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    The Trouble With Physics, by Lee Smolin

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    Robert Caballero
    Gives a history of string theory and argues that physics as a field is stagnating. One of the better books I've read recently.

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    The Trouble With Physics, by Lee Smolin

    Uploaded by

    Robert Caballero
    774 views1 page
    Gives a history of string theory and argues that physics as a field is stagnating. One of the better books I've read recently.

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    The Trouble with Physics, by Lee Smolin

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    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

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    Gives a history of string theory and argues that physics as a field is stagnating. One of the better books I've read recently.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    774 views1 page

    The Trouble With Physics, by Lee Smolin

    Uploaded by

    Robert Caballero
    Gives a history of string theory and argues that physics as a field is stagnating. One of the better books I've read recently.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    The Trouble with Phyiscs, by Lee Smolin.

    Gives a history of string theory and ar


    gues that physics as a field is stagnating. One of the better books I've read re
    cently.
    "As I reflect on the scientific careers of the people I have known these last th
    irty years, it seems to me more and more that these career decisions hinge on ch
    aracter. Some people will happily jump on the next big thing, give it all they'v
    e got, and in this way make important contributions to fast-moving fields. Other
    s just don't have the temperament to do this. Some people need to think through
    everything very carefully, and this takes time, as they get easily confused. It'
    s not hard to feel superior to such people, until you remember that Einstein was
    one of them. In my experience, the truly shocking new ideas and innovations ten
    d to come from such people."
    "We never have enough information to completely justify the conclusions we draw.
    Being able to act on guesses and hunches, and act confidently when the informat
    ion we have points somewhere but does not constitute a proof, is an essential sk
    ill that makes someone a good businessperson, a good hunter, or a good scientist
    . It is a big part of what makes human beings such a successful species."
    "Our basic stance has to be one of trust, for if we require proof of everything,
    we would never believe anything ... But what is equally important, and sobering
    , is how often we fool ourselves. And we fool ourselves not only individually bu
    t en masse. The tendency of a group of human beings to quickly come to believe s
    omething that its individual members will later see as obviously false is truly
    amazing. Some of the worst tragedies of the last century happened because well-m
    eaning people fell for easy solutions proposed by bad leaders. But arriving at a
    consensus is a part of who we are, for it is essential if a band of hunters is
    to succeed or a tribe is to flee approaching danger ... Human society has progre
    ssed because it has learned to require of its members both rebellion and respect
    , and because it has discovered social mechanisms that over time balance those q
    ualities."
    "The scientific community is ... both an ethical and an imaginative community ..
    . Science is the organized skepticism in the reliabilty of expert opinion."

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