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I've been thinking recently that physics should import an idea from software engineering: the test harness. For physics, the test harness would include a large

I've been thinking recently that physics should import an idea from software engineering: the test harness. For physics, the test harness would include a large database of X/Y pairs where X represents an experimental configuration and Y represents the outcome. Theories of physics would be instantiated as software libraries. The most modern physics library would pass the vast majority of the tests, by correctly predicting the outcome Y for every configuration X. But since physics is not yet complete, there would presumably be some tests that the best current theories cannot pass, or can only pass by jumping through some really ugly hoops - such as postulating the existence of dark matter and energy. To be taken seriously when proposing a new theory, a researcher must submit an update to the current library, and show that the new theory passes all the tests. The research can also identify new X/Y combinations, not covered in the current test suite, where the new theory diverges from the old one. Experimentalists could then decide the question by running the corresponding experiments and adding the results to the main suite.

dbasedweeb 8y ago
This is already essentially how it works. A new theory has to be complementary to old ones. This is often said in terms of “matching the predictions of...” another theory. There are more standards of course, but that’s the baseline. A lot of pet theories people have for things like QM fall apart because they don’t match the tested predictions of QM. For example, Special and General Relativity make new and more accurate predictions which complement, but do not contradict Newtonian theory. An issue with a theory replacing QM for example, other than the high degree of precision needed, is Bell’s Theorem, which tends to rule out LHV theories. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_theorem https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_theorem
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dbasedweeb 8y ago

This is already essentially how it works. A new theory has to be complementary to old ones. This is often said in terms of “matching the predictions of...” another theory. There are more standards of course, but that’s the baseline. A lot of pet theories people have for things like QM fall apart because they don’t match the tested predictions of QM. For example, Special and General Relativity make new and more accurate predictions which complement, but do not contradict Newtonian theory. An issue with a theory replacing QM for example, other than the high degree of precision needed, is Bell’s Theorem, which tends to rule out LHV theories. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_theorem https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_theorem

deleted 8y ago

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