<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:18pt"><div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">The Witten lecture is fairly long. Any specifics</SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">on what would be a good reason to follow string</SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">theory? I've never heard a good one yet.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><A style="RIGHT: auto" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803102844.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110803102844.htm</A></SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">Various inflation bubble theories are all the rage right</SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">now. Rage #27 likely to last for a few years until rage</SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">#28 is the new rage.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">A sample of the discussion of an alternative.</SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><A href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/70">http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/70</A></SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><A style="RIGHT: auto" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/199">http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/199</A></SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><A style="RIGHT: auto" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/1975">http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/1975</A></SPAN></SPAN></div>
<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><A style="RIGHT: auto" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/2915">http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Physics_Frontier/message/2915</A></SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto">Dennis May<VAR id=yui-ie-cursor></VAR></SPAN></div>
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<div style="RIGHT: auto"><SPAN style="RIGHT: auto"><BR style="RIGHT: auto">Dennis</SPAN></div>
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<DIV style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 0; MARGIN: 5px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=hr readonly="true" contenteditable="false"></DIV><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> scerir <scerir@alice.it><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Dan <dan_ust@yahoo.com>; ExI chat list <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Friday, August 26, 2011 12:10 PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [ExI] Discontent with the path physics is taking<BR></FONT><BR>Dennis May (fwd by Dan):<BR>I do have a horse in the race and it is certainly true that I view string theory as interesting<BR>mathematics with little value in physics - certainly not enough value to justify it
having<BR>taken over virtually all of theoretical physics everywhere in the world. The popularizations<BR>that are still published are virtually all in lock step with perhaps one partially interesting book<BR>every 5 years or so about all you can hope for.<BR><BR><BR># Ed Witten in these lecture pointed out many good (but also bad) reasons<BR>to follow the string theory approach.<BR><A href="http://www.iop.org/resources/videos/lectures/page_44292.html" target=_blank>http://www.iop.org/resources/videos/lectures/page_44292.html</A><BR><BR>But I can agree. All that sometimes seems boring and useless.<BR><BR>Not by chance new principles sometimes appear in the literature,<BR>like this "principle of mediocrity" :-)<BR><A href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4990" target=_blank>http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4990</A><BR>But the paper by Vilenkin seems good food for thought.<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>extropy-chat mailing list<BR><A
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