Unraveling String Theory

A slightly modified version of a short talk I gave at Skepticamp Ottawa 2010. For some reason PowerPoint refuses to export a higher quality video...but whatever.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• string
• theory
• untestable
• skepticamp
• science
• ottawa
• physics
• skeptic

[mishigreene]

Total garbage. Tangential thinking...He admits he doesn't understand the mathematics so how can he make judgments.

[loneislander]

Perhaps the solution is to push String Theory out of physics departments into math departments. But, the moment ST produces a testable prediction (as math often does) then one would likely want it in physics departments. Regardless, this video actually appears utterly pointless -- in that no point was made other than to update the current state of the well-known controversy.

[loneislander]

"Unraveling" String Theory? 10 mins of personal opinion without any attempted reason why String Theory is somehow flawed. When approximations of Feynman Diagrams began to take on theoretical textures, and a few clever folk realized that time slices of these things could look like bits of string with inherent elegant mathematics, then folk began to think of the world as perhaps actually being bits of string. ST is mathematics that is worthy of investigation equal with math. What's the contest?

[otonanoC]

@Neueregel

Fruit Loop Quantum Gravity

[BinaryStars100]

@Neueregel String Theory started as a science attempting to explain the strong force. The Standard Model's explanation was preferred and String Theorist lost or were unable to get work. As a pseudoscience they avoid the empirical test that cost them dearly. It is now a money game until there is no more money for any fundamental theoretical physics. The mathematicians will go back to a health maths department & theoretical physics will have to be rescued by the applied physics departments.

[Neueregel]

@BinaryStars100 I agree with you, though some people call String Theory a pseudoscience because it cannot be empirically tested or falsified. What's your opinion on this? Thx.

[BinaryStars100]

@Neueregel Bell Labs is a private research entity, EPSRC is a government funded entity and both had a strong interest in fundamental research until now. They know what theoretical physics has become. We can't all be Einstein but we can protect our field for future generations. Mathematicians like Ed Witten the Field Medalist works hard to protect the field of mathematics. Einstein will be remember as a great physicist who gave future generations something to build on.

[Neueregel]

@BinaryStars100 Anyway, besides spelling there are more important things.I apologise for that remark.I think we are NOT in a position to judge a 60-yr old physicist with 30+ years of publications. Science history will judge Witten better. Besides, if Strings will ever be discovered in the next decades, Witten will ASAP be given the Nobel Prize along with Gazzaniga et al. - Private sector is mostly impressed by performance and perspiration rather than results especially in such theoretical fields

[BinaryStars100]

@Neueregel I think you mispelled ArXiv as well. Witten is in the publishing business, it is the world of citations, impact factors and grant proposals. How many of the 1500+ are significant to science? Enstien's paper on the Photoelectric Effect was one worthy of a Nobel Prize. Academia is impressed by publications. Private sector research is impressed with results. I got results. String Theorist got 30+ years of excuses worthy of getting fired in private sector research.

[Neueregel]

@otonanoC Stagnation due to economic factors? I don't think so, because e.g. there are several billions pured into the LHC in CERN to search for the Higgs boson. Theorical-Particle and Solid state physics get much more funding than Astrophysics for example. Imo, the problem is that the whole Standard model may require replacement, and Quantum Loop Gravity could do that GR-QM-GUT unification job better than String Theory.