The pessimism in the last paragraph has surprised me, given the occasion of the article:
The pessimism in the last paragraph has surprised me, given the occasion of the article:
Supergravity has become a powerful mathematical tool and is effectively a low-energy version of string theory. But despite its undeniable value, there is no evidence yet that it exists in nature. Searches for supersymmetric particles at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern have found nothing so far, leading many physicists to go off the theory.
With the next generation of more powerful colliders some decades away, it is not clear when more concrete answers may be found. “We’re going through a very tough time,” Freedman told the Guardian. “I’m not optimistic. I no longer encourage students to go into theoretical particle physics. And happily, they don’t listen to me.”
I do think its warranted though. The real value derived from things like supergravity are methods and mathematical tools that proved to be extremely useful in other areas such as condensed matter...
I do think its warranted though. The real value derived from things like supergravity are methods and mathematical tools that proved to be extremely useful in other areas such as condensed matter physics. The theory itself, while pretty, probably won't be falsified for a long time. Theoretical particle physics is kind of in the desert right now and while it isn't as bad as some loud naysayers make it seem, they definitely aren't in the heyday of the 70s-80s anymore. I think its important for students to be made aware of this because it can be very easy to become disillusioned if you fall into the trap. I keep this article bookmarked just to remind me of that.
The pessimism in the last paragraph has surprised me, given the occasion of the article:
I do think its warranted though. The real value derived from things like supergravity are methods and mathematical tools that proved to be extremely useful in other areas such as condensed matter physics. The theory itself, while pretty, probably won't be falsified for a long time. Theoretical particle physics is kind of in the desert right now and while it isn't as bad as some loud naysayers make it seem, they definitely aren't in the heyday of the 70s-80s anymore. I think its important for students to be made aware of this because it can be very easy to become disillusioned if you fall into the trap. I keep this article bookmarked just to remind me of that.