What if string theory is wrong?
Published by admin May 6th, 2008 in Physics, Doctors of Philosophy, String TheoryNot Even Wrong points to a paper by the string theorist Moataz Emam that asks the question So what will you do if string theory is wrong? As an answer he suggests that physics may divest itself from string theory and create a new academic department equidistant from physics and mathematics. I believe that my proposal put forth in this comment quoted below, is even better for all parties concerned: Divide physics into physics and fine physics.
Maybe something that I wrote in an earlier post can be useful here. I propose to divide physics into two distinct academic divisions: physics and fine physics. In fine physics, as in fine art, there will not be a requirement to conform to a standard of evidence. Already string theorists use fine art concepts such as elegance and beauty as fundamental concepts of string theory.
Also, just like art, string theory can only be defined by way of its practitioners: String theory is what string theorists do. There is no independent definition of string theory and this is how string theorists like it.
I think that string theory is quite misguided and will be proved wrong in my lifetime. And after it is, I expect it to fully disappear, with no representation in physics or in math departments, except in histories of physics.
What goes in favor of the argument that string theory may become a separate academic field instead of disappearing is the answer to the question Who is going to prove string theory wrong? The answer is the same people who invested so much time and money to learn it. I don’t think they have any motivation to prove it wrong. Also I believe that the number of PhDs in ST is still increasing.