It's a gray Saturday afternoon and I just found myself reading a piece on string theory and something caught my attention that I thought some in this little community of ours might like to comment on. One of the things (if not the primary thing) that many of us have against ID is that little or none of it is testable. But now I'm reading that some are saying the same about string theory? So, my question is: Can ST be tested and if not, should we hold ST to the same standards as ID? Happy solstice, Patrick
Hi All, String theory is a big focus of my son's Ph.D. studies at the University of Arizona. To an extent, string theory IS testable. That's true both from a theoretical standpoint (where the theory ties together some basic facts of science that can't be explained by any other known theory) and also from a physical standpoint. I understand that a new collider being built by CERN may give some indications. I certainly don't have anything like Sky's knowledge of the subject but I have a hunch that the convergence of several lines of discovery and thinking point toward the likelihood of string theory (or something derived from our present notion of it) being true. -- Best wishes, Joe
That's one of the problems with string theory as it stands. It's not testable at the moment. That doesn't mean it won't be or that if tested and proven wrong it won't be scrapped. That's the difference between science and faith. If string theory is proven incorrect, either mathematically or by experiment, it will be "back to the drawing board" for those involved with the development of string theory. In fact, as we communicate, Gravity Probe B data is being analyzed to verify or refute certain predictions made by Einstein's theory of general relativity. Remember, Einstein's theory of general relativity was put forward around 1917 and some of its predictions are just now being tested. It should be very interesting. Does frame dragging occur? If it does occur, is it by the amount predicted by theory? Could these predictions made by the theory be incorrect? They very well could be. But that's science. String theory is very new. The jury is still out on whether it represents a way to unify gravity with the other forces. In the near future there may be tests to decide these questions. Maybe not. However, if the theory becomes rigorous enough to make valid predictions with suitable precision and reliability it may be here to stay. Much as the state of quantum mechanics in the early days. Not so with ID. There is a creator that is actively involved with everything and that is that. No discussion. There can't be, scientifically. A creator of the universe, by definition, is supernatural. Science does not admit supernatural phenomenon as valid data. It's that simple. Back to the question. The question should read "should we hold id to the same scientific standards as string theory"? Absolutely, except in id's case it is impossible to do. On Dec 17, 2005, at 3:51 PM, Patrick Wiggins wrote:
It's a gray Saturday afternoon and I just found myself reading a piece on string theory and something caught my attention that I thought some in this little community of ours might like to comment on.
One of the things (if not the primary thing) that many of us have against ID is that little or none of it is testable.
But now I'm reading that some are saying the same about string theory?
So, my question is: Can ST be tested and if not, should we hold ST to the same standards as ID?
Happy solstice,
Patrick
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So, my question is: Can ST be tested and if not, should we hold ST to the same standards as ID?
Of course. If it's to be treated scientifically, then eventually someone is going to have to come up with an experimental or observational way to buttress it. No matter how elegant the math may be, it is still completely hypothetical or conjectural. mc
participants (4)
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Dave Gary -
Joe Bauman -
Michael Carnes -
Patrick Wiggins