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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Dan<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, August 17, 2011 8:35 AM<br><b>To:</b> ExI chat list<br><b>Subject:</b> [ExI] Discontent with the path physics is taking<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>This is from another email forum, but I wanted to get some opinions from folks here. Do you think Dennis's concern is valid? He seems to believe string theory and all that is eating up and laying waste to the field.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Dan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Dan, this has long been a concern of those outside string theory, but I look at it this way. String theory has few if any commercial applications. There is *<b>plenty</b>* of physics going on in microdevices and other areas where there are enormous economic incentives. String theory is not competing with that, and that is where the money is. I don’t worry if a few physics professors struggle over their 14 dimensional mathematics and eat up some small and dwindling theoretical research budget supplied by governments. I cheer for them, hope they find interesting stuff. I am interested in theoretical physics myself. I worry they may have taken a long and fruitless path. But I don’t lose any sleep over it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>----- Forwarded Message -----<br><b>From:</b> Dennis May <dennislmay@yahoo.com><br><b>To:</b> "atlantis_II@yahoogroups.com" <atlantis_II@yahoogroups.com><br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, August 15, 2011 9:50 PM<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [atlantis_II] Subconscious Working Hard</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div id=yiv1699399300><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><div id=yiv1699399300ygrp-mlmsg><div id=yiv1699399300ygrp-msg><div id=yiv1699399300ygrp-text><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='color:black'>My area of interest is theoretical physics [,] so cosmology, gravity, QM are the primary areas<br>of interest. I view most of the allied fields as engineering applications.<br> </span><span style='color:#1F497D'>…</span><span style='color:black'> <br>Dennis<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>