5 ms·

Only in universe with 5 dimensions. Shouldn't string theory be given up on at this point? This theory has existed for over 50 years and hasn't produced any resu

by mono442 9mo ago

Only in universe with 5 dimensions. Shouldn't string theory be given up on at this point? This theory has existed for over 50 years and hasn't produced any results. Even the predictions made by it such as e.g. supersymmetry have not been confirmed despite searching for them at particle colliders.

boxed 9mo ago
It has produced some good math though. That's something.
- isolli 9mo ago
  At what opportunity cost?
  - kakacik 9mo ago
    If you want to bash badly-spent potential look at people doing cutting edge ad research and optimization, or HFT. This is at least good base research that others can build on.
    - isolli 9mo ago
      Fair point, but waste in one domain should not be used to excuse waste elsewhere. Unless your argument is that it's generally hard for human societies to know where to best invest their scientific talent without the benefit of hindsight.
      - hahahahhaah 9mo ago
        I agree plus ST takes a person who would have researched somewhere else. The Googler or Jane Street or guy who decides to travel the world in the canoe have different reasons and probably would need way more persuading to be in academia.
      - lacunary 9mo ago
        human societies don't decide where to invest their talent; individuals do
        Avicebron 9mo ago
        I've worked in academia. How grants are won and research is received and encouraged is not an individual decision.
        guerrilla 9mo ago
        > don't decide shouldn't* decide
      - defrost 9mo ago
        Think of it as a playground for the exercise and training of a pool of minds that will one day either make the glove fit or kick the sand castle over replacing it with a better mousetrap. Too many metaphors? Hmmm, maybe fold in some dimensional reduction somehow.
    - bluGill 9mo ago
      String theory has generated a lot of hype over the years, but never delivered anything. Looks to me like they are all the negatives you hate about ad research.
      - computerfriend 9mo ago
        Advertising has been a net negative and the mathematics produced by string theory research is amazing.
    - azan_ 9mo ago
      But HFT is good! It allows better pricing of equities and increases liquidity.
  - tomrod 9mo ago
    Low. It's too expensive to send all of humanity across the stars at present.
  - boxed 9mo ago
    100% unknown. That's always the problem with science and why political control and direction always backfires and is stupid.
n4r9 9mo ago
As I understand it, it's still our best candidate for a unified theory of everything. Not for lack of effort in researching alternatives, either.
aurareturn 9mo ago
Shouldn't string theory be given up on at this point? Has anti string theory propaganda taken over HN? Sabine Hossenfelder succeeded? Anyone who is anti string theory actually qualified to make statements saying string theory is wrong or not worth more investment from researchers? Are these anti string theory posts on HN mostly just laymen hearing how string theory can’t be tested and we wasted a lot of resources on it so it needs to be repeated on every string theory post here?
- squeefers 9mo ago
  Susskind himself said its dead in the water. We dont live in an anti de-Sitter space, the basis of string theory.
  - aurareturn 9mo ago
    Source?
    - simiones 9mo ago
      Here is a lengthy interview where he discusses this at length (with a timestamp where he says exactly that String Theory, the precise mathematical model, doesn't describe the real world): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_Hlm6aCok&t=10m15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_Hlm6aCok&t=10m15s This also references this podcast discussion between Leonard Susskind and Lawrence Krauss, where they discuss the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhszd_wqAgQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhszd_wqAgQ Note that he still thinks that there is a way to produce some kind of similar theory, "a string theory" as opposed to "String Theory", could be the best answer.
      - aurareturn 9mo ago
        https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/1kolwxm/last_year_leonard_susskind_said_he_is_100_sure/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/1kolwxm/last_ye... According to this Reddit thread, he doesn't say it's "dead in the water" at all. It's just a version of string theory. This is what I'm afraid of. People who aren't qualified spreading fake news on string theory. I don't claim to be qualified. I just want to call out HN people who are extremely confident that string theory is dead but has no background in physics.
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
yyyk 9mo ago
The issue isn't string theory yes or no (there are reasons physicists went this way and other alternatives aren't so much better), but the difficulty in getting data and testable predictions. It's very likely the most effective way to help particle physics is getting way more data at high energies, not a new theory.

by mono442 9mo ago

boxed 9mo ago

It has produced some good math though. That's something.

isolli 9mo ago
At what opportunity cost?
- kakacik 9mo ago
  If you want to bash badly-spent potential look at people doing cutting edge ad research and optimization, or HFT. This is at least good base research that others can build on.
  - isolli 9mo ago
    Fair point, but waste in one domain should not be used to excuse waste elsewhere. Unless your argument is that it's generally hard for human societies to know where to best invest their scientific talent without the benefit of hindsight.
    - hahahahhaah 9mo ago
      I agree plus ST takes a person who would have researched somewhere else. The Googler or Jane Street or guy who decides to travel the world in the canoe have different reasons and probably would need way more persuading to be in academia.
    - lacunary 9mo ago
      human societies don't decide where to invest their talent; individuals do
      - Avicebron 9mo ago
        I've worked in academia. How grants are won and research is received and encouraged is not an individual decision.
      - guerrilla 9mo ago
        > don't decide shouldn't* decide
    - defrost 9mo ago
      Think of it as a playground for the exercise and training of a pool of minds that will one day either make the glove fit or kick the sand castle over replacing it with a better mousetrap. Too many metaphors? Hmmm, maybe fold in some dimensional reduction somehow.
  - bluGill 9mo ago
    String theory has generated a lot of hype over the years, but never delivered anything. Looks to me like they are all the negatives you hate about ad research.
    - computerfriend 9mo ago
      Advertising has been a net negative and the mathematics produced by string theory research is amazing.
  - azan_ 9mo ago
    But HFT is good! It allows better pricing of equities and increases liquidity.
- tomrod 9mo ago
  Low. It's too expensive to send all of humanity across the stars at present.
- boxed 9mo ago
  100% unknown. That's always the problem with science and why political control and direction always backfires and is stupid.

n4r9 9mo ago

As I understand it, it's still our best candidate for a unified theory of everything. Not for lack of effort in researching alternatives, either.

aurareturn 9mo ago

Shouldn't string theory be given up on at this point? Has anti string theory propaganda taken over HN? Sabine Hossenfelder succeeded? Anyone who is anti string theory actually qualified to make statements saying string theory is wrong or not worth more investment from researchers? Are these anti string theory posts on HN mostly just laymen hearing how string theory can’t be tested and we wasted a lot of resources on it so it needs to be repeated on every string theory post here?

squeefers 9mo ago
Susskind himself said its dead in the water. We dont live in an anti de-Sitter space, the basis of string theory.
- aurareturn 9mo ago
  Source?
  - simiones 9mo ago
    Here is a lengthy interview where he discusses this at length (with a timestamp where he says exactly that String Theory, the precise mathematical model, doesn't describe the real world): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_Hlm6aCok&t=10m15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_Hlm6aCok&t=10m15s This also references this podcast discussion between Leonard Susskind and Lawrence Krauss, where they discuss the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhszd_wqAgQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhszd_wqAgQ Note that he still thinks that there is a way to produce some kind of similar theory, "a string theory" as opposed to "String Theory", could be the best answer.
    - aurareturn 9mo ago
      https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/1kolwxm/last_year_leonard_susskind_said_he_is_100_sure/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/1kolwxm/last_ye... According to this Reddit thread, he doesn't say it's "dead in the water" at all. It's just a version of string theory. This is what I'm afraid of. People who aren't qualified spreading fake news on string theory. I don't claim to be qualified. I just want to call out HN people who are extremely confident that string theory is dead but has no background in physics.

deleted 9mo ago

[deleted]

yyyk 9mo ago

The issue isn't string theory yes or no (there are reasons physicists went this way and other alternatives aren't so much better), but the difficulty in getting data and testable predictions. It's very likely the most effective way to help particle physics is getting way more data at high energies, not a new theory.