Lee Smolin: Still Missing The Point On Quantum Gravity

In a new arXiv paper entitled “What are we missing in our search for quantum gravity?,” Lee Smolin of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics summarizes various approaches to a theory of quantum gravity, lamenting that

Despite enormous effort from thousands of dedicated researchers over a century, the search for the quantum theory of gravity has not yet arrived at a satisfactory conclusion.

At the end of the paper he seems to give up on all of the current approaches.

Quantum Gravity Is A Wild Goose Chase

Quantum theory and Einstein’s general relativity are the two main pillars of modern physics. Quantum mechanics makes highly accurate predictions in the realm of the very small, while general relativity does the same on a cosmic scale. Unfortunately, the two theories are incompatible, leading vast numbers of theoretical physicists to attempt to unite them in a theory of quantum gravity, with a notable lack of success.

Isotopic Spin? It's Just The Higgs

Isotopic spin and the Higgs mechanism are two major features of the Standard Model that I’ve written about on this blog, but I just realized that for some unknown reason I’ve never pointed out that these two phenomena are closely related. One could almost say that they’re the same phenomenon. Mainstream physicists have no idea that this is the case. I’ll correct this oversight in this post.

God Enters Essay Contest

I’ve submitted one of my earlier posts, A Letter from God,  to the Foundational Questions Institute’s current essay contest. The theme is “Wandering Towards a Goal – How can mindless mathematical laws give rise to aims and intentions?” I hope to show in a humorous way that what gives rise to everything is not mathematics but consciousness aka existence. You can find the essay here,