Why String Theory is Wrong
from PBS Space Time Hosted by PBS
To learn to think like a scientist check out http://Brilliant.org/SpaceTime Uploaded 20-12-18PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACECheck out the new Space Time Merch Store!https://pbsspacetime.com/Support Space Time on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeThere’s this idea that beauty is a powerful guide to truth in the mathematics of physical theory. String theory is certainly beautiful in the eyes of many physicists. Beautiful enough to pursue even if it’s wrong?Tweet at us! @pbsspacetimeFacebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetimeEmail us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] comComment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetimeHelp translate our videos!https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_...Previous Episode: Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyTqgnKD3sw&t=5sHosted by Matt O'DowdWritten by Matt O'DowdGraphics by Luke MaroldiAssistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike PetrowMade by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)Hermann Weyl once said, “If I have to choose between beauty and truth, I choose beauty.” It was in reaction to a rebuke by Einstein. Weyl had tried to explain electromagnetism by imposing on Einstein’s general theory of relativity very first gauge symmetry, Weyl invariance. Einstein pointed out it the proposal led to some absurd results, and so the idea went down in flames. It just couldn’t be true, despite the elegance of the math. But sometimes it can be hard to let go of the sense that a beautiful theory must be right.
Embed this episode
No transcript yet.