The author is well aware that in positing untestable theories such as his"multiverse" he is being unscientific. ... But to anyone who has grasped the bare rudiments of spacetime, quantum mechanics, inflationary cosmology, etc., the urge to theorize is simply irresistible. Mr. Carroll may be a proud scientist with a vastly superior knowledge, but in this simple human urge he is just like the rest of us. He should admit it. To claim, as he does, that his "multiverse" is not a "theory" but a "prediction" is a bit of sophistry that will not exonerate him from such a charge.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
What could be better?
... Timely Questions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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No, positing theories is exactly what science is all about. Of course, theories eventually need to be tested against experiment and observation.
ReplyDeleteBut there have been plenty of instances of "untestable" theories later being tested, some to be confirmed, some to be refuted. Sometimes a few tools have to be invented first, is all.
The point is, scientists theorize. It's called asking questions about the nature of reality, etc. The reviewer's comment "The author is well aware that in positing untestable theories such as his"multiverse" he is being unscientific." makes me wonder how well he really understands the scientific method, after all. We ARE talking *theoretical physics* here, after all . . . . LOL
I would qualify what you say slightly, Art. Positing hypotheses is one of the things scientists do. And of course that is what Carroll has done. But there is more than one problem with the multiverse hypothesis. One is that there really is no evidence for positing it in the first place (except that it is the only way to get around evidence that might take you in a direction you don't want to go that could be construed as "religious." Another is that almost by definition it is unlikely ever to be testable. Science needs always to stay grounded in hard data.
ReplyDeleteSee also:
ReplyDelete"How the Scientist Got His Ideas"
http://chronicle.com/article/How-the-Scientist-Got-His/63287/