>>11806323here is the reason string theory “failed”:
string theory grew up alongside the standard model of particle physics. after the November Revolution of particle physics, a great schism occurred. the empirical physicists drilled down on QCD and the Standard Model while strong theorists pursued models that were mathematically rich without pertaining to actual experiments. the cultures of the two groups grew for so long independent of one another that they lost contact. especially since the politicos were only willing to finance small experiments instead of the ones both communities always wanted (the SSC would have been 4 times more powerful than the LHC)
string theory went down the rabbit hole of finding mathematically nice stuff for decades. without any input from the guys working on QCD, since their experiments were too weak. so string theory became a mathematical discipline.
the fact is that string theory is probably right. they advanced into uncharted territory by wits alone because experiment was unable to keep up. because the stupid politicians thought it wasn’t worth it to do real experiments and instead built our orbiting tin can named the International Space Station. which cost 10x more than the LHC, or wait, no actually more than that
if the government wants to fund theoretical physicists without supplying good experiments, then this is what you get. a bunch of physics mathmonks pushing on the boundaries of fantasy land. they have not “failed” in any sense; instead they have succeeded in a world that has given nothing to reign in their fantasies and tie them onto the real world
