Particle Physicists Continue Empty Promises

In this video I explain why building a next larger particle collider will most likely not tell us anything about dark matter and why, therefore, claims by prominent particle physicists that dark matter would be a "guaranteed result" are misleading.

The piece that I quote in the beginning is this:

The other quotes (and more) with sources are collected here:

#physics #science

[CaptainJeoy]

The definition of insanity is using same method and expecting a different outcome.

[jimcarpenter]

What I admire about Sabine is her fearless commitment to follow the truth no matter where it leads. The world needs more like her.

[alexandermarsteller]

As a particle physicist on the experimental side of things, I wholeheartedly agree with all points made here. At a certain point, theoretical particle physics has devolved to a state where models with new particles that are falsified are not discarded, but rather people try to salvage them by adding even more new particles.
I have heard literal talks by people who developed code to generate new theoretical models to basically formulate every version that isn't explicitly forbidden by maths already...

I also hate the "natuarlness" argument with a passion. "Mathematical Beauty" doesn't even hold true in math itself, so why should it for physical parameters that might just as well have taken on a random value at the beginning of the world?

[crazysdrums]

"The paradox is only a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality ought to be..." - Dr Feynman

[carloseduardodiazjaramillo]

I am finishing my master in particle physics, doing research in supersymmetry. Just at this point I'm realizing how speculative the field has become. That is why your video really got me. Keep saying what you think, because someone gotta say it.

[josww]

Sabine is one of the most unique and entertaining educators on Youtube

[davidc]

That reminds me something I realized during my PhD thesis (in machine learning).

Basically, scientists are pushed to "make it work, no matter what".

It probably does not concern every scientist, and I don't know how many are pushed like that. Also, it's probably quite hard to explain, as there is certainly multiple causes for this.
For example, you work months on a paper only to realize at some point that it's not a good direction at all and that no one should ever be doing something like that. And other guys are also working on their papers, so you have to publish, because that's how you, as a scientist, are evaluated : the more papers you write and the more other cite your papers the better.

And you've worked months on this thing that does not work, so you try to make it work, no matter what. You torture your "beautiful" model with various band-aids and try to find a justification for this. But the justification often doesn't make much sense. You may also manipulate the data so you show how big of an improvement your algorithm is compared to the state of the art. Then some dude, rightfully, writes a review of the state of the art and explains that most of the algorithms are quite bad because none of them seem to transfer really well to new datasets.

I had the first hint at this when trying to reproduce results from a paper that used a method to compute "distances that do not respect the triangular inequality"... Basically "distances that are not distances". Of course, in the paper, this weird nonsense wasn't as visible as I explain right now.

You say there is no shame in being wrong and that being wrong is important to science. But, being wrong does not make a good title for a scientific paper. Which is probably sad, and wrong.

[rickintexas]

Hearing Sabine say “you can’t make up this shit” just made my day! Especially since she speaks in a German accent and is a brilliant scientist.

[nikhilhatwar]

"Particle Physicist refuse to learn. They just ask for more money." - Sabine Hossenfelder

[JD-jlyy]

Based physics woman back at it again, ruthlessly dropping truth bombs.

[embrown]

We live in a world where you constantly have to pitch extreme results. Everyone is constantly selling. Even in science. It's really damn annoying.

[atilafernandes]

Scientific community needs more realists like you. Keep on the good work, Sabine!

[da]

When I was studying physics in undegrad something about particle physics just rubbed me the wrong way and I ended up doing condensed matter. Maybe confirmation bias, but from Sabine's words looks like I dodged a bullet XD.
Love this channel. Just discovered it recently but every video I've seen so far has been amazing.

Hello from Patagonia, Argentina. I have been teaching physics for more than 40 years and you are the first ever scientist that I know to tell the truth in this way about so many items. In my land too many people presume that scientists are never wrong. You so help students and teachers to think. Muchas gracias.

[Lolwutdesu]

As a fellow physicist who left the field of research for the very reason, that petty tactics sour the whole experience of finding out what is true, I must say it's so refreshing to have someone like you who's brave enough to just call things for how they are. Bravo!

[Deadeye]

Someone needs to get a medic for the LHC team. She just savaged them.

[stopthephilosophicalzombie]

You are the new breed of scientist we need; honest and unafraid not to mince words.

[shaytal]

I think the prediction to find super symmetric particles in the next decade wasn't so bad at that time.
But you are right, one should learn from it. It is of great scientific value that the LHC found the Higgs boson, but there is also value in not finding any susy particles.
I think it is understandable that particle physicists advertise (check your pronunciation of advertisement!) their next big experiment plans. But ofc this, as any scientific research in general, needs to be open for critic. And calling critics anti science is not ok.
On the other hand you are referring to particle physicists as if they would all speak with one voice. Maybe you mostly hear your loud critics. But there are a lot, maybe quieter voices that have doubts if a bigger, even more expensive accelerator is money well spend.
Personally I doubt it. I think the LHC and all of Cern was a big success. But it might be time to take a break from running blindly to even higher energies and instead evaluate how we can spend research money more effective.
But I am looking forward to new scientific results that might show us more if the laws of nature conforms with our perception of beauty or not.

[echoromeo]

Savage sabine strikes again. You're the only one calling em out and we love you for it.

[jpdalvi]

Ma'am, you earned my most profound respect. You, lady, are one true scientist, wich seems to be less and less common these days.