Video & Multimedia
Related: About this forumcaroldansen
(725 posts)radical noodle
(8,000 posts)Hillary is president and trump doesn't exist.
shraby
(21,946 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)He'll remind you that he invented String Field Theory. A shameless self promoter whose ideas never seem to pan out.
The guy is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
tomp
(9,512 posts)if they wanted to convince me of anything they've gone about it the wrong way. just a series of apparently baseless assertions.
longship
(40,416 posts)He's a bit of a shameless self-promoting lunatic in the guise of a physicist.
hedda_foil
(16,373 posts)Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)You do understand the peer review process don't you?
Here is how one physicist describes him:
Michio Kaku made a fundamental and significant advance in physics, he created light-cone string field theory, following Mandelstam's light-cone formulation of string theory, along with Kikkawa. This contribution was central, because it was the first definition of string theory which was Hamiltonian, meaning it could tell you a detailed story of how strings split and join in space time. It also allowed you to produce a detailed description of the Hilbert space of string theory which is not a scattering space.
The thing about physics is that it has become annoyingly politicized, with two branches--- the technical branch which produces all the results, and the popularization branch which gets all the political clout. This division is extremely unfortunate, but it is a byproduct of the fact that nobody in the general public reads the technical literature. So people with immense technical clout, like Georgio Parisi, are incomparably less politically relevant than those with popular books, like Brian Greene.
This is a plea to the general public: please read the technical literature. I mean it. Please read it. It is a precious production of our culture, it is the main thing we will be leaving to future generations. The 20th century physics literature is our Shakespeare, it is our Homer, it is the thing that defines our cultural legacy to the largest extent. It is not acceptable to have this literature be the domain of an elite, it must be universally appreciated.
Under these circumstances, there will be no need for Michio Kaku to go around selling himself to mass media, he would have been appreciated for his technical contributions, without any need for him to become a publicity hound. But since we don't live in such a world, he has become a publicity hound. I think it is a bit of a shame, but it will never take away his earlier achievements. String field theory has receded somewhat from the main focus, now that we have AdS/CFT, since string field theory is not the most fundamental way to view string theory. But it is a valid technique, and it has led to many insights, and it is still the most economical formuation of string theory, and it is still something to celebrate. Michio Kaku might not have written Shakespeare's works all by himself, but he wrote "Macbeth", and I don't know how anyone can speak ill of a person who made such a contribution.
To explain why the other answer here is wrong: while Kaku's contribution to string theory was not as enormous as Mandelstam's, Venziano's, Schwartz's or Scherk's, he did do something important in an important field, at a time when nobody took the field seriously. The people in the field were hounded and rejected, and it is impossible for him to have become a leader of physics based on his string field theory work, because people laughed at string theory in the 1970s.
The "leaders" of the field, Schwarz, Green, these folks were isolated in small departments and had no influence. The other "leaders", like Yoneya, and I'm talking about a whole generation of physicists, were just purged from the field. They were heckled for being crazy, and for denying quarks. Scherk took it to heart, and actually went crazy. It's a terrible story. You can't fault Kaku for being political in late life. While it would be nice if Mandelstam got the public recognition, Mandelstam is a very old man now. Somebody has to be a face for early string theory, and Kaku is as good a choice as any, he made a great contribution.
In terms of technical achievement, string field theory is still useful and relevant, although it is less central than AdS/CFT and holography. So what. It's important.
longship
(40,416 posts)Michio's popularization of science seriously descends into woo-woo land.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)Those dam elitist scientists fucking up the world with their tested calculations that passed through the rigorous peer review process. What the hell do they know? Same scientists who believe in global warming science probably.
longship
(40,416 posts)And the latest on wormholes is that they wouldn't be stable. So there's that.
We'll see about the warp drives and transporters soon enough, too.
Have a nice day.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)The whole concept is made-up.
The correct terminology is the multiverse, and even that is at best speculative. Just like strings.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2015/12/17/what-are-quantum-gravitys-alternatives-to-string-theory/#3eb21f247b1b
And by the way, Michio Kaku who you dispise didn't come up with the theory of parallel worlds it was Hugh Everett. You might find this interesting:
https://vimeo.com/58603054
longship
(40,416 posts)And I do not despise Michio Kaku. I just don't take him seriously. Like Everett, he writes checks that science cannot back up. Just like strings, which nobody can credibly call a theory.
I'll view your video a bit later.
Thanks for the response.
Quantum Field Theory is the currently accepted science in theoretical physics. It certainly has all the recognized advances. Plus, it has the advantage that it works.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)If you like quantum theory then you need to take another look at the many worlds theory because it's a branch of quantum theory:
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/quantum-theory
longship
(40,416 posts)It has no supporting evidence. As far as I am concerned it is mathematical legerdemain.
All the advances in theoretical physics for the last several decades -- since the 1930's -- have been in quantum field theory, the standard model, the most accurate and successful theory ever. (Well, that plus relativity.)
What have strings added to this dialog? Not much beyond mathematical techniques (which should always be valued). Strings are basically untestable, no matter what its adherents claim. If their claim is true that it is testable, there certainly are not many jumping into the fray to do the requisite work. This after decades of which I predict will be fruitless.
It might be true, but I wouldn't put much money on it.
Note that I am not against people studying the string conjecture. However, not to the exclusion of more demonstrably productive areas.
My best to you.
And I have been aware of the many worlds hypothesis for decades. So far, no evidence for that either.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)that is where string theory and other subsets of quantum theory come in. The quest for a unifying theory that brings quantum theory and general relativity together. A "Theory of Everything". Yes, so far none has been proven but string theory is currently the favorite even with all it's mysteries.
String theory is an interesting mathematical model that elegantly solves some problems of past models however it also creates new questions and issues. Some physicists believe these can be worked out, others feel they are fatal flaws that point to a model ultimately to be abandoned. Only time will tell who is right.
However, it's interesting that string theory is currently the favorite unifying theory among physicist. Most climatologists believe in anthropomorphic climate change as well. Do you believe in man made climate change because you put your trust in the experts in the field? If so why do you have more respect for climatologists opinions than physicists? You are clearly not an expert in the field so why do you disagree with the majority of those who write the peer reviewed papers on this subject? In my wildest dreams I could not begin to decide if string theory's calculations work or don't work. I will leave that to the experts and because I am a rational person I am going to go with what most experts in the field believe not with my gut feeling or because it sounds far fetched.
Currently String Theory is the closest theory to the "Theory of Everything" physicists have come up with.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/theory-of-everything.html
longship
(40,416 posts)Of course general relativity and quantum field theory do not agree. Who doesn't know that?
And string theory as a theory of everything?
It is quite possible that there is not such a thing as a theory of everything.
First, with no experimental support, the string conjecture cannot be correctly termed as a theory. And if people want to waste their careers with it that's their problem.
My best to you.
Quixote1818
(28,930 posts)and you didn't seem to know that Quantum Theory is broad and included string theory. Why don't you just admit you don't know anything about any of this? I asked for your favorite unifying theory and you said "Quantum Theory". Wow! That is about the worst answer you could have possibly given.
"Waste their careers" on string theory? What a stunningly ignorant comment. These are some of the most complicated and difficult questions ever tackled and you are treating the subject more like what I would expect from an anti science Republican.
Again, you are arguing with the top minds in the world and just like an anti science Republican bringing ignorant layman speculation into the arguments here with a complete and utter disregard for the centuries of work that have gone into these theory's. It's quite entertaining to see you twist in the wind and contradict yourself from one post to the next. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps you could learn something here?
So now you are putting down the "Theory of Everything" concept. You can argue with Einstein on that one. I am sure you know more than him too.
http://bigthink.com/videos/can-we-prove-string-theory
longship
(40,416 posts)I am done here.