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Why trust a theory? Physicists and philosophers debate (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]
“Did you ever read my words, or did you merely finger through them for quotations which you thought might valuably support an already conceived idea concerning some old and distorted connection between us?” -Audre Lorde
One of the most damning, albeit accurate, condemnations of String Theory that has been leveled at it is that it’s untestable, non-empirical, and offers no concrete predictions or methods of falsification. Yet some have attempted to address this failing not by coming up with concrete predictions or falsifiable tests, but by redefining what is meant by theory confirmation.
Image credit: flickr user Trailfan, via https://www.flickr.com/photos/7725050@N06/631503428.
Many physicists and philosophers have jumped into this debate, and a recently completed workshop has produced no agreements, but lots of interesting perspectives, opinions, and a few notable fights and quips.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Julian Herzog, of a piece of the LHC’s beamline at CERN. Energies many billions of times greater than can be reached here are required to test string theory.
Sabine Hossenfelder recounts her experience at the Munich workshop, only on Forbes!
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2015/12/10/why-trust-a-theory-physicists-and-philosophers-debate-synopsis/
