String Theory For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 4

Putting String Theory in Context: Understanding the Method of Science

IN THIS CHAPTER

Brushing up on scientific theories you know and love

So you say you want a scientific revolution

What scientists have unified, let no one put asunder

Breaking the same old rules to keep things interesting

String theory is at the cutting edge of science. It’s a mathematical theory of nature that, at present, makes few predictions that are directly testable by empirical experiments. This brings up the question of what it takes for a theory to be scientific.

In this chapter, we look a bit more closely at the methods scientists use to investigate nature’s structure. We explore how scientists perform science and some of the ways their work is viewed. We certainly don’t solve any big, philosophical issues in this chapter, but our goal is to make it clear that scientists have differing views about how the nature of science is supposed to work. Although we could write volumes on the evolution of scientific thought throughout the ages, we touch on these topics in just enough detail to help you ...