The Trouble with Physics; The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

Smolin, Lee

ISBN 10: 0618551050 / ISBN 13: 9780618551057

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2006

About this Item

xxiii, [1], 392 pages. Illustrations. Notes. Index. Date stamped on top edge. Lee Smolin (born June 6, 1955) is an American theoretical physicist, a faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo and a member of the graduate faculty of the philosophy department at the University of Toronto. Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics criticized string theory as a viable scientific theory. He has made contributions to quantum gravity theory, in particular the approach known as loop quantum gravity. He advocates that the two primary approaches to quantum gravity, loop quantum gravity and string theory, can be reconciled as different aspects of the same underlying theory. His research interests also include cosmology, elementary particle theory, the foundations of quantum mechanics, and theoretical biology. A theoretical physicist and author of The Life of the Cosmos describes the evolution of modern-day string theory, the flaws in the attempt to formulate a "theory of everything" to explain all the forces and particles of nature and the origins of the universe, and their repercussions for physics and the need to get science back on track. Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics explored the role of controversy and disagreement in the progress of science. It argued that science progresses fastest if the scientific community encourages the widest possible disagreement among trained and accredited professionals prior to the formation of consensus brought about by experimental confirmation of predictions of falsifiable theories. He proposed that this meant the fostering of diverse competing research programs, and that premature formation of paradigms not forced by experimental facts can slow the progress of science. As a case study, The Trouble with Physics focused on the issue of the falsifiability of string theory due to the proposals that the anthropic principle be used to explain the properties of our universe in the context of the string landscape. In his earlier book Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Smolin stated that loop quantum gravity and string theory were essentially the same concept seen from different perspectives. The Trouble with Physics was strongly critical of the prominence of string theory in contemporary theoretical physics, which he believes has suppressed research in other promising approaches. Smolin suggests that string theory suffers from serious deficiencies and has an unhealthy near-monopoly in the particle theory community. He called for a diversity of approaches to quantum gravity, and argued that more attention should be paid to loop quantum gravity, an approach Smolin has devised. Finally, The Trouble with Physics is also broadly concerned with the role of controversy and the value of diverse approaches in the ethics and process of science. In the same year that The Trouble with Physics was published, Peter Woit published a book for nonspecialists whose conclusion was similar to Smolin's, namely that string theory was a fundamentally flawed research program.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Trouble with Physics; The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618551050
• ISBN 13: 9780618551057
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Michael Pendergast (illustrations), and Christoph
• Edition: First Printing [Stated].
• Condition: Very good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very good

About this title

Synopsis

A theoretical physicist and author of The Life of the Cosmos describes the evolution of modern-day string theory, the flaws in the attempt to formulate a "theory of everything" to explain all the forces and particles of nature and the origins of the universe, and their repercussions for physics and the need to get science back on track.

About the Author

Lee Smolin earned his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard, then went on to teach at Yale and Pennsylvania State before helping to found the innovative Perimeter Institute. He is the author of The Life of the Cosmos and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity.