tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post116000948611361117..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: The Inverse ProblemSabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160875800744201422006-10-14T21:30:00.000-04:002006-10-14T21:30:00.000-04:00Dear Bee,Finally, I've written a review on Smolin'...Dear Bee,<BR/><BR/>Finally, I've written a review on Smolin's book and posted it over at my blog.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>ChristineChristine Cordula Dantashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271747374185459530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160477897074418142006-10-10T06:58:00.000-04:002006-10-10T06:58:00.000-04:00If Schroer is really saying that string theorists ...If Schroer is really saying that string theorists have more<BR/><BR/>"material market-oriented motivations"<BR/><BR/>than people in the rest of physics - well, that is absurd and slanderous. (Just try to prove it...) <BR/><BR/>I don't see what good can come of that sort of trash talk. To claim that one type of physicist is morally better than another is nauseating.<BR/><BR/>As for (G.) Ellis, he Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160359889280084972006-10-08T22:11:00.000-04:002006-10-08T22:11:00.000-04:00Perhaps there will be new discoveries at the LHC t...Perhaps there will be new discoveries at the LHC that will lead to a new revolution in physics, just like in the early 1900s when quantum mechanics was developed.<BR/><BR/>Supersting theory, or even Supersymmetry, could be just a Fata Morgana of theorists who have been deprived of relevant experimental results for too long.<BR/><BR/>People in the late 1800s were working on complicated models to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160313515060356302006-10-08T09:18:00.000-04:002006-10-08T09:18:00.000-04:00Hi Quasar,Is your interpretation of macroscopic bl...Hi Quasar,<BR/><BR/><I>Is your interpretation of macroscopic blackholes the same as those who work on string theory <BR/>the microstate blackhole is part of the "particle creation" that you meet when you view reductionism and the microstate blackhole as part of the standard model. </I><BR/><BR/>Yeah. I am not completely sure what you mean with reductionism though. Also, I should point out that Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160252317256158972006-10-07T16:18:00.000-04:002006-10-07T16:18:00.000-04:00Depends on what you mean with 'right'? That's the ...<EM>Depends on what you mean with 'right'? That's the problem: if the theory has no applications in the real world, it can still be 'right' in a mathematical sense, but is this the 'right' description of nature? <BR/><BR/>From a practical point of view, one can at least say that the theory is useless unless it predicts how nature behaves. That however gets more complicated if you consider how QUASAR9https://www.blogger.com/profile/00593390598251093182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160252010055743182006-10-07T16:13:00.000-04:002006-10-07T16:13:00.000-04:00Hi Bee, according to Susskind"For example, extra d...Hi Bee, according to Susskind<BR/><EM>"For example, extra dimensions may cause neutrinos to create microscopic black holes, which instantly evaporate and create spectacular showers of particles in the Earth's atmosphere and in the Antarctic ice cap.</EM><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://press.web.cern.ch/public/Content/Chapters/AboutCERN/WhyStudyPrtcles/UniverseBricks/CosmicMatter/CosmicMatter-en.html" QUASAR9https://www.blogger.com/profile/00593390598251093182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160185322289771752006-10-06T21:42:00.000-04:002006-10-06T21:42:00.000-04:00"The personal satisfaction experienced by a discov...<I>"The personal satisfaction experienced by a discoverer of a scientific truth which used to be the main driving force in the past has given way to more material market-oriented motivations."</I><BR/><BR/>-- Bert Schroer<BR/>[http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603112v4]Christine Cordula Dantashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271747374185459530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160155482147555782006-10-06T13:24:00.000-04:002006-10-06T13:24:00.000-04:00"The most savage controversies are those about mat..."The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way."<BR/>- Bertrand Russell<BR/><BR/>But, just to add my favorite bit of savagery against strings... it's stolen from Gertrude Stein:<BR/><BR/>"There's no there there."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160112401955244522006-10-06T01:26:00.000-04:002006-10-06T01:26:00.000-04:00And how many scientific advances has 'serious effo...<EM>And how many scientific advances has 'serious effort to engage with the philosophy of science' ever led to?</EM><BR/><BR/>Ever hear of Albert Einstein? Oh, right; he never fully bought into quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, so who cares what he thought.<BR/><BR/>Of course some will say he didn't so much engage with the philosophy of science as effectively reinvent it by his example Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160095180647533962006-10-05T20:39:00.000-04:002006-10-05T20:39:00.000-04:00Hi Christine,there is undoubtly truth in what you ...Hi Christine,<BR/><BR/>there is undoubtly truth in what you say. <BR/><BR/>But don't forget, there are only three types of physicists: those who can count to three. And those who can't.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160093368597298822006-10-05T20:09:00.000-04:002006-10-05T20:09:00.000-04:00Oh, and when someone figures out how to solve the ...Oh, and when someone figures out how to solve the problem, please let me know. :)<BR/><BR/>For me this is much like a Penelope's web.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>ChristineChristine Cordula Dantashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271747374185459530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160092902273885942006-10-05T20:01:00.000-04:002006-10-05T20:01:00.000-04:00Gee, what a crap! I mean, we should remember that ...<I>Gee, what a crap! I mean, we should remember that despite all the differences, we all share the same interests. We all want to understand how nature works.</I><BR/><BR/>I once read a book that said that people can be divided into 3 groups (this is supposed to be valid for any human activity):<BR/><BR/>1) those motivated by money, the subject matter is not important (they look out for their ownChristine Cordula Dantashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271747374185459530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160087109396045532006-10-05T18:25:00.000-04:002006-10-05T18:25:00.000-04:00Hi JoAnne,yes, that was also my perception, esp. a...Hi JoAnne,<BR/><BR/>yes, that was also my perception, esp. after all that olympics... <BR/><BR/>But then. I am also guilty of beginning most of my papers by stating that whatever-I-am-working on hasn't received enough attention. Might just be part of the marketing :-)<BR/><BR/>Hi Quasar,<BR/><BR/><I>It seems we are concerned with whether string theory is or is not right, and yet little concerned Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160086053034750082006-10-05T18:07:00.000-04:002006-10-05T18:07:00.000-04:00B, thanks for your clear minded take on the brouha...B, thanks for your clear minded take on the brouhaha in the press about string theory.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the LHC inverse problem, you say:<BR/><BR/>"when we see some new physics at the LHC, can we uniquely find out what was its cause? Surprising for me, the authors state that this problem has received little attention until lately."<BR/><BR/>Contrary to this statement by the authors on that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160082076986324682006-10-05T17:01:00.000-04:002006-10-05T17:01:00.000-04:00Hi Bee, I guess it is the Nature of things that th...Hi Bee, I guess it is the Nature of things that there is more than one possibility until the others are cancelled out anhihilated, transformed or assimilated:<BR/><BR/>Do other dimensions exist, how many are there, how relevant are they to our four dimensions.<BR/>In biology we can see further and further into a cell, with practical 'physical' applications<BR/>With nanotechnology we can 'make' QUASAR9https://www.blogger.com/profile/00593390598251093182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160080882445716482006-10-05T16:41:00.000-04:002006-10-05T16:41:00.000-04:00Hi Thomas,I deleted one of your comments, it was s...Hi Thomas,<BR/><BR/>I deleted one of your comments, it was submitted twice.<BR/><BR/><I>Does Ellis explain, or know, what he means by:<BR/><BR/>"an approach to theory validation that is adequate where insubstantial evidential support has to be supplemented by other principles of inference."</I><BR/><BR/>He doesn't explain. That's the last sentence. I hope he knows.<BR/><BR/><I>which to me sounds Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160079863147780972006-10-05T16:24:00.000-04:002006-10-05T16:24:00.000-04:00Hi Stefan,thank you for that sensible update of th...Hi Stefan,<BR/><BR/><I>thank you for that sensible update of the debate, and your opinon how it should be run...</I><BR/><BR/>Well, you know that I always think the world would be much less complicated if just everybody would listen to me ;-) I'd like to kick some people, and tell them to go back to work, instead of proclaiming there is a 'war' going on. Gee, what a crap! I mean, we should Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160079828495107952006-10-05T16:23:00.000-04:002006-10-05T16:23:00.000-04:00I don't think the editors at Nature know very much...I don't think the editors at Nature know very much about theoretical physics. That is natural for a journal whose focus is on quite different areas. So it is not really surprising to have an editorial about string theory which makes little sense but eventually comes out for the status quo.<BR/><BR/>Does Ellis explain, or know, what he means by:<BR/><BR/>"an approach to theory validation that is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160079010806113282006-10-05T16:10:00.000-04:002006-10-05T16:10:00.000-04:00Dear fh,I totally agree with you. I can't understa...Dear fh,<BR/><BR/>I totally agree with you. I can't understand all the fuss there is. Yes, the current funding distribution is suboptimal, and yes, we should try to improve it. And yes, if I say it this way it sounds pretty boring, and it's certainly nothing new, so who'd want to write an editorial about this? <BR/><BR/>So I'll just repeat what I have said several times before (see e.g. <A HREF="Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160069912243013292006-10-05T13:38:00.000-04:002006-10-05T13:38:00.000-04:00Dear Bee,thank you for that sensible update of the...Dear Bee,<BR/><BR/>thank you for that sensible update of the debate, and your opinon how it should be run...<BR/><BR/>Now that I have read the Nature pieces, I agree that the editorial is somewhat strange, since in the end, it seems to completly ignore all points and ideas raised in the Ellis review and the Brumfiel report.<BR/><BR/>Thank you also for pointing to the paper about the <I>inverse stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09495628046446378453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160067837255741482006-10-05T13:03:00.000-04:002006-10-05T13:03:00.000-04:00I have to say I have become mostly bored with this...I have to say I have become mostly bored with this stuff. But I find Susskinds reply slightly disinginious after all String THeory has had a lot of public praise and acclaim over the past decades, which is of course one of the reasons why the critizism is, unfortunately being debated so publicly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160064269813581112006-10-05T12:04:00.000-04:002006-10-05T12:04:00.000-04:00Hi Anonymous,thanks, I have fixed the link. Regard...Hi Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>thanks, I have fixed the link. Regarding the media, I am actually not sure who uses whom in this case. Best, B.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160024506667884512006-10-05T01:01:00.000-04:002006-10-05T01:01:00.000-04:00Bee, just to let you know the link to the paper de...Bee, just to let you know the link to the paper detailing the inverse problem, does not connect?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160020099522125062006-10-04T23:48:00.000-04:002006-10-04T23:48:00.000-04:00Dear Bee,Thanks for being a voice of reason. I hav...Dear Bee,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for being a voice of reason. I have sympathized very much with Lee Smolins appeals, but I simply don't like the way he uses the media to draw attention to himself. The book is superfluous, and mainly an annoyance for those of us who try to work out the funding issue in a calm and civilized way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1160018892645585602006-10-04T23:28:00.000-04:002006-10-04T23:28:00.000-04:00B, a great overview of what is becoming an issue o...B, a great overview of what is becoming an issue of immense consequesnces for the scientific community.<BR/><BR/>I must state that having first encountered:<BR/>http://particle.physics.ucdavis.edu/hefti/lecture.html<BR/><BR/>I was really taken in by his personal viewpoints, and this period made me look at a number of fascinating "pathways", if it was not for Susskind, I would not have Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com