MathPix is a rather amazing app for your phone. Write e.g.\[Robbert Dijkgraaf is the managing director of the Institute for Advanced Studies inwards Princeton, New Bailiwick of Jersey – he is the boss of Edward Witten together with he would endure a boss of Albert Einstein if Einstein avoided decease inwards the 1950s. He's also a belatedly co-father of matrix string theory (and in 1 lawsuit a co-author of mine).
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx
\] with your hand, have got a photograph of this aspect spell it's inwards the rectangle, together with the app volition convert it to perfect \(\rm\LaTeX\) together with calculate that it's \(\sqrt{\pi}\), with graphs together with analyses past times WolframAlpha. It's similar PhotoMath for adult mathematicians. Hat tip: mmanuF@Twitter
In the Netherlands, he's a rather well-known scientific talking head. So if you lot search for "Robbert Dijkgraaf" on YouTube, you lot volition larn videos from Dutch TV where Dijkgraaf talks virtually Einstein for an hr together with materials similar that.
Well, Dijkgraaf just posted the newest text at the Quanta Magazine:
There Are No Laws of Physics. There’s Only the Landscape.He says that at that topographic point are dualities inwards string theory which physically position 2 or several seemingly different descriptions, but there's silent a huge landscape of possible effective laws that are left. The article doesn't say much to a greater extent than – except that it's possible for a Chinese to create a Chinese nutrient together with notice it's identical to an Italian food. ;-)
Well, dualities inwards the public of cousins look rather unlikely.
Now, this could have got been a helpful pop article some xx years ago. But today? What form of reactions would you lot hold off from the readers?
Since 2006, the scientific discipline sections of the mainstream media have got been almost totally conquered past times crackpots that are parroting the holy words past times Mr W*it, Mr Sm*lin, together with similar self-anointed populist take in makers. The religious anti-physics moving ridge has created thousands of aggressive trolls together with tens of thousands of their sockpuppets who pass hours past times trying to discover places on the Internet where they could write something like: "String theory has many solutions thence at that topographic point must endure something incorrect with it!" They purpose a much worse language, however.
Well, sorry, comrades, equations of physics have got the release of solutions they prefer. Unless you lot may dominion out some release of solutions, together with then you lot must process all the possible numbers – together with the theories predicting those numbers – equally.
So it was guaranteed that the article wouldn't endure received well. After a day, Dijkgraaf's curt essay has attracted 2 comments, past times users named Weylguy together with Steve Blazo, together with both of them parroting the W*itian garbage. In that way, they bring out that they're hopeless morons but W*it has trained these stupid puppies to experience smart spell parroting these idiocies, thence these morons exercise experience smart.
They frame their W*itian dictum as a reply to Dijkgraaf's assertion that string theory has no parameters. Well, to a greater extent than precisely,
string theory has no adjustable non-dynamical continuous dimensionless parameters.This contention says that if at that topographic point is an apparent release whose value may endure a priori adjusted together with must endure chosen to brand predictions using string theory, it must endure either
- dimensionful such as \(c,\hbar\): no theory may predict their values because these values depend on the choice of units, i.e. social conventions, together with social conventions can't really endure calculated from a primal physical theory based on crisp mathematics. Adult theoretical physicists unremarkably purpose units with \(1=c=\hbar=\dots\), thence these parameters are no longer adjustable.
- Or discrete – 1 has to determine that nosotros alive some a special vacuum that is chosen from a finite fix or a countable set. That covers the choice of the vacuum from the ofttimes repeated \(10^{500}\) possibilities.
- Or dynamical: the parameter is really the vacuum expectation value of a scalar plain with a vanishing potential (so all values are allowed together with stable), a modulus. When such moduli (non-stabilized scalar fields) exist, they drive additional "fifth forces" violating the equivalence principle. Because nosotros haven't observed those, it should hateful that nosotros alive inwards a vacuum where no non-stabilized moduli exist.
Obviously, nosotros can't calculate that some people decided to define 1 meter as 1/40,000,000 of the circumference of the Earth, together with how this unit of measurement of length got refined.
Some other people misinterpret the discrete parameters. When you lot exclusively have got to pick a discrete label, you're picking "much less information" than if you lot determine the value of a real, continuous, adjustable parameter. After all, a existent release needs infinitely many digits to endure specified. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 release betwixt 1 together with 99 exclusively needs 2 decimal digits to endure specified, together with fifty-fifty an chemical factor of a fix with \(10^{500}\) elements may endure fully determined past times specifying 500 digits. That release (500) is really comparable to the release of digits inwards the parameters of the Standard Model that are inwards regulation measurable with the accuracy that may endure obtained inwards this Universe.
Steve Blazo wrote:
The comment that string theory has less costless parameters together with then the criterion model is form of ridiculous, each fellow member of the "landscape" is it's ain costless parameter. So string theory instead of less costless parameters has similar \(10^{500}\) more.You know, idiots such as this 1 have got been made self-confident because W*it told them that they know what is the most of import thing they have got to know together with repeat. It's the delusion written above. So they scream it with the same passion together with for the same argue as the Islamic terrorists are screaming "Allahu Akbar". But sorry, comrades, Allah isn't corking together with each fellow member of the landscape doesn't convey a novel parameter.
Even if you lot counted the choice of the chemical factor of the landscape as a parameter of the theory, together with you lot shouldn't because this choice is really dynamical, it's a unmarried parameter. You may label the elements of the landscape past times an integer \(N\) that goes from \(1\) to \(10^{500}\) together with this unmarried integer would endure the 1 together with exclusively parameter of the theory. Saying that the release of values that a parameter tin have got is the same as the release of parameters is isomorphic to the claim that 2+2=22; or that a reckoner contains 256 animals times the release of bytes inwards the RAM. Only a total idiot tin brand such mistakes. The release of dimensions (axes) inwards a parameter infinite is something else than the release of points inwards that space.
The choice of \(N\) produces a much bigger multifariousness inwards the qualitative grapheme of the effective laws of physics than e.g. the electrical accuse \(e\) does inwards QED. But that's no disadvantage. It's an obvious advantage, together with a sort out of required 1 for a candidate for a theory of everything. String theory derives rather messy effective theories such as the Standard Model out of zippo thence it's obvious that the effective laws that string theory must endure capable of producing must endure rather various thence that a generic 1 may endure as messy as the Standard Model.
Incidentally, the omnipresence of the ludicrous release \(10^{500}\) is a proof that all these critics of string theory exclusively parrot this garbage from each other just similar the Islamic terrorists parrot "Allahu Akbar". None of them is capable of independent thought.
How many people who constantly repeat the release \(10^{500}\) could say where it originally came from? I retrieve that none of them. Well, I tin enjoin you: it was written inwards Section IV of a Taylor together with Wang claimed that the exponent is really 272,000 if nosotros allow a genuinely prolific shape of F-theory flux vacua.
The other commenter, Weylguy, exhibits a similar fallacious reasoning:
Really? String theory has no costless parameters? And there's exclusively 1 string theory? Show me where the theory predicts that the electron has a majority of \(9.11 \times 10^{-31}\) kilograms together with and then I'll start believing that spacetime is composed of 10 or eleven dimensions, half-dozen or seven of which are conveniently curled upwards thence small-scale they could never endure observed.A large betoken of Dijkgraaf's article inwards a higher house was that the electron majority shouldn't endure expected to have got a unique value because string theory has a landscape of possibilities. So if such a existent release may endure calculated, it must endure inwards to a greater extent than natural units than kilograms, of course; together with 1 must origin determine the value of the discrete parameter that labels the elements of the landscape. So why is this Weylguy "demanding" something as a proof of string theory that Dijkgraaf explicitly wrote non to endure the instance according to string theory?
It's also demagogic to say that the extra dimensions are "conveniently" compactified. In reality, they are both conveniently together with (what is to a greater extent than important) demonstrably compactified. Our non easily seeing the extra dimensions is an empirical fact, non just a affair of convenience, together with scientists who are worth the cite just have got to have got empirical facts into account. Also, it's demagogic to implicitly advise that the small-scale size of the extra dimensions is unnatural. Instead, it is totally natural. The expected radius of the extra dimensions may endure calculated from the dimensional analysis. And if at that topographic point are no special considerations, the exclusively length scale that may come upwards out of this dimensional analysis is the Planck scale. Some special models – e.g. braneworlds and/or those with large or warped extra dimensions – may create longer radii than the Planck scale. But they silent give some finite estimates from some dimensional analysis enhanced past times some parameteric dependence.
The finite value of the radius of the dimensions is absolutely natural. In fact, the large radius of the visible, macroscopic dimensions is to a greater extent than unnatural – together with that unnaturalness is known as the cosmological constant problem.
There's no argue to retrieve that the total release of spacetime dimensions is 4, at that topographic point is zippo incorrect mathematically virtually the numbers 10 together with 11, they're inwards fact preferred past times to a greater extent than detailed calculations, together with there's zippo unnatural virtually the compactification to microscopic radii.
But the primary betoken I wanted to convey is that Dijkgraaf seems to deny the reality inwards these media altogether. He wrote the text as if no "string wars" have got always taken place. But the string wars did have got house to a greater extent than than a decade ago. Dijkgraaf was alongside those who preferred his convenience together with didn't exercise anything at all to assist me together with others to defeat the enemy – thence the enemy has won the battle for the infinite inwards the mainstream media. Until you lot realize your mistake, you lot can't always write an article virtually string theory or state-of-the-art high-energy theoretical physics into similar media that volition endure good received. It's really painful if a managing director of the IAS hasn't been capable of noticing this fact because directors of of import scientific institutions are exactly those who should know something virtually the atmosphere inwards various parts of the society.
If you lot always desire articles written for the pop magazines – including the Quanta Magazine – virtually modern theoretical physics to endure meaningful again, you lot volition origin have got to restart the string wars together with win them. I am afraid that the social club has sufficiently deteriorated over those 10+ years of your inaction that a physical elimination of the enemy may endure needed.