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.