Been following this via proxy, i.e. Sabine Hossenfelder, for a few years. The charges are very solid afaict.
I am a big fan of Sabine. Recent video on her by prof dave explains made me think though. https://travisporter.bearblog.dev/new-post/
The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
31–40 of 42 posts
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not only of course, but I find is a good reference point, as somebody that was right in the middle of it, got out, and has nothing to loose saying what she thinks is true. She could very well be doing videos explaining all the models she does not believe, and have much more subscribers.
The question was to the person above where it seemed like that's what they were doing and then expected us to take their view as something worth considering. It was giving them an opportunity for them to explain their position and give themselves credibility.
Your credibility is also suffering, as you failed to explain where Sabine is wrong...
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#33I can't speak to the merits (or lack thereof) of string theory. That's well beyond my physics knowledge. It must however be daunting to be a theoretical physicist right now. It seems like the field has been in a standstill for years. The advances in the 20th century were just eye-watering. The Standard Model is a mixed bag of stunningly accurate prediction (eg electron monopole moment [1]) vs the wildly inaccurate (e…
Seems like a lot of the big unanswered questions are locked away until we figure out a unified theory that bridges that gap between the relativity and quantum scales, and opens up the necessary fundamentals. I know progress is incremental, but it's hard to not get the impression that we're putting all our eggs into the wrong basket, so to speak.
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#34Been following this via proxy, i.e. Sabine Hossenfelder, for a few years. The charges are very solid afaict.
I am a big fan of Sabine. Recent video on her by prof dave explains made me think though. https://travisporter.bearblog.dev/new-post/
That video in turn, has a great and extensive comment from @throwaway4179-s7d that raised Sabinne credibility, and actual decreases the one from Professor Dave Explains.
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
The question was to the person above where it seemed like that's what they were doing and then expected us to take their view as something worth considering. It was giving them an opportunity for them to explain their position and give themselves credibility.
Your credibility is also suffering, as you failed to explain where Sabine is wrong...
Was I attacking Sabine or was I saying trusting a single source to inform the entirety of a view of a non-expert about a debatable topic is perhaps not responsible?
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#36The whole String Theory affair is amusing but also a sad spectacle. These people convinced the world they were geniuses, but ended up fleecing funding agencies and universities for millions with zero accountability and scientific progress.
Do you have an example where funding was given out with zero accountability? I've worked at a number of universities and national laboratories for particle research and they all had multiple layers of accountability. At the top of any public funding structure is congress and the president and bigger initiatives will even be line items in public agency budgets. At the bottom are the required regular reports (I had bia…
>Do you have an example where funding was given out with zero accountability?
Yes, this article and the whole crisis it references.
Will people be removed from their position? Prosecuted, even? No.
That's what zero accountability means.
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#37Been following this via proxy, i.e. Sabine Hossenfelder, for a few years. The charges are very solid afaict.
I am a big fan of Sabine. Recent video on her by prof dave explains made me think though. https://travisporter.bearblog.dev/new-post/
He attacked her and her audience, it was hardly an indictment on her arguments. Dripping with ad hominem.
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
> how many alternative theories were dismissed by no funding it's an interesting question - you should be able to request this information from the funding bodies!
Do you think you can't? It's all covered under FOIA. Bureaucratic stuff like this is in fact FOIA's wheelhouse.
No I was suggesting that he should ask for it, instead of assuming there weren't good reasons for the choices that were made.
Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am a big fan of Sabine. Recent video on her by prof dave explains made me think though. https://travisporter.bearblog.dev/new-post/
That video in turn, has a great and extensive comment from @throwaway4179-s7d that raised Sabinne credibility, and actual decreases the one from Professor Dave Explains.
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Re: The Crisis in String Theory Is Worse Than You Think
#40I'm beginning to like Sabine more and more. She is pro-nuclear, but she's not afraid to criticize the issues, like she did recently with small nuclear reactors.
The most optimistic view I've heard on string theory is that the Ads/CFT correspondence actually can move to de-sitter space one day. String theory proponents actually believe this. They do believe the Ads/CFT correspondence is one of the crowning achievements of string theory.
The most pessimistic view I've heard is that we're waiting for the people who have made string theory their life's work since the 1980's to retire and allow new funding efforts to go to different ideas.