Harvard Faculty Physically Threaten String Theory Critics

[astro]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/membe...ZZX8V5?ie=UTF8

Page 180 gives Feynman's published statement about superstring theory:

'nonsense ... not calculating anything ... maybe there's a way of wrapping up six of the dimensions. Yes, that's possible mathematically, but why not seven? When they write down an equation, the EQUATION should decide how many of these things get wrapped up, not the desire to agree with experiment ... So the fact that it might disagree with experiment is very tenuous, it doesn't produce anything; it has to be excused most of the time.'

Feynman added: 'String theorists don't make predictions, they make excuses.'

The next hundred pages explains boring stringy pseudo science dominating the media with hype. I pray for the day when it will be possible for Woit to bring out a new edition renamed 'Not Wrong!', with those last 100 pages replaced by a discussion of naturally checkable theory, hopefully something from Lee Smolin or someone. Overall, this is the best book I've ever read.

Page 227 describes the some silly attacks on Woit by string theorists:

'... some superstring theorists have chosen to attack me personally [via the Not Even Wrong weblog comments section] ... One of the more excitable of such superstring theorists, a Harvard faculty member, [commented] that those who criticised the funding of superstring theory were terrorists who deserved to be eliminated by the United States military.'

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/membe...ZZX8V5?ie=UTF8

[Epsilon=One]

Originally Posted by astro

...Feynman's published statement about superstring theory:

'nonsense ... not calculating anything ... maybe there's a way of wrapping up six of the dimensions. Yes, that's possible mathematically, but why not seven? When they write down an equation, the EQUATION should decide how many of these things get wrapped up, not the desire to agree with experiment ... So the fact that it might disagree with experiment is very tenuous, it doesn't produce anything; it has to be excused most of the time.'

Feynman added: 'String theorists don't make predictions, they make excuses.'

The next hundred pages explains boring stringy pseudo science dominating the media with hype. I pray for the day when it will be possible for Woit to bring out a new edition renamed 'Not Wrong!', with those last 100 pages replaced by a discussion of naturally checkable theory, hopefully something from Lee Smolin or someone. Overall, this is the best book I've ever read.

I agree with everything above, except for Lee Smolin. Lee makes String Theory seem logical; if his questionable, theoretical concepts concerning Loop Quantum Gravity fail; when he states: "(If) space really is continuous... Then physicists would have to turn to more radical postulates, such as those of string theory."

Of course, space is not continuous; and Lee may be well aware that such is factual.