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Lost in math

Sabine Hossenfelder

2018291 pagesabout 4–7 hours
2018
first published
  • 2018Basic Books · ENGISBN 9780465094264
  • 2018Basic Books · 291 pages · ENGISBN 9780465094257
  • 2020Basic Books · 304 pages · ENGISBN 9781541646766
  • 2018Brilliance AudioISBN 9781978643383

"Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria. Worse, these "too good to not be true" theories are actually untestable and they have left the field in a cul-de-sac. To escape, physicists must rethink their methods. Only by embracing reality as it is can science discover the truth"--

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