Lee Smolin of the Perimeter
Institute has boldly confronted the mess in
which string theory has left our understanding
of physical law. String theory is the
theoretical basket into which the physics
community has put almost all their eggs in
developing the long sought theory of quantum
gravity; the theory that will explain
everything. Unhappily this approach has proved a
mess.
It turns out that string
theory predicts an almost infinite number of
differing universes. In other words it has no
ability to predict our actual universe.
The problems involves both the
assumed initial conditions of the universe and
the laws that have brought it from its initial
condition to its present condition. Both are
extremely 'fine tuned'. They are just right to
produce the Goldilocks universe we inhabit.
Being just right is extremely
unlikely to have occurred by accident in a
one-off universe. So we are in a mess.
Smolin's proposed way forward
starts with providing a brilliant analysis of
what a scientific solution would look like. He
concludes that scientific law must have evolved
in order to get to this 'just right' state and
that the manner of this evolution includes
copying, variation and selection (attractors).
That is the evolution of physical law is due to
a Darwinian process.
Here is his paper!
A
perspective of the landscape problem
