Is string theory a failing model? | Eric Weinstein and Brian Greene go head to head again

Eric Weinstein clashes with Brian Greene over string theory's place in physics.

Weinstein is notorious for his stance against the string theory community's toxic culture, previously telling co-founder Michio Kaku he is "out of control". In this tiff with string theorist Brian Greene, Weinstein once again confronts both the culture around string theory and the validity of the model itself.

String theory has been dominant in theoretical physics for thirty years, with more scientific papers arising from it than any other theory. But critics argue the theory has held undue influence and it is an error to pursue it.

Is it time to move on from string theory, recognise that the search for supersymmetry has failed, and seek alternative accounts of the universe that are supported by observation and experiment? Or is the continued dominance of string theory justified by its potential to unify our understanding of the universe once and for all?

#StringTheory #TheoryOfEverythingInTheUniverse #StringParticles

Eric Weinstein is a mathematical physicist and the host of the podcast The Portal. He is the former Managing Director of Thiel Capital in San Francisco and was formerly a Co-Founder and Principal of the Natron Group in Manhattan as well as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University in the Mathematical Institute.

Brian Greene is renowned for his groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory and best-selling books. He has been chairman of the World Science Festival since co-founding it in 2008.

[TheInstituteOfArtAndIdeas]

Do you think the string theory community is problematic? Let us know in the comments below!

[besmus]

Lol Roger Penrose sitting there like "Why tf did i agree to this? I could be sitting at home right now enjoying a nice cup of tea."

[Mrperson]

I wish I was smart enough to have an opinion on this

[raketensven]

The problem is that they use the phrase "The problem is.." so much that nobody knows anymore what the problem is.

[dougcoombes]

The issue here is string theory has never really been a theory supported by evidence. It is a hypothesis with internally consistent math. The math may be elegant, but if it doesn't make predictions that can be tested, then it isn't a scientific theory.

[theonetruemorty]

I know there's one thing that we can all agree on: Michio Kaku... is out of control.

[tixch]

I actually experienced this situation while graduating in mathematical physics in Belgium. It was the year 1986 and I wanted to continue the studies towards a PhD. In the dept. there where many groups, but the strongest was string theorists. Proud of their 100s pages calculus which not many understood. I was discouraged to continue physics as it seemed to me so far away from it and I was not so keen in pure math after all. On top of that, no jobs in view...

[MeStevely]

After 50 years it's maybe time to take another approach.

[kishan]

I love how the smartest guy in the room is just sitting there listening lol

[cronoukie]

anyone else here just thinking, I want to hug Roger Penrose. He reminds me of my grandfather at every family get together. Has lived through life, been through this so many times, he's just enjoying being around the next generation that is starting to do the same. This video gets a like - thanks so much for keeping the conversation going!

[takashitamagawa]

What Sabine Hossenfelder has said particularly stands out: that the test of a theory is whether one gets more out of it than one puts into it. General relativity easily passes this test, as does the basic quantum mechanics established in the early 20th Century. Other theories, such as QED, are less clear cut. String theory seems a distance away from achieving this milestone.

[neilaspinall]

I remember a physics postgrad about 20 years ago complaining that if the research proposal didn't include the words "string theory" then funding would not be forthcoming.
The theory has consumed vast quantities of clever people's time, and delivered nothing remotely useful. And worse, has displaced other work to such an extent that Physics generally seems to have delivered nothing of much value in the last 30 years.

[TheBillyonepunch]

Is it just me, or is it amazing that the great Roger Penrose is almost falling asleep during this fervent exchange? 🤣

[paxdriver]

Eric Weinstein didn't have time to check out the only scientific critique of his own unified theory, but he had the time to do dozens of podcasts over the last 10 years complaining about other scientists not doing science and ignoring his work - which is totally scientific lol.

"there is no reciprocal interest because this community simply thinks it is smarter than other communities...."

I love listening to Eric, he's a smart guy no doubt. Entertaining fellow too, provocative thinker in many cases; but his hypocrisy is starting to really get under my skin. It's hard to respect such a whiner when he just won't stop with his fantasy ego trip about the "cabal of PhDs out to get him".

This must be what it was like for friends of Nietzsche watching a brilliant mind descend into psychosis... It's terribly sad real physicists keep giving him a platform despite his fans clamouring for years to get Eric to restart his briefly sensational podcast.

[PJM]

Sir Roger's demeanor here while Eric is talking is just perfect. You can almost see the thought-bubble over his head - "I'd rather be doing science with scientists - or literally anything else for that matter - than be here."

[rayhume]

Regardless of it's untestability, as long as people can pay their mortgages promoting String Theory, it will be something we have to hear about.

[Ola-fher]

oh it was just a 10 minute sample? I am disappointed

[kalijasin]

"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."-- Nikola Tesla

[richardabbot]

This is a particular example of a general, society wide problem. There are many disciplines where an elite has walled themselves off, creating only self-referential assertions.

[seanneumann]

Thanks for hosting this discussion.

Just a note that following the link to the full video (on the website) from within the YouTube app, features an extremely buggy media player. This creates a negative user experience.