The last chapters attempt to explain why so many scientists refuse to accept that string theory is a failed idea. The author provides some very interesting insight into the current state of academic achievement, grant programs, and peer pressure. Like the old gambler who constantly loses at the poker tables, and is told that the tables in the city are rigged, many physicists continue to examine string theory because they say "it's the only game in town."
In essence, because so many people have invested in it with their careers and their pride, many are simply passing the buck, and waiting for someone else to explore new waters. A few theories are trying to make their way into the fold, and Woit briefly explains a few of them, but only about one chapter is devoted to the subject. What he does provide throughout the book however, are the names of other well known books in each subject he discusses for those who want even more in-depth knowledge than he is willing to provide here.
In the end, Not Even Wrong gives an interesting counterpoint to several other books that have made string theory accessible and popular in the public mind, including Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. The first half of the book can be hard to understand, but that doesn't detract from the overall theme of the book, though it can make it a difficult read at times.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
2 - Nick Schweitzer
Thanks Natalie, I appreciate it!
3 - duane
Nice to see a post about string theory. Read it. Got it. Don't have much to add. Quite the dilemma.
4 - Kevin Kohout
String theory. What's coming up next?
5 - Leeter Smoit
Reader, please pair this book in your minds with Lee Smolin's "The Trouble with Physics," a cri de coeur by a working physicist who reaches a quite similar conclusion.
In a book first published in German in 1934 and in English in 1959, Karl Popper argued that scientific theories are valid and useful to the extent that they are falsifiable. String theorists patronize Popper and his devotees as outdated. Physics stands at the crossroads. Readers should make up their own minds about which fork in the road to take.
Theoretical physics is the hardest puzzle there is. Solving that puzzle is unlikely, unless we make use of clues supplied by experimentalists. Smolin and Woit are arguing that string theorists have turned their backs on that wisdom.