The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
by Lee Smolin
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Author: Lee SmolinEdition: Paperback
Published: 2007-09-04
ISBN: 061891868X
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
Book Review: No Strings Attached
Summary: 4 Stars
I jumped at this title when I saw it among my Amazon recommendations (Sometimes they do get these things right.) thinking to myself, "Ah, finally somebody out there (besides Feynman) has had the courage to state the obvious and actually write a book about it." And this Smolin does here in language I think most people with a basic science education can understand. Good show Lee!
But I do have a couple of somewhat minor problems with it. The first problem is, as far as I'm concerned, Smolin IS stating what has always seemed obvious to me. Indeed, ever since viewing the PBS special on String Theory and reading Brian Greene's book regarding it, I've been saying to myself: "What a lot of twaddle! This isn't science. It's more like some terribly bad mixture of mathematics and philosophy, making for bad theories in both fields." Actually, Smolin states as much here:
"Nevertheless, it seems to me that any fair-minded person not irrationally committed to a belief in string theory would see this situation clearly. A theory has failed to make any predictions by which it can be tested, and some of its proponents, rather than admitting that, are seeking to change the rules so that their theory will not need to pass the usual tests we impose on scientific ideas." P.170
Exactly! It truly baffled me that PBS would spend all this money on what was obviously a scientific farce. One might as well watch a rerun of Jeeves and Wooster. It's much more entertaining and Wodehouse, unlike Greene et al., knows himself to be a farceur. Anyway, the minor problem is that for me the above quote is all that need be really said about it (One might throw Feynman's in for good measure.). A whole book would seem to be unnecessary. But, obviously, there are scads of others who don't see that what Charlie Rose in his interview with Greene rhapsodized about as "The Theory of Everything" is not even a Theory of Nothing. It's not even a theory.
But Smolin did write this book, which brings me to my second problem here. Smolin is what I suppose I'll call an Einsteinian, but with a twist (no String Theory pun intended). As another reviewer has pointed out, this book has two parts. The first debunks String Theory. The second rails against "group think" and the state of current academia, in the States, anyway - All good and well, so far - But the last chapters are a bit odd for a book about physics, methinks. Here, Smolin reveals himself to be, for lack of a better word, a Romantic. He loves citing examples of people whom he calls "seers" rather than "craftsmen", of which Einstein is the best exemplar. People who hole themselves up alone and work things out based on some mystical insight. In particular, he cites one particular physicist who, during a hike in the mountains, had a vision that "time is unreal" and has spent the rest of his life working things out to prove that this is so. Exactly what it would mean for time to be unreal he does not elucidate.
This brings to mind Bertrand Russell's famous essay, "Mysticism and Logic" where he notes that the unreality of time is key to almost all mystical systems and philosophies. It is not confined to physicists; indeed, it is more associated with poets. Avers Yeats:
"For one moment
While on that grey stone I sat
I knew the One is animate
Mankind inanimate phantasy."
Russell, in his essay, concurs with Smolin, as I understand Smolin anyway; pointing out that almost all great ideas start out with some sort of mystical insight of this sort. But the way the book concludes, citing all these lone anchorite physicists, toiling away in their cottages and flats, is just a tad odd for a book debunking a notion because it's unfalsifiable and lacks empirical verification. Smolin seems to concur with Thoreau here, "No one ever followed his genius until it misled him."
To sum up, Smolin, in these latter chapters, seems to be a sort of Thomas Carlyle of 21st Century physics. He's an admirer of the Great Man/Great Idea interpretation of the history of science. This view certainly has its attractions. And, certainly, we associate all scientific revolutions with particular names: Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, Feynman etc. I suppose they all qualify as "seers" in Smolin's view. Still, it doesn't quite square with the empirical approach, and this view of history in general has peculiar consequences. I can't get out of my mind the image of Goring reading a German translation of Carlyle's account of Frederick the Great to the Fuhrer as the Soviets close in on Berlin.
True story.
Summary of The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics -- the search for the laws of nature -- losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the public's imagination -- and the imagination of experts. But these ideas have not been tested experimentally, and some, like string theory, seem to offer no possibility of being tested. Yet these speculations dominate the field, attracting the best talent and much of the funding and creating a climate in which emerging physicists are often penalized for pursuing other avenues. As Smolin points out, the situation threatens to impede the very progress of science. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin offers an unblinking assessment of the troubles that face modern physics -- and an encouraging view of where the search for the next big idea may lead.General Books
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