related subjects. [...] [...] It is perhaps not surprising that there has been a backlash against string theory. Lee Smolin’s The Trouble With Physics is a paradigmatic example, along with Peter Woit’s new book Not Even Wrong. Both books were foreshadowed by Roger Penrose’s massive work, The Road to Reality. But string theorists have not been silent; several years ago, Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe was a surprise bestseller, and more recently Leonard Susskind’s The Cosmic Landscape has focused on the opportunities presented by a theory with 10500 different phases. Alex Vilenkin’s Many Worlds in One also discusses the multiverse, and Lisa Randall’s Warped Passages enthuses over the possibility of extra dimensions of spacetime — while Lawrence Krauss’s Hiding in the Mirror strikes a skeptical note. Perhaps surprisingly, these books have not been published by vanity presses — there is apparently a huge market for popular discussions of the problems and prospects of string theory and related subjects. [...]

]]> By: Sean http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17897 Sean Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:04:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17897 Well, I did read the titles of the books, complete with subtitles, which was really all I needed to know there was a disagreement. And I made the reasonable-seeming assumption that the content of the books would be compatible with the public statements made by their authors in multiple venues over a series of years. And now that I have read them, that assumption was correct. Well, I did read the titles of the books, complete with subtitles, which was really all I needed to know there was a disagreement. And I made the reasonable-seeming assumption that the content of the books would be compatible with the public statements made by their authors in multiple venues over a series of years. And now that I have read them, that assumption was correct.

]]> By: Ian http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17849 Ian Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:18:33 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17849 Sean, Regarding your article 'The String Theory Backlash', you state that you have not read either 'The Trouble with Physics' or 'Not Even Wrong' and yet you go on to say the that you disagree with what the books are saying! Is that not stretching your credibility to a rather pointless singularity of meaninglessness. And unfortunately it seems to reflect too well the string theorists disregard for any requirement for experimental prediction or evidence. The Emperor truly has no clothes... Best regards Sean,
Regarding your article ‘The String Theory Backlash’, you state that you have not read either ‘The Trouble with Physics’ or ‘Not Even
Wrong’ and yet you go on to say the that you disagree with what the books are saying! Is that
not stretching your credibility to a rather pointless singularity of meaninglessness.
And unfortunately it seems to reflect too well
the string theorists disregard for any requirement for experimental prediction or evidence. The Emperor truly has no clothes…

Best regards

]]> By: enthusiasm » Blog Archive » The New Thomas Pynchon (further) http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17909 enthusiasm » Blog Archive » The New Thomas Pynchon (further) Fri, 21 Jul 2006 16:08:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17909 [...] Also via Kottke, I checked out a post called The String Theory Backlash on a blog called Cosmic Variance. I like to keep an eye on debates about string theory because I have a homegrown cosmological hypothesis (with which I will not detain you here) which borrows a concept or two from string theory, and I’m waiting for someone to come along and shoot a hole in it. Anyway, I had this page sitting in a browser tab for several hours before I noticed that the previous post title was Untitled Thomas Pynchon, which speculates along much the same lines I did a few posts back, and points to a Slate article which does more or less likewise. Also, the CV post boasts a handful of comments, which of course is a handful more than mine has so far attracted. There’s more discussion in the Amazon Customer Discussion page for the book-to-be - nine hundred and ninety two pages! Wheee!) and of course there’s much threadage on pynchon-l, which I must admit I haven’t yet waded through. Pynchon-l has been all over the story since the 10th. Looks like they had a round of “get over the book blurb already” about a week ago… [...] [...] Also via Kottke, I checked out a post called The String Theory Backlash on a blog called Cosmic Variance. I like to keep an eye on debates about string theory because I have a homegrown cosmological hypothesis (with which I will not detain you here) which borrows a concept or two from string theory, and I’m waiting for someone to come along and shoot a hole in it. Anyway, I had this page sitting in a browser tab for several hours before I noticed that the previous post title was Untitled Thomas Pynchon, which speculates along much the same lines I did a few posts back, and points to a Slate article which does more or less likewise. Also, the CV post boasts a handful of comments, which of course is a handful more than mine has so far attracted. There’s more discussion in the Amazon Customer Discussion page for the book-to-be – nine hundred and ninety two pages! Wheee!) and of course there’s much threadage on pynchon-l, which I must admit I haven’t yet waded through. Pynchon-l has been all over the story since the 10th. Looks like they had a round of “get over the book blurb already” about a week ago… [...]

]]> By: Doctor Recommended » Analogies of the day http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/comment-page-3/#comment-17899 Doctor Recommended » Analogies of the day Fri, 07 Jul 2006 04:28:10 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/06/19/the-string-theory-backlash/#comment-17899 [...] More on why “string theory” is half-baked here. [...] [...] More on why “string theory” is half-baked here. [...]

]]>