PHI 030

May 27, 2015

Ceteris Paribus Laws in Action!

Looking at a debate over whether String Theory solved the problem of Quantum Gravity

What Is Quantum Gravity?

Definition: A theory that attempts to explain gravitational physics in terms of quantum mechanics.

What Is String Theory?

Definition: A cosmological theory based on the existence of cosmic strings, which are hypothetical one-dimensional subatomic particles having the dynamical properties of a flexible loop.

Has String Theory Solved QG?

A 1996 paper by Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa had some people saying 'Yes'.

But not so fast...

Lee Smolin has pointed out that Strominger and Vafa's results "work only for special and atypical black holes,” i.e., extremal black holes.

In other words...

Strominger and Vafa's "laws" of quantum gravity are really ceteris parabis laws.