Category Archives: This Week’s Hype

Quantum tunnelling of a new, third kind could finally put string theory to the test

Posted on April 20, 2009 by woit

The whole “finally, a way is found to test string theory” business is starting to become a complete joke. See the latest such nonsense: Quantum tunnelling of a new, third kind could finally put string theory to the test which … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 7 Comments

Strings Strike Back

Posted on April 14, 2009 by woit

The February AAAS press event (discussed here) designed to get out the word that the critics are wrong and string theory is making predictions about physics that are getting tested has finally made it to Slashdot, via an article in … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 27 Comments

Mission Accomplished

Posted on February 18, 2009 by woit

A few years ago the asset value of string theory in the market-place of ideas started to take a tumble due to the increasingly obvious failure of the idea of unifying physics with a 10/11 dimensional string/M-theory. Since then a … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 82 Comments

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory

Posted on November 17, 2008 by woit

I recently acquired a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory, by Scientific American’s George Musser, which has been out for a few months now. It’s a popular-level treatment of modern physics, string theory and quantum gravity, much … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, This Week's Hype | 19 Comments

This Week’s Hype

Posted on March 9, 2008 by woit

Today’s Newsday has a long article by Michael Guillen about the significance of the new Simons Center at Stony Brook. Guillen is a theoretical physicist who was the science editor at ABC-TV for fourteen years, and now is the host … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 5 Comments

Rock Guitars Could Hold Secret to Universe

Posted on February 27, 2008 by woit

From the Bolton News: ROCK guitars could hold the key to the origins of the universe, hundreds of young science pupils were told. The Institute of Physics held a lecture in Bolton entitled “Rock in 11 dimensions: where physics and … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 23 Comments

This Week’s Hype

Posted on February 6, 2008 by woit

This week’s media hype promoting a new observational test of extra dimensions is based on the recent arXiv preprint Transient Pulses from Exploding Primordial Black Holes as a Signature of an Extra Dimension. Stories about it have appeared already in … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 6 Comments

Today’s Hype

Posted on January 31, 2008 by woit

The rate of appearance of press releases hyping string theory has now passed the the one-per-week mark. Today’s example is from the press office of the University of Wisconsin, and again is based on the appearance of a paper in … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 5 Comments

Last Week’s Hype

Posted on January 30, 2008 by woit

I was concerned that my “this week’s hype” headlines might be less than accurate, counting only 3 separate over-hyped string theory stories during the past month rather than four. Turns out that I missed one (although a commenter here didn’t), … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 3 Comments

This Week’s Hype

Posted on January 28, 2008 by woit

This week’s press release trumpeting a bogus “test of string theory” comes from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is headlined Scientists propose test of string theory based on neutral hydrogen absorption, and informs us that Ancient light absorbed … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 65 Comments