Word: wrongly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...everyone--and now, nearly 30 years after it made its initial splash, some of the doubters are becoming more vocal. Skeptical bloggers have become increasingly critical of the theory, and next month two books will be hitting the shelves to make the point in greater detail. Not Even Wrong, by Columbia University mathematician Peter Woit, and The Trouble with Physics, by Lee Smolin at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont., both argue that string theory (or superstring theory, as it is also known) is largely a fad propped up by practitioners who tend to be arrogantly dismissive...
...fine to propose speculative ideas," says Woit, "but if they can't be tested, they're not science." To borrow the withering dismissal coined by the great physicist Wolfgang Pauli, they don't even rise to the level of being wrong. That, says Sean Carroll of the University of Chicago, who has worked on strings, is unfortunate. "I wish string theorists would take the goal of connecting to experiment more seriously," he says. "It's true that nobody has any good idea of how to test string theory, but who's to say someone won't wake up tomorrow morning...
...less delighted. Coca-Cola says its drinks have been rigorously tested by independent laboratories and conform to strict quality standards, and both companies have taken out newspaper ads challenging the CSE's research methods and findings. Unconcerned, Narain counters: "We are not in this to prove Pepsi and Coke wrong-and as long as we get those standards, I don't give a damn if they prove me wrong...
...Fear a Jury of Your Peers Most people think that juries are more likely than judges to let defendants off the hook. The conventional wisdom, however, may be dead wrong...
...What's wrong with giving a bright kid a free ride? Well, consider what happens to the students who used to get those grants. Maybe they weren't the best students, but they still belonged in college. Now they may not be able to afford it, says Sandy Baum, an analyst with the College Board. "We need to have a national discussion of our priorities," she says. "Why do our state schools throw money at the highest-scoring students? What happens to the other kids...