What String Theory is Really Good For

you love it or loathe it

a theory is a theory is a theory

What I CAN loathe is the complete dominance of physics it has established despite it's delivery of ANY of the promises it made, is making, will make in the future.

A bit of balance would be nice - especially at the University level.

Hey! The purpose of string theory may just be to provide something to do (and funds to do it) until someone come up with another theory.

*shakes his cane at String Theory*

Dangnabbit crazy fool theory. Full of quantuum whatsits and branes. If you ask me them boys what is studyin' it needs some brains!

Back in my day we saw the world as made up from a bunch of blurry moving dots! And we liked it that way! That was real science, not like this made-up blackboard writin'.

And another thing - dark matter was what was on your toast if the wife burned it. Not some handy-dandy mystery goop floatin' around out there in space. I'll bet these fools nowadays can't even figger out how to make toast.

*grumbles and shuffles off to the kitchen*

Frank Stastio did a locally produced show on the NPR station WUNC 91.5 about a year and a half ago where he interviewed a Physicist from Duke about String Theory. His show is titled The State of Things, and I'll see if I can find the directions to it in that stations archives.

One thing that stood out in my mind, was that the Physicist said that the recent discovery of this incredibly vast Void, where there really was absolutely nothing, had been predicted by String Theory, and helped confirm parts of it.

Further the Multiple Universe concept was buttressed by elements of the theory.

To my simple mind there are things about String theory that make sense, and if it predicted that there would be a vast Void, there must be some successful thought within it, for we still experience difficulties simply predicting the weather.

I have gone on to imagine Universes where the only difference between ours, and another is a different constant for the speed of light.

Of course then if you know there are different Universes, then really it is all one universe, but full of holes...

Is not the prediction that our known universe will expand, and then everything go out, and go cold, and no matter what we do our species will be eliminated?

The Universe is both a large thing, and a small thing.

What if Infinite, really does mean Infinite?

The best use for String Theory is to prove that both Science and Religion have their "Sacred Truths" that must be believed by faith. So "choose you this day which God you will follow".

String theory: There are a finite number of designs one can make with a string loop stretched between two opposing hands.

String theory is perfect for growing beans and peas up!

bb

The best thing to do with string theory is to give it to Schroedinger's cat to play with.