>>13777258unironically String Theory.
there is no other game in town. quantizing GR in standard quantum field theory simply won't work (unless some highly unsatisfactory and ugly miracle happens, called "asymptotic safety") and no other theory of quantum gravity comes even close to being able to describe particle physics.
it's one thing for idiots to say "hey, i quantized gravity!" but the immediate question is "can you incorporate it with particle physics? is your theory consistent? do you get all the subtleties of gauge theory without any infinities popping up?" and unanimously the answer is no, besides string theory.
i mean, sure, this is an old fashioned view, and even string theorists nowadays are saying "now when we say 'string theory' we mean some generalized framework that is really closer to the holographic principle and blah blah we still need some new idea blah blah..." but that's just some sort of weird combination of trying to make their brand more palatable to the public.
if there is a final theory of everything, for sure it will be either improved string/M/F theory or string++/M++/F++ theory or some rebranded name for the same thing. it's just so far out ahead of any competitors it's clear it's the winner.
