Nothing That Matters

In many quizzes in the newspaper or the web, the answer is given somewhere partially hidden. You are not supposed to cheat and look at the answer before attempting the quiz. String Theory has done something like that. It started with the answer! Quantum Field Theories moved from known to unknown. The approach evolved like peeling the onion skin by skin. It started from electrons to protons, Neutrons and further down to Quark. On the way it took into its unifying fold the three fundamental forces - Electro-magnetism, Weak Force and Strong Force - failing only to grapple with gravity. It was an organic, natural step-by-step evolution. Finally it had still to peel the layer of skin that could explain what the quark is in-turn made of? And the skin to take gravity into its fold?
The string theory started off by first saying what the elementary constituent of all particles and Forces that we know? Simply because its a good mathematical framework and answers many questions - some which quantum Field theories cannot answer.
So this round 3 about starting from an uncertain fundamentals to build super-castles is against String theory. This round goes to Quantum Field Theory. The score so far is 2:1 in favour of string Theory.

Posted by Girish Bhatnagar at 5:53 PM