EngineeredTheology

This is the last of the books read over vacation, discussing the rise and current state of string theory. It begins with some history of the theory and describes the basic principles (most of which are well covered, but I suspect would be confusing if this was someone’s first book on string theory). The interesting portion of the book describes the current cult following of string theory and how it may be bringing about the end of science.

I’ve always had a problem with string theory because I have never really understood it. I understand the high level concepts, but the reasoning behind it always seems elusive. The main reason behind this is because no one really understands string theory. This is partially because there is no one string theory, and string theory isn’t currently testable (or falsifiable). In fact, it is so varied, you can make just about anything into string theory.

This last point is where the author sees the problem. There has been so much hype about string theory finally bringing about a theory of everything, it is career suicide to do anything but research string theory. Any other competing science is blocked out because there has been such widespread belief that string theory is IT. Unfortunately after 20 years, string theory hasn’t developed into much, and we aren’t any further into understanding it. His argument is maybe it is time to look at the theory on its merits, and not what it might be able to do.

Having a theory that is not falsifiable and can encompass everything is no longer science. One main aspect of science is that you are never truly done. The overwhelming majority of theories are proven wrong sooner or later. This is what fuels are understanding of the world. It is ok to work feverishly on a direction, thinking it describes the world, only to change directions in a few years. In science, it is crucial to be able to be wrong. Once you stop having the ability to change directions, all scientific progress stops as well.

After being interested in string theory for many years, this is the first new book that even touches that there might be something besides string theory.