The Case for String Theory - Sixty Symbols
Why Hacker News recommends it
It is cited in string theory arguments as a counterweight to critics, a working physicist's reason to think there is something to the theory.
What it is
Sixty Symbols interviews Nottingham cosmologist Tony Padilla, who says string theory deserves to be taken seriously. He explains how strings emerged from the equations rather than being invented.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2017 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Recommends the6threplicant · 2017-06 · on “The Dangerous Irrelevance of String Theory”
I like [this video] (The case for String Theory). It shows that there is a natural progression to String Theory that very few other theories have.
Recommends snarfy · 2018-07 · on “The Admiral of the String Theory Wars (2015)”
I've never found a good description or explanation of string theory for the layman. I look, but then I always run into Brian Greene. I did find this video[1], where a professor explains why he at least believes there is something to it. Tl;dr - they weren't looking for strings. They sort of 'popped out' of the equations. [1] = [this video]
Cites snarfy · 2017-06 · on “The Dangerous Irrelevance of String Theory”
The case for string theory [this video] tl;dr - Nobody theorized strings. They were trying to solve the scattering problem of w-bosons and came up with a solution. The interpretation of the solution is strings.
Cites rajman187 · 2022-11 · on “Sabine Hossenfelder: There are areas where physics blurs into religion”
I read her book Lost in Math [1] which I have to say was quite a laborious endeavour. It is essentially a long-winded argument that is better summarised in this article and her YouTube channel, though she got to visit many scholars across the globe. Some agreed with her to a certain extent while others simply didn't (Nima Arkani-Hamid, for example, had no interest in her point of view). What I found most lacking was a viable path forward, an alternative to all this nay-saying. She had a section in the end with bullet points on what to do and not do, but it was quite brief and generic. I had a short but interesting exchange on Twitter with Dr. Tony Padilla who has spoken about the case for st