What every physicist should know about string theory

Re:What every physicist should know about string theory by madhadron on Monday February 11, 2019 @06:27PM (#19139564)

I would accept theory as the right word. A mathematical structure that has been assembled for testing is generally referred by practitioners to as a model or, if there is a collection of models and mathematics linking them, a theory.

Unfortunately, a fully fleshed out theory with centuries of matching experimental data is still called a theory.

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Re:What every physicist should know about string theory by chithanh on Tuesday February 12, 2019 @07:13AM (#19142863)

I think that is more of a namespace collision than anything else.

Even in mathematics, there are different definitions of "theory". One is that a theory is a body of knowledge, like set theory or automata theory. This is where I would group string theory as well.

Another definition from mathematical logic is that a theory is a set of axioms and deduction rules. Fascinatingly, those have in common with scientific theories that they can (if sufficiently complex) only ever be falsified, not verified.

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Re:What every physicist should know about string theory by lucozade on Tuesday February 12, 2019 @06:38AM (#19142685)

I believe the point (excuse the pun) is that it may well be a mathematical theory but it's not (yet?) a scientific one.

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