The Trouble with Physics

The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

By: Lee Smolin

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics - the search for the laws of nature - is losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the publics imagination - and the imagination of experts. But these ideas have not been tested experimentally, and some, like string theory, seem to offer no possibility of being tested. Yet these speculations dominate the field, attracting the best talent and much of the funding and creating a climate in which emerging physicists are often penalized for pursuing other avenues. As Smolin points out, the situation threatens to impede the very progress of science.

With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin offers an unblinking assessment of the troubles that face modern physics - and an encouraging view of where the search for the next big idea may lead.

©2007 Lee Smolin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Courting controversy, Smolin is a reflective, self-confident challenger to pro-string physicist-authors Brian Greene, Leonard Susskind, and Michio Kaku." (Booklist)

Very interesting book

The author discusses the unusual situation of no real progress in physics for the last 3 decades and the quagmire it is currently in. He discusses the history of tossing in extra dimensions to get to a unified theory and the several failures along that path. In the 2nd part of the book he discusses the culture of groupthink in the physics community that would probably make it impossible for someone like Einstein to find a job in physics today (it was already hard for him in his own time).
The only important thing he does not mention is that most science today is funded by tax money coerced out of compliant tax subjects. These subjects are told to NOT think independently, that their preferences with their property are inferior to those of their masters. If you have a culture of subjugation (for most) at the root of the funding of physics, can you really expect these people to look favorably upon independent minds? Can you realistically expect that the influence of this funding can be fire walled? The funders got their money by shouting to subjects "comply or die", does it make sense that they treat the minds of physicists with respect and value someone that strays from the herd?

The sociological pathology of research

The message is clear and echos what I hear from other disciplines including medicine, engineering, and economics . Visuals to support the discussion about arguments supporting and challenging strong theory would have been helpful. Overall, I am glad I listened to the audio book.

Interesting but a little whiny

Would you try another book from Lee Smolin and/or Walter Dixon?

I will try another book by Lee Smolin but I wasn't very impressed with this one

Any additional comments?

Although the point of this book (We should spend more time and money on other physics ideas) is well taken I don't think it should have taken 15 hours to make it. I expected more out of this then I got from it.

Physics is in trouble

Apart from some overly detailed sections about particular physics theories, this was an informative insider's view into the structure and processes of the physics community. I totally understand what Smolin is saying about the flaws in the system. It sounds like physics has streamlined and backed itself into a corner out of which its own system is preventing it from breaking free. It sounds kind of cultish, tbh. I thought Smolin made a good effort at suggesting practical ways to fix the problem, but idk that they'll work, since the 'system' is not owned and operated by one entity - it's a culture that by design culls those who question and could help it. Welcome to the Church of String Theory. 

The narrator was ok, but lacked something, perhaps understanding of the subject matter.

An overview of contemporary theorethical Physics

An overview of CTP, the huge shortcomings of String Theory, possible alternatives and the inability of the TP Establishment to pursue new paths and ideas beyond String Theory. Brilliant writing, very good reading. A must read for those familiar with 20/21 century Physics who want to keep being informed of its progress.

Encouraging Physics

Being a layman interested in quantum theory I found this book important, and even touching. There is trouble with physics and it is wonderful that a very few scientists are pointing it out. I agree with Smolin that the trouble with physics is deeper and more insidious than run of the mill historical scientific dogma. New physicists are being encouraged to research an un-testable theory and actively discouraged from investigating any other underlying foundations of quantum physics. Smolin does not offer any answers, but demonstrates the problem, and encourages more open inquiry. Unfortunately the trouble with physics is very deep. Some of the greatest minds of the twentieth century spent entire careers on open inquiry to understand the fundamentals of physics, yet failed utterly. It is understandable that most advisers, after seeing decades of wasted genius, discourage their gifted students from such pursuits. Yet such pursuits may be the only path to true progress in physics.

This book does not stand on its own really well, it is dependent on having some grounding in the history of quantum theory, so I would suggest reading Lindley’s Uncertainty (and maybe some others), before this reading this book.

Hopefully this book will encourage some unknown non-professional, like Einstein, to ignore the conventional wisdom and see the simple and obvious truth that every professional physicist has missed for a century.

Well done, though a little repetitive at times

I don't know much about the state of Physics research, so I don't know if Smolin's complaints have merit. But in my experience observing the state of science in general, Smolin's complaints resonate.

His main beef is not with string theory *per se*, only with the pervasiveness of string theory in physics research. Sure, he has some problems with the theory itself, mainly that it has grown so large and complex that it is practically unverifiable by experimental means. But more importantly, string theory has become so popular that it has squeezed out practically every other area of research. Smolin advocates that physics departments take on more risk and start investing in more esoteric lines of research. He uses a financial analogy: venture capitalists take on a certain amount of risk KNOWING that they will lose some percentage of their investments, but that some other percentage will win big.

Smolin advocates a similar strategy for physics: more "investment" in riskier lines of research, which have a greater chance of failure, but which can also provide the next great breakthrough. Smolin thinks that too much research is vested in the "safe" string theories, and hence growth (in terms of new theories and new knowledge) has practically stalled for an entire generation of physicists.

He makes a compelling point. Very interesting listen. One complaint though: he occasionally gets repetitive in his arguments. This book could have probably been 1/3 shorter without losing anything.

Love Smolin's work and his philosophy

String theory, Not.

Since I picked up Hawking's A Brief History, I have been looking for a book to continue the story of how humanity as a whole understands the Cosmos, which fundamentally, is a question of "what is space and time?" and "what is the mechanism behind the phenomenon of gravitation?"

Smolin starts with a great overview of how our understanding of the cosmos has improved since Einstein - especially in the field of particle physics. In recalling the recent developments since particle physics, he admits that virtually no significant breakthrough of our understanding of physics has occurred as astronomical observations continue to collect data, which obviates the need for a new unified theory of gravity.

The core of his frustration is not directed at other physicists but the way the current academic culture does not allow young students to question the assumption of their predecessors. His main argument is that, for the past two decades, this culture stagnated young physicists' ability to use their creative and imaginative curiosity to explore various possible ways to explain the same phenomenon of gravity and spacetime.

Though he talks little about the psychosocial background of Einstein's time, I can't help but draw the parallel between the examples he gives of "outsiders" and how Einstein's difficulty obtaining an academic position allowed him to think outside of his own contemporary physics dogma at the turn of the 20th century.

Taking this idea further, Smolin asserts that new breakthrough theories might come not from academic groups but from creative and independent thinkers outside of the established academic discipline of physics.

To put this into perspective of our living world, the year 2011 turned the world upside-down by the upheaval of masses to challenge the status quo as information becomes more and more transparent in the unsustainable philosophy in the areas of politics and economy.

Though I try to distance myself from the pop-spiritualism with all its "Age of Aquarius" nonsense, 2012 actually does appear to be a good candidate for a "miracle" year for physics as well as other fields of human activity. This year may be when we, as individuals, feel the large-scale events of technical singularity unfold.

This year, the world of physics just might be surprised by an obscure yet brilliantly creative mind that brings us to a new era of understanding of our cosmos - and teach us an important lesson in the way we should support the brilliant minds of our future.

I'm waiting for a Gregori Perelman of the physics world to submit his landmark article on arXiv with my fingers crossed.

A sociopolitical view of college education.

Don't get me wrong. Just because I gave this book 3 stars, does not mean that I did not like it. It is not a bad book. The target audience needs to be clear in the description of this book. That is why I gave it 3 stars.

The first half of the book focuses on the sociopolitical reasons why String Theory is so popular in college education, and how that popularity is sufficating the growth of other theories that compete with it. To understand the first half, you really need to understand String Theory. If you do not yet have a grasp of it, as I do not, then you have no way of knowing if the arguments hold water.

For me, a hobbyist in the areas of cosmology, astrology, and astrophysics, I really enjoyed the second half of the book. In the second half the author talks about competing theories, and others, that have gained little or no attention. Some of those were quite fascinating and I plan on doing some reading about them.

Near the end of the second half, the author goes deeper into the sociopolitical problems with college education in America specifically. Again, I had no foundation that gave me the right to agree or disagree. All I could do is listen to a passionate argument about something I knew little about.

The one thing that I got from this book is that Lee Smolin is very smart and passionate about his work. I would love to meet him some day and chat over a few beers and talk about the beginning of the cosmos, and what may lay beyond a black hole.

Incredibly Important Work About Science Today

What did you like best about this story?

This gave me not only a great introduction to theoretical physics, but also an important look at the current state of science funding and research.

Any additional comments?

Wow. This is an important work for anyone interested or concerned with the current state of science and funding. Beyond the fact that I learned more about theoretical physics and string theory here than any other pop-sci book before, I couldn't get enough of this one. I'll never be able to grasp the hardcore numbers involved in physics of this scope, but I can appreciate the theories and ideas involved. Smolin did a better job explaining it to me than anyone I've read before, and he doesn't even agree with their theory.

I've long known that science funding and research has gotten more and more fuddled up with bias for the in vogue ideas in whatever field one is trying to research, but this book made me realize how much worse it actually is than I had even realized. It made me quite sad tbh, but I'm really glad I read it. I hope that the work Smolin and others are doing to remedy the situation comes about sooner rather than later, so we can advance further as a species in our understanding of the universe and how it works.