Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in Physical LawBasic Books, 04.09.2006 - 291 Seiten At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong, he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story. |
Inhalt
Particle Physics at the Turn of the Millennium | 1 |
The Instruments of Production | 5 |
Quantum Theory | 29 |
Quantum Field Theory | 49 |
Gauge Symmetry and Gauge Theories | 59 |
The Standard Model | 67 |
Triumph of the Standard Model | 85 |
Problems of the Standard Model | 91 |
On Beauty and Difficulty | 193 |
Is Superstring Theory Science? | 203 |
The Bogdanov Affair | 213 |
The Only Game in Town The Power and the Glory of String Theory | 221 |
The Landscape of String Theory | 237 |
Other Points of View | 247 |
Conclusion | 255 |
Acknowledgments | 265 |
Beyond the Standard Model | 95 |
New Insights in Quantum Field Theory and Mathematics | 105 |
String Theory History | 139 |
String Theory and Supersymmetry An Evaluation | 161 |
Notes | 269 |
279 | |
Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen
Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in ... Peter Woit Eingeschränkte Leseprobe - 2007 |
Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in ... Peter Woit Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 2007 |
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
accelerator anomaly anthropic argument Atiyah atomic beam beauty Bogdanov Calabi-Yau space calculation called CERN classical mechanics collider complex numbers conjecture construction described dimensions electromagnetic electron electroweak energy scale experiment experimental Fermilab fermions four-dimensional fundamental gauge anomaly gauge symmetry gauge theory geometry grand unified theory Higgs field Hilbert space hope idea invariant kind known large number Lie groups M-theory magnetic mass mathe mathematicians MSSM neutrino parameters particle physics particle theory perturbation expansion physicists possible predictions Princeton principle problem proton quan quantum field theory quantum gravity quantum mechanics quantum theory quarks recent renormalization representation theory rotations S-matrix Schrödinger SLAC sort space-time spinors spontaneous symmetry breaking standard model string theory super supergravity superstring theory supersymmetry Susskind symmetry group symmetry transformations Tevatron theoretical physics theorists things tion two-dimensional understand University Press vacuum vector Weyl Weyl's Witten Yang-Mills theory
Verweise auf dieses Buch
Prime Elements of Ordinary Matter, Dark Matter & Dark Energy: Beyond ... Vladimir B. Ginzburg Eingeschränkte Leseprobe - 2007 |
Symmetry Rules: How Science and Nature Are Founded on Symmetry Joseph Rosen Eingeschränkte Leseprobe - 2008 |