Alan Jacobs

If string theory turns out to be right, string theorists will turn out to be the greatest heroes in the history of science. On the basis of a handful of clues—none of which has an unambiguous reading—they will have discovered that reality is far more vast than previously imagined. Columbus discovered a new continent unknown to the king and queen of Spain (as the Spanish royals were unknown to the residents of the New World). Galileo discovered new stars and moons, and later astronomers discovered new planets. All this would pale in the face of the discovery of new dimensions. Moreover, many string theorists believe that the myriad worlds described by the huge number of string theories really do exist—as other universes impossible for us to see directly. If they are right, we see far less of reality than any group of cave dwellers saw of the earth. No one in human history has ever guessed correctly about such a large expansion of the known world.

On the other hand, if string theorists are wrong, they can’t be just a little wrong. If the new dimensions and symmetries do not exist, then we will count string theorists among science’s greatest failures, like those who continued to work on Ptolemaic epicycles while Kepler and Galileo forged ahead. Theirs will be a cautionary tale of how not to do science, how not to let theoretical conjecture get so far beyond the limits of what can rationally be argued that one starts engaging in fantasy.