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It's not like physics is 100% theoretical , untestable stuff. Unfortunately the untestable stuff gets the most press. If you talk to experimental physicists in
by yakubin 5y ago
It's not like physics is 100% theoretical , untestable stuff.
Unfortunately the untestable stuff gets the most press. If you talk to experimental physicists in university, they'll tell you all that stuff isn't treated seriously by them, but reading the press you may get the impression that things like string theory are widely-respectable and that there is only some disagreement, usual science stuff. The press really distorts the picture of what most physicists think about these topics.
(Also, I wouldn't use the term "theoretical" for untestable stuff. I would use "speculative". "Theoretical physics" does not imply unfalsifiable speculation, it can actually be fruitful scientifically.)
- mhh__ 5y agoString theory is widely respected by people who actually understand it. Believed in? Not sure, but a lot of experimental physicists who mock it clearly are just following memes in their departments - which does not necessarily make them wrong. Almost by definition people who are mildly interested in string theory don't talk about it unless asked. String theory has the potential to work, and doesn't involve as much parameter-hacking as other models, whereas its main competitors don't even work "in theory". It's also worth saying that a lot of "string theorists" are actually working on consequences of things like holography rather than banging their head against a book trying to work on the very essence of the theory.