[dcolgan]

Hi there.My name is Dominic Colgan.I live in Colchester,England.I am a Telecoms Project Engineer and have always been interested in Astronomy/Cosmology/Physics.
As far as I understand it String theory demands 11 dimensions because the strings need that many to vibrate in a sufficient number of ways to produce our Universe. What is this equation and where did it come from? Any source references for the maths would be welcome.
Until observations give some support to this theory we are in danger of doing what religions do.ie assume a result/belief , make everything fit flowering out the belief to a ridiculous extent.Think of some of the weird rituals of religion in the world today.I dont think TOE is in that category but will there ever be the observations to take it out of the category of being a theory or even just a philosophy

Comments/ideas please

[Robert]

That's a question I have as well. The mathematics of string theory requires 11 dimensions because (at least partly) that makes the math work out better, but how much of the mathematics, if any, really reflects reality? Most theories have reality coming first and then the mathematics to explain it. String theory seems to have come up with the mathematics first leaving us wondering what the reality is. That being said, there is an eerie relationship between mathematics and reality, in some cases. Roger Penrose had some examples of this in his most recent book.

Also, welcome to the ToeQuest community! Hope you enjoy your stay here and come back often!

Regards,
--Robert

[Stalky]

aha, yes, you have hit the nail on the head. Science, like religion, often relies on a leap of faith on behalf of the believer. And a lot of people treat scientific theories like religions, ascribing to only one and defending it against all odds, where true science has to involve the weighing of evidence. You have to stay unattached to the ideas.


The problem is that it is very difficult to stay unattached to ideas thanks to the human ego, and also thanks to the very hard and time consuming work that many theorists do. One tends to get attached!

The first leap of faith that science requires is the belief that we can understand the truth.

Stalky