>>11007315well, i can’t argue with much besides the QCD axions. at the LHC there is not much that can be done to rule out e.g. Peccei-Quinn axions. that’s why there are some bizarre “telescope”-like experiments designed for them. so basically it is good that axion theories are more falsifiable, but the problem arises when and if they get falsified.
OTOH string theory is permanently immune to falsification but at the same time can claim credit for any real observation
it’s a very weird scenario but i am much more interested in PQ axions than stringy folks. but the stringy folks won’t and can’t be killed.
the only real way forward is to find evidence of something that works. and then get, say, 3 confirmations of that experimentally. then, even if strings hills can say “oh we can explain that too”, only then will people start to move past the string meme
