Pun Salad

Once upon a time, in a strange and faraway land, I was a physics major. But eventually, I decided computers were more fun. Lee Smolin gives some reassurance that I made the right move, as he looks at how theoretical physics has developed over the past quarter-century, and sees a whole bunch of things that make him sad.

Smolin's main gripes are with string theory, and (perhaps even more) with string theorists. String theory has, over the past couple decades, been the primary attempt to "explain everything" in theoretical physics: the elementary particles, forces, space, time, the universe, that stuff. Its adherents, claim Smolin, find it too beautiful and elegant not to be true. Smolin says that current versions are likely untestable,

The main part of the book is a history and overview of string theory. I think it's fair to say that it will quickly become inpenetrable for the lay reader. Smolin avoids math, understandable for this type of book, but it's much like watching a football game blindfolded. (There are some pretty good stories along the way, including an amazing one about how Freeman Dyson avoided Albert Einstein at Princeton.)

The later part of the book is more accessible. Smolin discusses the "sociology" of modern theoretical physics, the philosophy of science, and advocates more openness in the physics community toward newcomers wishing to explore alternative frameworks.