2019-06-09, 05:44 PM
A little off-topic for this forum, but I think this new relatively brief and uniquely lucid exposition/summary of the situation now confronting modern physics deserves a little attention: "Einstein's Quest to 'Know God's Thoughts' Could Take Millenia", by Fermilab physics researcher Don Lincoln.
Not unsurprisingly, this scientist/writer carefully doesn't look at the larger implications. That even such an ultimate synthesis necessarily leaves out the mystery of the ultimate origin of such incredible design, such as for instance the origin of the multiple levels of "fine tuning" for life that pervades nature. Or the suspicion that perhaps such a grand theory may be fundamentally beyond Man's grasp for more fundamental metaphysical reasons.
"Historically, scientists have shown how seemingly unrelated phenomena originate from a single underlying force. We imagine that this process will continue, resulting in a theory of everything:"
![[Image: RUtwa8Q8m9kY9bdwsqKR64-650-80.jpg]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RUtwa8Q8m9kY9bdwsqKR64-650-80.jpg)
Not unsurprisingly, this scientist/writer carefully doesn't look at the larger implications. That even such an ultimate synthesis necessarily leaves out the mystery of the ultimate origin of such incredible design, such as for instance the origin of the multiple levels of "fine tuning" for life that pervades nature. Or the suspicion that perhaps such a grand theory may be fundamentally beyond Man's grasp for more fundamental metaphysical reasons.
"Historically, scientists have shown how seemingly unrelated phenomena originate from a single underlying force. We imagine that this process will continue, resulting in a theory of everything:"
Quote:"....physicists suspect this final unification would take place at the Planck energy, ...because this is the energy and size at which quantum effects can no longer be ignored in relativity theory. And, as we've seen, this is a much higher energy than we can hope to achieve inside a particle accelerator any time soon.
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The simple fact is that with such a large gap between currently achievable energy in particle accelerators and the Planck energy, correctly devising a theory of everything seems improbable.
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Disappointed? So am I. After all, I've devoted my life to trying to uncover some of the secrets of the cosmos, but perhaps some perspective is in order. The first unification of forces was accomplished in the 1670s with Newton's theory of universal gravity. The second was in the 1870s with Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. The electroweak unification was relatively recent, only half a century ago.
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Given that 350 years has elapsed since our first big successful step in this journey, perhaps it's less surprising that the path ahead of us is longer still. The notion that a genius will have an insight that results in a fully developed theory of everything in the next few years is a myth. We're in for a long slog — and even the grandchildren of today's scientists won't see the end of it.
But what a journey it will be."