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> the not-even-wrong idea that physics is stuck But not all that right either. The thing about physics is that most progress is being made in highly theoretica

> the not-even-wrong idea that physics is stuck But not all that right either. The thing about physics is that most progress is being made in highly theoretical areas without direct obvious applications. That might look like stalling because it's been a long time since the last new insight a layman could understand.

refulgentis 2y ago
I agree. I live in Boston, there's a ton of Gillette employees. It's about 7 years ago. They're talking about their fight to innovate for the millennial consumer. I say something like yeah there hasn't been a push for anything new since that 4 blade razor. They're immediately able to name 2 or 3. I guess what I'm saying is, it's not wrong, it's insidiously not even wrong, in a way that shades rather than illuminates.
- bmicraft 2y ago
  I don't quite understand, in what way is it not wrong to say that "physics (or smth else) is stuck", except maybe a small subfield?
  - refulgentis 2y ago
    It's extremely reductive.
deleted 2y ago
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oneshtein 2y ago
Physics is inherently simple. Accurate mathematical modeling of physics is hard. A layman can understand (real) physics easily, but cannot accurately predict anything except some simple things. Each additional digit of accuracy requires additional complexity in models, which laymen nor need nor understand. Unfortunately, real physical physics, with inaccurate physical models, completely replaced by much more accurate mathematical models by «shut up and calculate» guys, which explicitly ignore real physical processes behind the scenes to perform calculations faster and with more accuracy. It's similar to how we use AI: we ask questions, AI system performs abstract calculations, then we have an answer. To advance in physics, we need to create inaccurate physical models of physical world. For example, hydrodynamic quantum analogs[1] are highly inaccurate, but they allow to develop intuition about quantum world. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamic_quantum_analogs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamic_quantum_analogs

refulgentis 2y ago

I agree. I live in Boston, there's a ton of Gillette employees. It's about 7 years ago. They're talking about their fight to innovate for the millennial consumer. I say something like yeah there hasn't been a push for anything new since that 4 blade razor. They're immediately able to name 2 or 3. I guess what I'm saying is, it's not wrong, it's insidiously not even wrong, in a way that shades rather than illuminates.

bmicraft 2y ago
I don't quite understand, in what way is it not wrong to say that "physics (or smth else) is stuck", except maybe a small subfield?
- refulgentis 2y ago
  It's extremely reductive.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

oneshtein 2y ago

Physics is inherently simple. Accurate mathematical modeling of physics is hard. A layman can understand (real) physics easily, but cannot accurately predict anything except some simple things. Each additional digit of accuracy requires additional complexity in models, which laymen nor need nor understand. Unfortunately, real physical physics, with inaccurate physical models, completely replaced by much more accurate mathematical models by «shut up and calculate» guys, which explicitly ignore real physical processes behind the scenes to perform calculations faster and with more accuracy. It's similar to how we use AI: we ask questions, AI system performs abstract calculations, then we have an answer. To advance in physics, we need to create inaccurate physical models of physical world. For example, hydrodynamic quantum analogs[1] are highly inaccurate, but they allow to develop intuition about quantum world. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamic_quantum_analogs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamic_quantum_analogs