Lost in Math
How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
Recommended by Barbara Kiser, and 1 others. See all reviewsRanked #6 in Topology, Ranked #7 in Gravity — see more rankings.
A contrarian argues that modern physicists' obsession with beauty has given us wonderful math but bad science.
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to... more
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Lost in Math from the world's leading experts.
Barbara Kiser This is a firecracker of a book—a shot across the bows of theoretical physics. Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist working on quantum gravity and blogger, confronts failures in her field head-on. (Source)
Rankings by Category
Lost in Math is ranked in the following categories:
- #76 in Astrophysics
- #7 in Differential Geometry
- #11 in Electromagnetism
- #36 in General Relativity
- #19 in Geometry
- #14 in Mathematical Physics
- #58 in Mathematician Biography
- #40 in Philosophy Of Science
- #77 in Physics
- #38 in Project
- #62 in Quantum Mechanics
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