Creme de la Creme [AP-S Turnstile]

As a clutch of new science books [1] readily demonstrates, there is a lot of uncertainty not only about the current status of physics, but also (Heisenberg´s principle notwithstanding) about how fast the field is progressing (some would even say regressing). To be sure, there have been exciting developments [1], such as the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson, which completes the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, and the impressive new satellite data about the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which leads us ever closer to a deep understanding of the conditions prevailing in the early universe (i.e., shortly after the Big Bang). Yet, when it comes to the “Holy Grail,” namely a grand theory that would unify the Standard Model with Einstein´s theory of General Relativity, physicists seem to be as much at a loss now as they were nearly a generation ago. In his new book [2], Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth, Jim Baggott complains bitterly about theoretical developments such as string theory, calling them “fairytale physics,” since they have not been accompanied by actual experimental evidence or even testable predictions.