It May be Preposterous but it’s Still Science

Physicists argue that studying multiverses and extra dimensions is just as scientific as understanding the observable

By Gregory Mone Posted 03.18.2008 at 10:54 am 4 Comments

Distant Qasar NASA

Is all this work on string theory and multiple dimensions and extra universes still science? That’s the question physicist Sean Carroll and writer John Horgan recently debated. Carroll, of the California Institute of Technology, also blogs regularly for Cosmic Variance, and he wrote out a detailed post explaining his position. Obviously, as a cosmologist who works full-time on these seemingly preposterous ideas, he is a bit biased. He’s not the guy you’d expect to stop and say it isn’t real science. But his piece on the subject does effectively explain why he and, one assumes, other theoretical physicists working on these problems think this way. An excerpt:

“The next thing to understand is that all these crazy speculations about multiverses and extra dimensions originate in an attempt to understand phenomena that we observe right here in the nearby world. Gravity and quantum mechanics both exist–very few people doubt that. And therefore, we want a theory that can encompass both of them. By a very explicit chain of reasoning . . . we are led to superstrings in ten dimensions. And then we try to bring that theory back into contact with the observed world around us.”

4 Comments

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truekiwibrowne

03/19/08 at 1:57 am

the string theory is rubbish anyway it cant be proved or tested. its no better than the l8 big bang theory, its probably worse.

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imaduck

03/20/08 at 9:10 pm

turekiwibrow - I'm not sure where you get your information (actually, I'm assuming you don't get your information,and you're simply making it up), but hundreds (if not thousands) of tests, predictions, and observations have been used to confirm the falsifiable Big Bang Theory. It has given us many testable results, and thus far has proven to be the best model for the formation of our universe.

Then again, if you'd like to show us your model, I'd be more than happy to look it over (ie wipe my butt with it). I'm sure your armchair commentary is more than enough to dismiss lifetimes of work by Astrophysics PhD's.

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ktperera

06/21/08 at 11:15 am

Better late than never. Matter strings do exist and causes gravity.
As a matter of fact my conclusions is that Quantum mechanics
and gravity cannot be united. See a hint of my concept of the
origins of matter and gravity and limitations of gravity and inertia
at cosmicdarkmatter.com.

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ktperera

06/21/08 at 11:16 am